Music Monday: Campbell, Iyer, and Land

I spent a good bit of time this weekend entering corrected page proofs for a book project that should appear later this year (God willing and the Greeks don’t rise). While proof correcting is never my favorite way to spend a day, it did give me time to fire up my office stereo and enjoy a few hours of uninterrupted listening.

There were three albums in rotation this weekend:

First, I can’t get enough of the recently re-released Pyramid Trio’s life album, Visitation of Spirits.  Roy Campbell on trumpet (and flugelhorn), William Parker on bass, and Zen Matsuura on drums. The album is a live date at Brandeis recorded in 1985. The recording quality is not great, but the music is amazing. “Imhotep” alone is worth price of the album. Parker and Matsuura lay down a deep grove and Roy Campbell does his thing.

I’ve also been enjoying the recent Vijay Iyer with May Han Oh and Tayshawn Sorey release on ECM: Compassion. Like so many ECM (and Iyer) releases, this is not an album for casual listening. There’s a lot going on both around and in support of Iyer’s characteristic piano. The album is alternately pensive and invigorating with just a bit of the polished ECM glamor thrown in to remind you that this was not an accident. 

Finally, I’ve been enjoying some Harold Land lately. In particular his A New Shade of Blue (1971) with Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Bill Henderson on keyboards and piano, and Buster Williams on bass. It’s classy post-bop modal music with Hutcherson’s vibes elevating Land’s distinctive sound. Critics don’t always appreciate Land’s albums, especially those from the 1970s, but this one is a worthy addition to the pantheon of late-1960s and early-1970s jazz. There’s something about music from this period.