REVELATION 19 STEREOPHONIC
GARY FOSTER / GRAND CRU CLASSE
Personnel: Foster, alto saxophone; Dave Koonse, guitar; Alf Klausen, bass; John Tirabasso, drums
Side 1
TUNE FOR A LYRIC (Show-Type Tune), by Bill Evans. Time: 7:03
MORNINGSTAR, by Jimmie Rowles. Time: 3:00
YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM, by Brown and Kahn. Time: 8:30
Side 2
THE DUKE, by Clare Fischer. Time: 6:00
SAMBA DE ELENCIA by Alf Klausen. Time: 4:20 (Karleigh Music Publ. Co.)
EVERYTHING I LOVE by Cole Porter. Time: 7:00
All compositions are copyrighted, of course
TECHNICAL DATA
Recorded 12 January 1969 at Berry & Grassmueck Music Store, Alhambra, Calif. and 9 March 1969 in Thorne Hall Auditorium, Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif. (The Duke & You Stepped Out Of A Dream). Both sessions were done on the 4-track Scully Tape Recorder. The cover photo of Gary was taken by Lewis Sanborn. Speaking of wine, Gary has a palate second only to his ear and heart and when you see Grand Cru Classe on a label as on this cover, think of it as a sign of something nice about to happen to you. Album and cover designed by Hardy, who also engineered the sound. Mastering by Artisan Sound.
Much can be learned of a player's aspirations, of his aims and even his musical philosophy, by studying the material which he takes as the springboard for his improvisations. Gary Foster's earlier release on this label, which was entitled Subconsciously and issued as Revelation-5, provided firm evidence of his involvement in a technically sophisticated yet warmly emotional style of expression that can claim as its foremost standard-bearers such brilliant exponents of the jazz art as Clare Fischer, Bill Evans and Lennie Tristano. Five of Fischer's compositions were interpreted by him in different settings in that album, while Evans was represented by his attractive Peri's scope. The Tristano influence, though less explicitly acknowledged, made itself felt through the inclusion of two standards associated with that school, All of me and What is this thing called love, the link being reinforced by Foster's introducing in one of his two versions of the latter tune Lee Konitz's Subconscious-Lee, an intricate line based on the chords of the Cole Porter evergreen. Now, in this set of recordings, we find Foster exploring material of a similar kind. Bill Evans's Tune for a lyric, also known as Show-type tune, receives extended treatment, and in the inclusion of Everything I love, another Porter song, may be seen further testimony to Foster's enthusiasm for Evans's work, since he was directed to it by hearing the pianist's recording. "I frequently like to play it. I've taught it to several people, but find it is generally not known", he remarks. Clare Fischer, on this occasion, contributed only one composition to the album, The Duke. Two shorter pieces, which feature Foster on flute, came from the pens of pianist Jimmy Rowles and Alf Klausen, the bassist at this date, while in You stepped out of a dream we renew acquaintance with a standard that has drawn fine solos from many master improvisers over the years — one thinks inevitably of Stan Getz's 1950 version — and was included in Ne plus ultra, a Warne Marsh collection done in 1969 and issued as Revelation-12. Foster played a notable part in that set, which was certainly one of the most mature initiatives of the decade, and it is interesting to compare his solo here with his contribution to the version of the tune contained in Marsh's album.
Even this brief survey of the material used by Foster, both in this collection and the one which preceded it, indicates certain cardinal features of his approach. It is no coincidence, for example, that so many of the composers mentioned are pianists, for Foster has evinced a strong commitment to orthodox if complex chordal structures, and, as J.W. Hardy notes, thinks chordally better than most wind instrumentalists. Another important feature which these compositions share and which finds an echo in Foster's own methods of expression is a type of melodic density that sets them in a class apart from hackneyed blues riffs or ostensible originals hastily thrown together just for economic convenience. As an illustration of this quality one can do no better than cite Foster's own comments on Bill Evans's Tune for a lyric. "Melodically and harmonically it appeals to me", he says, “in the way it seems to evolve in a 'through' composed manner. The repeat scheme is not so purely geometric as it is in many jazz tunes and the end of the song keeps delaying its inevitability in a way I really find enticing."
