Tyrone Washington - Natural Essence
Released - 1968
Recording and Session Information
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 29, 1967
Woody Shaw, trumpet #1-5; James Spaulding, alto sax, flute #1-5; Tyrone Washington, tenor sax; Kenny Barron, piano #1-5; Reggie Workman, bass; Joe Chambers, drums.
2015 tk.4 Ethos
2016 tk.7 Soul Dance
2017 tk.11 Yearning For Love
2018 tk.14 Positive Path
2019 tk.15 Natural Essence
2020 tk.18 Song Of Peace
Session Photos
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| Natural Essence | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
| Yearning for Love | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
| Positive Path | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
| Side Two | ||
| Soul Dance | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
| Ethos | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
| Song of Peace | Tyrone Washington | December 29 1967 |
Liner Notes
THIS RECORD introduces a vital new voice to the library of recorded jazz. At 23, Tyrone Washington is just making his move, and if "Natural Essence" is any indication, Tyrone is bound be with us for a long time.
Tyrone has recorded only twice before, once with the inimitable Horace Silver on "Jody Grind." "Jody Grind" was a fitting first showing for this young radical, framing him in with the hard bopping soulful old master, Horace Silver, and with another young demon, Woody Shaw, who is the trumpeter in "Natural Essence."
This is fitting because unlike many of the new voices of today, Washington has deep roots in the tradition of the grits and funk music of the 50's, the hard driving, good time jazz with the overdrive power. This was the music that Horace Silver pioneered along With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, the Jazztet and the famous Max Roach and Clifford Brown quintets. Swing was a key word then, as was soul. Well, Tyrone Washington swings aplenty, and has soul to burn.
The same can be said for the other members of this well chosen sextet. They are a hard swinging, soulful group of cats whose command of their instruments is impeccable, who have grown maturity in a time of pervasive revolution in jazz and possessed of a musical empathy that assures a perfect performance each time they come together.
This is perhaps the reason Tyrone selected these particular men. They are nearly ail the same age, they are all years ahead of themselves, they are all struggling to make it in a field that is a goldmine of unemployment but above ail, they know and understand each other's work intimately. For example, Tyrone has worked innumerable impromptu gigs, some way below scale, with Woody Shaw and Joe Chambers. He has also done quite a bit of wood shedding with Reginald Workman. Kenny Barron and James Spaulding had played with Tyrone before this date. They are consummate musicians and they have such compatible styles that their music just melted together.
Woody Shaw and Tyrone Washington have similar backgrounds. Both migrated at an early age from the South (Shaw is from Laurenburg, N.C. and Washington is from Blakely, Ga.) to Newark, New Jersey where there is a burgeoning colony of young jazz musicians which includes the excellent young organist, Larry Young. Tyrone says. "I don't remember very much about Georgia. My folks got away when I was very young. I spent all my school years in Newark, in the streets there" which is about the same as saying that he grew up in New York, the jazz capitol of the universe.
After graduating from high school Tyrone entered Howard University in Washington, D.C. "I had hoped I could get some kind of profession so that I wouldn't have to rely on my music for a living, at least not in the beginning. I knew I wanted to play all along, I never had any doubts about that. But I had already been around musicians long enough to know how many of them had to take day gigs to eat. and so I figured that it had to work outside of my art, I might as well do something that would pay. I had to get into myself. So I left Howard University and came home."
Tyrone is very concerned about this duality in the professional life of black musicians. He sees a desperate need on the part of musicians to organize so they they can have more control over their situation, He is tired of scale and below gigs in the treacherous nightclub world. He recently attended a meeting of concerned musicians which was called to deal with the possibilities of organization; but that meeting, after a promising start, degenerated into a contest of personalities. "But it was a beginning", said Tyrone. "I feel that we'll get it together pretty soon."
Like many of today's musicians, (men like the late John Coltrane, Sun Ra and Larry Young) Tyrone Washington is deeply involved in philosophy and mysticism as the titles of these tunes suggest. He puts a message in ail his work and invariably that message is one that would improve the state of being of the inhabitants of this planet it only they would listen.
For instance. the title tune, Natural Essence, is described by Tyrone as "a cry for man to return to himself. Man has lost himself in technological and materialistic creation, whose vibrations are all negative. We can offer music as a now currency in a sense, and it man can dig that, then he ought be able to save himself from suicidal mass destruction." It is an interesting composition which builds in unison on Kenny Barron's sensitive chords until Tyrone's voice cuts from the crowd screaming. There are strong solos by Woody Shaw and Kenny Barron, whose comping is sensitively correct throughout this record.
Yearning for Love checks out the basic motivation behind man's interaction with his brother and finds love lacking. "I try in my solo to call upon the creator to bring more love to the planet, to create more love between man and his brother." You can believe hat in Washington's solo which is powerful and vibrant even at this slow tempo. Washington's able to display a marvelous range of ideas within the changes of this beautiful tune. Woody Shaw's and Kenny Barron's choruses are pointed and exact in their brevity. Positive Path tells that men that the only morality in life is that it is his mission to live a positive life, to follow a positive path. The Creator will reward the positive life with fullness. It's a hard driving tune that Tyrone has written here, and a good place to check out his steady rolling rhythm section. Reggie Workman is a solid flowing foundation eight beat soul; Kenny Barron prods subtly on piano: and drummer Joe Chambers displays that rare gift of his for driving hard without intruding.
This is perhaps the most "jamming" tune on the record, with wide open solo space for everybody. Washington is again impressive, his notes clear and distinct and coming at you in waves. Woody Shaw shows off his clear bell and strong articulate tip: if you don't know Shaw's work. he will probably remind you of Freddie Hubbard, which is ok with Woody. who claims Hubbard as one of his teachers. This is also a show case for the mercurial James Spaulding, possibly the swingingest, most energetic young alto player around. Blue Note has had Spaulding on display several times before. principally in the two volume "Night of the Cookers" with Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan.
Soul Dance visualises "a creative black dance, but a folk-dance too." It has an almost latin beat and there is space provided tor strong solos by all the horns.
Ethos is a bossa nova, but not a bossa nova like you've heard before. it is a beautiful tune with James Spaulding's flute displayed to good advantage.
Song of Peace calls for "universal peace, not only between nations and between men; but also internal peace within each man." It is a tour de force for the leader, and if you want to see where Tyrone Washington's at, try this one on tor size. It opens with a few unaccompanied bars by Washington, and moves on out in a free form display of tenor saxophone virtuosity. Tyrone asked me to let the music speak tor itself as much as possible in these notes, and this piece will tell you ail about itself, if you'll let it.
—A.B. SPELLMAN
KENNY BARRON performs by courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by FORLENZA VENOSA ASSOCIATES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER
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