BLP 4191

Duke Pearson - Wahoo!

Released - 1964

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 21, 1964
Donald Byrd, trumpet #1-5; James Spaulding, alto sax, flute #1-5; Joe Henderson, tenor sax #1-5; Duke Pearson, piano; Bob Cranshaw, bass; Mickey Roker, drums.

1475 tk.3 Amanda
1476 tk.6 E.S.P. (Extrasensory Perception)
1477 tk.12 Bedouin
1478 tk.15 Wahoo
1479 tk.22 Fly, Little Bird, Fly
1480 tk.28 Farewell Machelle

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Amanda	Duke Pearson	November 21 1964
Bedouin	Duke Pearson	November 21 1964
Farewell Machelle	Duke Pearson	November 21 1964
Side Two
Wahoo	Duke Pearson	November 21 1964
ESP (Extrasensory Perception)	Duke Pearson	November 21 1964
Fly Little Bird Fly	Donald Byrd	November 21 1964

Liner Notes

More than four years have passed since I wrote the notes for an earlier Duke Pearson album. The title of that set was Tender Feelin's (4035). The present LP could aptly be called intense Feelin’s, for although tenderness remains an essential part of Duke’s musical coloration when it is required, the presence of a hard-driving front line of horns gives these performances a very special character.

Perhaps it is an injustice to Pearson himself, though, to attribute this quality to the sidemen without pointing out that the general nature and mood of these tracks is also very firmly determined by the leader in his roles as composer-arranger and pianist.

During the six years since Duke came to New York at the instigation of fellow-musicians in Atlanta, he has developed impressively both as pianist and writer. Duke likes to credit a great measure of his success to the friendship and frequent collaboration of Donald Byrd.

Donald was one of the friendliest people I met when I first arrived in New York,” he recalls, ”and our friendship has remained to this day. We belong to a mutual admiration society. We work very well together,- I needed his assistance in preparing this album and he worked very enthusiastically. His moral support and musicianship were an inspiration to the other musicians."

Of the rest of the personnel, Duke points out that he selected the men very carefully on the basis of what he knew of their past experience and what he felt they could contribute to the particular performances he had in mind.

James Spaulding was introduced to a wide jazz audience through his remarkable performance in Freddie Hubbard’s Breaking Point album (4172), as well as in the earlier Hub-Tones (4115). The freshness and technical capability displayed in those albums is again in evidence here, along with a continued stylistic evolution.

Joe Henderson arrived in New York in the late summer of 1962. Much has happened since then to establish him as a valuable new jazz voice. His various Blue Note performances as leader and sideman have shown that he is already past the "pastiche" stage to which so many less talented artists find themselves confined.

The rhythm section, of course, swings (and speaks) for itself. Both Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker have been working for quite some time as Mary Lou Williams’ accompanists at the Hickory House. They seem to belong together and to evidence as close a rapport as Duke and Donald.

One of the highlights of the album, in Duke's opinion as well as my own, is the opening track, Amanda. ”This was written,” says composer Pearson, ”for someone very special - one passionate and fiery young lady." The beat set down by Messrs. Pearson, Cranshaw and Roker is basically Latin in character, but in a far more earthy and hard-driving groove than the Latin rhythms we have come to associate with, say, bossa nova, to which this bears no resemblance at all. The heavy, assertive quality is maintained by the opening solo, in which Spaulding on alto makes notably intelligent use of space. By that I mean he waits for the right timing for each note instead of allowing himself to be hurtled into a regular pattern of steady eighth notes or any symmetrical formation.

Donald Byrd's solo combines the two essences, the blues and the Latin feel, with characteristic aplomb. As for Joe Henderson, his personal touch here is a gas; he growls, strains, screams anything to sustain color and the intensity of the build-up. Duke himself moves into more of a blues bag, but builds in his own way from single note lines to chords, before the theme takes it out.

In short, Amanda is a performance in which everyone pulls his weight. It isn’t anybody's track; it’s everybody's.

Bedouin, according to Duke, was "inspired by a tune that I wrote for Grant Green entitled Nomad. It has an Eastern sound and it could also serve as a dedication to the musicians in their many travels. I especially like all of the solos on this one, and think my own best solo is included here.” There is a blues basis to the Oriental motif, but it derives a very special quality through the moans and wails of Spaulding's flute. Notice, too, the impact of the insistent rhythmic background, with Duke and Mickey repeating an intriguing three-accent figure.

Farewell Machelle is a brief performance of what is known in the trade as disc-jockey length. This does not prevent it from achieving a delightful mood of its own. Duke plays it as a piano solo, accompanied only by soft rhythm. The theme is a waltz, the tempo slow, the groove light yet wistful. Duke says it was inspired ”by a friend of mine who brought to my attention the fact that I hadn't written anything in quite a while." Like so many jazz waltzes, Farewell Machelle sounds as if it could well be translated into popular song terms. Certainly, with or without lyrics, it is one of his most attractive compositions.

The second side starts with Wahoo, and as the opening vamp makes unmistakably clear, it is in 5/4. Coupled with this meter, however, is the traditional blues harmonic sequence (l-lV-V-I), in the minor mode. Both the theme and Duke's very funky solo make it evident that this one is going to stay in a very deep and compelling groove throughout. As Spaulding’s flute takes over, you sense a more exotic touch, but without losing sight of the blues roots. Byrd and Henderson follow, sustaining the same dualistic feeling. An alternate title for the number is Burning Bush. Duke says: ”This suggests an American Indian feeling, but the theme is African in nature - and there is such a similarity between the plights of these two groups.”

ESP is a simpler theme, reverting to 4/4, and with straight Charleston beats launching the horn solos. Byrd’s work on this track seems to offer a synthesis of all his admirable qualities - melodically, rhythmically and tonally. This tune, by the way, came about through the inspiration provided by watching a certain young lady walk. (We may as well let you in on the secret: it was Amanda.)

Finally there is the one tune in this album not composed by Duke Pearson. This is Donald Byrd’s Fly Little Bird Fly, an up-tempo item described by Duke as ”very difficult to play on - we needed such a tune in the album, challenging, and full of that feeling of flight."

The theme is built on descending phrases with attractively different harmonic contours. Joe Henderson meets the challenge head on and offers a solo that reflects his perfect control. Donald, Jim and Duke follow, all backed up by the kind of drumming that is so essential to a fast pace like this - and few can supply it as effectively as Mickey Roker.

In summing up the session, Duke observes: ”All the musicians were very cooperative and had so much to offer in each department. Joe Henderson for his aggressiveness, James Spaulding for his versatility, Bob Cranshaw for his consistency and naturally Byrd, for Byrd. As for Mickey Roker, l was asleep on him for a long time, even though we were friends; but Bob Cranshaw suggested that I use him, and as a result of his work on this album, I will use him again.”

This makes a succinctly comprehensive summation of what happens in the Wahoo album - except for one detail. Duke Pearson neglected to say anything about Duke Pearson. It only remains, then, for me to add that this exceptional musician combines all the qualities he attributes to his sidemen, along with a very personal touch both as pianist and composer. From the hard-Latin bag of Amanda and the tender touch of Machelle to the imaginative and creative Bedouin and the funkily provocative Wahoo, Pearson the composer and Pearson the pianist cover a wide spectrum of sound. The artist who expressed those Tender Feelin's a few years back clearly is a man of many feelings, and one who has been blessed with the gift of an ability to express them to optimum effect.

- LEONARD FEATHER