Foster, then, in his continuing affiliation to established methods of extemporization and in his enthusiasm for melodically intricate lines braced by harmonic structures of considerable substance, may be viewed as something of a musical conservative in an era which has seen numerous players discarding, sometimes, one feels, in too doctrinaire a manner, conventions that had governed jazz improvising, until 1960 or thereabouts, for upwards of three decades. Yet in so far as that description evokes a hidebound, unadventurous spirit rather than an artist who seeks to retain and build upon the distilled wisdom of earlier generations,- it is hopelessly inaccurate in Foster's case. Not only has this been made plain by his occasional involvement in group improvisations not guided by the usual harmonic precepts, such as Freeways in Clare Fischer's One to get ready: Four. . . to - Go!, released as Revelation-6, or Touch and go, which was included in the Warne Marsh album previously referred to, but, more to the point, it becomes transparently clear as soon as he embarks upon his first solo chorus in the opening item of the present set. His improvisation flows naturally out of the song, developing impetus as it progresses, and building, without false artifice or even any marked increase in tonal emphasis, towards its logical conclusion. In fact the solo's communicative power derives mainly from the controlled accumulation of melodic interest within a predetermined rhythmic and harmonic continuum, rather than from any sudden shifts in phrase patterns or tonal coloring. Such an amalgam of gracefulness and steadily gathering music intensity proclaims Foster's allegiance to what might loosely be termed the Lester Young aesthetic, a school of thought which embraces such diverse stylists as Zoot Sims and Lee Konitz, placing as it does greater emphasis on melodic resourcefulness and continuity of line than upon the more visceral stratagems of abrupt changes in volume or tone. Foster, I believe, owes something to all three of these players, but his work nevertheless possesses a truly personal flavor, transmitting a sunlit lyricism which, whatever their other qualities, is not an attribute one would readily associate with any of the other musicians named. In drawing this distinction one is reminded of the very individual use which, in a rather different area, the pianist Barry Harris has made of Bud Powell's vocabulary.
The unforced emotional warmth which pervades Foster's version of Tune for a lyric also makes itself felt when he switches from alto saxophone to flute to interpret Morning star and Samba de Elencia. He gets an attractive vibrato but wisely attempts none of the distortions other jazz musicians have essayed in order to bring vocalized effects within the flautist's ambit. Of the former and its writer he notes: "Morning star by Jimmy Rowles is just a straight ahead two chorus reading here. . . Jimmy is so musical and timeless in the sense that whatever he does seems to have lasting qualities. Nothing very jazzy happens here, we just enjoyed playing the tune.” Of Alf Klausen's composition he remarks: "This number evolved from a desire to include a completely original piece. Alf gave me this on a dance job we had played together shortly before this date and we liked it and included it." There is more improvising by Foster in this item, and though the instrument's nature precludes the powerful clarity he commands on alto saxophone, he manoeuvres deftly over a backdrop in which Klausen's imaginative playing is outstanding, establishing a now spry, now wistful atmosphere which contrasts effectively with the joyous lyricism of the other items.
Although the part played by Foster's three colleagues is evident enough in these two flute renditions, poised as they are over a floating Latin beat, the full measure of the contribution they make becomes clear only when he reverts to the alto. Klausen, who has taught at the Berkeley School in Boston and currently leads, together with Roger Neumann, one of the best rehearsal bands in Los Angeles, provides the very type of that immaculately timed yet resilient and driving ground beat which Foster's approach demands. John Tirabasso, as Foster points out, "tries to play every sound on his drums. Not content just to keep time he always strives to comment creatively on what's going on around him." The combination of these two men, enhanced by Dave Koonse's delicate yet strategically placed chording, represents a constant source of interest throughout the album and the discreet tensions they set up and resolve together must have proved infinitely stimulating. As an illustration of this, the reader is urged to listen to their work behind the opening guitar solo in Everything I Love, where the finely detailed stop/go effect they achieve runs through several permutations before finally vanishing in favor of a straight four, with Tirabasso's exciting cymbal work subtly complementing what is arguably Foster's most enthralling solo of the set. Similar devices distinguish the opening phrases of You stepped out of a dream, whilst The Duke, by contrast, finds both alto solos underpinned by a consistent level of rhythmic momentum throughout.
Besides their work in the section, Klausen and Koonse contribute several fine solos. The bassist's are marked by clarity of conception backed by strong execution; such, in fact, is his technical skill that one should take care not to allow the ease with which he transmits his ideas into sound to mask their inherent imaginativeness. Koonse too is a player whom it is all too easy to take for granted, since his playing as undemonstrative as it is fluent, calls for constant attention on the listener's part if its melodic content is to be appreciated to the full. The potential rewards, however, are rich ones, and there can be no doubt that in assembling his group for this session Foster hit on those men best able to complement his own stylistic methods. This album not only represents a most welcome progress report on the development of this highly gifted musician, but will, I believe, like the best wines, prove to possess a staying power unmatched by many a coarser vintage.
Michael James
March 1973
(Mr. James is the distinguished British Jazz Critic and frequent contributor to The Jazz Monthly.)
REVELATION RECORDS ARE PRODUCED BY JOHN WILLIAM HARDY AND JON HORWICH
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