Common Practice

My experience with this CD might not be typical, but on the first listen I did not think it was brilliant. I was actually somewhat underwhelmed and disoriented. The live performance documented here is unpretentious and things often don't go like a seasoned jazz listener would expect. On some tracks, Tom Harrell plays on the head and might also solo and then is not heard from again. On several tracks, particularly the ballads, Harrell seems to combine the head and his solo. Four of the first five tracks are taken at a very slow tempo. But Harrell is one of my favorite artists. I am not as familiar with Ethan Iverson but I have two CDs he recorded about 15 years ago with saxophonist Chris Cheek which, like this recording, consisted mostly of standards and I like them very much. So I continued listening to this CD, convinced I was missing something, and about the fourth listen it clicked.I think two things caused my initial difficulties with this music. First, this is not the typical repertoire of either artist. Harrell, particularly, sounds different on this kind of material than he does on his usual recordings, which consist entirely of his own compositions. I knew this much since I had the good fortune to see Harrell and pianist Mulgrew Miller, performing as a duo, in a recital hall of a nearby university about 10 years ago. That performance, which was also primarily standards,, was essentially a blowing session.The Village Vanguard performances on this CD are mostly patient explorations of the tunes.Patient, but definitely not dull. Once I became attuned to what Iverson and Harrell are up to, this became one of the most fascinating and enjoyable recordings I have heard in a long time. Since Harrell is not into pyrotechnics and Iverson employs no bombast here, this music is all about their ideas and it is necessary to listen. Both artists almost totally dispense with the obvious in their approaches to the tunes in this set. Some of Iverson's solos are unbelievably creative, probably reaching a peak on "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." The more I listen to this CD, the more impressed I am with Iverson and the more I enjoy what he is doing here. Some of it is as original as anything I have heard in a long time.It took several listens to get past the way Harrell is presented in this set. He is given plenty of space but the way in which he appears varies somewhat from track to track. He always plays on the head but sometimes his solo is essentially integrated with the head and the rest of the track is all Iverson. Other times he plays on the head, takes a separate and distinct solo and doesn't reappear. Other tracks are conventional, in that he plays on the head, solos and appears again to conclude the track, sometimes with some additional solo space. I don't know whether Harrell's appearances were worked out in advance for each tune or whether it is all in the moment. Regardless, the variety and unpredictability of it all probably adds interest to the overall performance. Once I was able to focus on what Harrell was doing I was blown away. He somehow manages to be creative, coherent, and enjoyable at the same time. On some of the more uptempo numbers and passages in this set he is astounding.Drummer Eric McPherson and bassist Scott Colley deserve special mention for providing outstanding support for two soloists who sound like they are going wherever their imagination takes them.

A real candidate for Jazz record of the year (2019).

Sixty-plus years into the hard-bop/post-bop era of small-group acoustic jazz, musicians still have to strike a balance around questions like "how 'out' do I want to go?", "how long do I want to play?", "what material do I want to use?" and so forth. They have to come down somewhere on the spectrum between Albert Ayler and Kenny G., trying to be true to their art while functioning in the real-world jazz marketplace and making a living.By sticking to mostly standards played with a late-night vibe, and keeping the tunes' duration to about six minutes for the most part, Iverson created an album that invites in listeners who might not have the patience for what sometimes gets dismissed as "noodly jazz". (ECM label chief Manfred Eicher probably also helped shape the final tracklist of the album--he is known to favor ballads and quiet numbers when sorting through the raw tapes of live gigs like this, and to leave the fiery stuff on the cutting room floor). Harrell's glorious trumpet is obviously a main focal point, but it doesn't really hog the spotlight.The playing is sharp and distinctive, and the rhythm section stays away from "bebop autopilot"--it doesn't feel like "yet another small jazz-combo album", of which their are hundreds recorded by top-notch musicians that are admirable but not that memorable. It also doesn't feel that much like "ECM jazz", though it is more on the quiet side, and does have pristine acoustics. It's a little funkier than most of the sessions from the 1970s-1990s that made ECM's reputation.There's an excellent review of the album by Larry Blumenfeld, published in the Wall Street Journal in Sep. 2019, and I'd refer anyone curious about the session to read that review and to listen to the samples online. I think it's an album that's going to be around and played for awhile. I think it's going to satisfy lots of different types of jazz listeners. Maybe not the most dedicated fans of either Ayler or Kenny G, but probably most fans in between.

ETHAN IVERSON QUARTET WITH TOM HARRELL UNBEATABLE WITH THE JAZZ CLASSICS.Ethan Iverson's idea of doing live sessions with Tom Harrell in the Village Vanguard to retake Harrell's more be-bop side seems excellent to me. It is a pleasure to listen to both musicians again in this context. Iverson is in full maturity and Harrell, possibly at the top of his career, both as a musician and composer. For the event Iverson chose two fantastic musicians, Ben Street on bass and Eric McPherson on drums, the result could not be other than magnificent. Harrell is superb, calm and deep making each standard a magnificent and different recreation. Iverson shows that he enjoys a lot and creates really amazing structures. The program chosen cannot be better for any jazz lover. This is one of those albums that will surely listen millions of times, it is pure pleasure

Très bon jazz

Grandissimo album registrato dal vivo al mitico Villagio Vanguard di New York, co pezzi storici della canzone americana

Un très bon disque de jazz que les fans de Tom Harrell , entre autres, découvriront avec un plaisir renouvelé à chaque écoute.

Con un sonido magnífico, un disco muy variado de jazz moderno? Clásico? Jazz!!!

Although it is ECM record, but it does not sounds like ECM release, and i love it. It’s far away different from previous Ethans ECM release with Mark Turner. Here is live from Village Vanguard, pure jazz language, simply standards, Ethan’s playing is soo tasty, both as sideman to Harrel, and his solos. One of those albums, that i so like, that after listening once, i immediately start to listen it again.