The opening tune, “Victory,” is a dirge-like, majestic tune
that includes an optimistic, (dare I say) victorious tinge and features a slow,
insistent bass line from Gregg August.
Allen plays an elegant solo, showing off a full and big sound that still
has a lot of warmth. Allen’s big sound
is one that I associate with metal mouthpieces, and I was struck by how he
managed to get such a warm sound from a metal mouthpiece. Well, I then saw (see discussion of the
“Victory” movie below), to my surprise, that Allen plays a hard rubber
mouthpiece. So now the question is, how does
he get such a big sound from a hard rubber mouthpiece. In any case, Allen’s sound on the tenor is
one to be envied.
“The Pilot’s Compass” begins with a Rudy Royston drum solo. Then there is just the suggestion of a melody,
mid-tempo, and then Allen double-times it in his solo. Allen as improviser comes off like a subdued
Sonny Rollins. His solo here is very
solid. Royston plays very busily (in a
good way) behind Allen, making it almost like a duet between the two. “The Thirsty Ear” is a free-form duet between
Allen and Royston, with Allen sounding Coltrane-ish. This tune has even less of a melody than
“Pilot’s Compass.” By comparison, “Sura
Hinda” has a full-blown and assertive melody, eventually sounding like a
Coltrane-ish tune, a sort of “Lonnie’s Lament” with hints of Miles Davis’s
“Nardis.” This cut has no improvised solos. “The Learned Tongue” has free-form
improvising from all three musicians, and that’s it. Throughout the recording, the trio’s playing
is very fluid, and it’s often difficult to clearly identify if someone is
soloing or accompanying or filling in a few bars before the next solo. This adds to the organic feel of the
recording.
On “Philippe Petit,” Allen plays a slow, stately theme, with
August playing arco and Royston again dancing percussive rings around
them. (Petit is, of course, the
tight-rope walker who walked between the World Trade Center towers in
1974. And “Victory” has some images of a
tight-rope walker on its cover, though I don’t know the significance of
tightrope walking for Allen. Is it
because the tight-rope walker’s success is the ultimate symbol of victory? Don’t know.)
“Motif” is an energetic duet between Allen and Royston. Then an up-tempo melody is played with August
joining in, then it’s over. “Fatima” is
also up-tempo and includes more straightahead soloing from Allen. Then August plays what can be identified as a
definite solo, and a good one, with a more subdued Royston accompanying
him. “Mr. Steepy” is also up-tempo; Allen plays a good solo here,
then Royston takes over, accompanied by August’s walking bass. Allen soon returns to close the tune.
“Stairway to the Stars” is a standard that the trio gives a
straight, though fine, reading, without any improvised solos. “The Hungry Eye” (what is it with the focus
on sensory organs?) has August soloing with very fancy finger work while accompanied
by Royston. Finally, “Recapitulation
(The Pilot’s Compass)” alternates between mid- and up-tempo sections, with
Allen and August trading brief solos.
It must be said that one notable feature of “Victory” is
that it’s…short. It’s around only 35
minutes long. (Heck I was complaining
about the brevity of David Binney’s “Barefooted Town,” which is 55 minutes
long—whopping by comparison with “Victory.”)
Nevertheless, it is very good, and, as good as it is, its brevity
doesn’t work against it. For one thing,
there’s a very organic and seamless quality to “Victory,” like it’s a suite
rather than a disconnected group of tunes.
(Maybe it should have been called “the Victory Suite.”) Secondly, the length of “Victory” seems to
suit Allen’s style; his playing is pretty subdued, and he doesn’t waste
notes.
Allen made a couple of interesting comments about the
brevity of “Victory” in a brief movie about this recording. He says (I may be
paraphrasing a bit), “This recording is not song to song but one piece. A collection of pieces to make one
sound. Not a samba here or a ballad
there….I don’t like things being too long. I get the sense that you’re just babbling.” If you want to check out the movie, here it
is. (Credit where credit is due: I
learned of this movie from glancing at a review of “Victory” on the All About Jazz
site)
“Victory” is a great exercise in restraint, elegance, and
subtlety. The members of the trio are so
attuned to each other and their project that they seem to be playing only for
themselves (which can be a very fruitful approach in jazz). For saxophone players who think you have to
play lots of notes and scream in the high register to be good, Allen’s playing
on this recording is a good antidote.
“Victory” is somewhat adventurous given its low-key nature and
commitment to terseness, but it’s hard to consider it adventurous since it goes
down so easy.
Whew, unlike “Victory,” this review wasn’t very brief. I’ll try to learn from J.D. Allen and keep
things shorter next time.
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