mardi 2 Jan 2007, 11h07m

As the clock and calendar heralded the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, the song playing on my iTunes random jukebox was Tomorrow. I had meant to make note of it then, but the revelry here–subdued as it was–prevented me from making any mental notes on anything.

The track is from 1972's Mannekind. one of a string where Manne tried to be "with it." Fans way into the West Coast Cool Jazz sometime refer to this as Manne's "free jazz" period, but of course it is nothing of the sort. Scott Yanow (AMG) calls 69-74 Manne's "avant-gard" era. Considering what was going on in the jazz avant garde at that same time, that is a particularly galling insult both to Manne and to the avant-garde.

Instead, it was a hybrid jazz fusion date, with Mike Wofford on e-piano, and his then-current core of Gary Barone on trumpet, John Gross on Tenor and John Morrell on electric guitar.

I have no idea how it stands in the overall Manne catalog, since West Coast Cool was never one of my keen interests, but this album can take its place with any number of (big)Jazz (small)fusion dates of the era: the Dreams band that introduced the young Randy Brecker and Michael Brecker or Larry Coryell's 11th House band and is much more listenable today than Larry Young's Fuel. Certainly more adventurous than any of the Chuck Mangione/Niewood albums of the day.

The young sidemen here are challenged by Manne's impeccable stick-handling, but all rise to the prodding of the master.

This is another one of the lp's I've dug out of the crates over break and burned to digital. So nice to hear an old friend.

Happy New Year, all!