"LET'S CALL THIS ... ESTEEM"

Steve Lacy sop sax; Mal Waldron piano.

Recorded at The Playhouse, Oxford, England.16 May 1993. SLAMCD 501.

Recorded live by Tim Turan, produced by George Haslam.

TRACKS:

1 Introduction by Lol Coxhill and Let’s call this. 7m 03s
2 Monk’s dream 5 25
3 In a sentimental mood 8 18
4 Snake out 14 00
5 Blues for Aida 7 26
6 Johnny come lately 6 53
7 What it is 9 06
8 Evidence 6 56
9 Epistrophy 5 18
10 Esteem 7 50

Review of original 1993 release:

JAZZ JOURNAL This complete concert from 1993's Oxford Jazz Festival provides quality with its quantity. Lacy and Waldron have played together on and off for years. They are founder presidents of a putative Thelonious Monk Inspirational Club, and the back bone of this programme is the four Monk compositions. 'Let's Call This' is a delightful start, Lacy's solo a recomposition into a legato, mid-tempo ballad. Lacy generally avoids excesses derived from the free approach. His high notes are flute-like at the start of 'Epistrophy' and in dog-whistle-land on his own 'Esteem', but his improvisations are mainly straightforward - 'Esteem' becomes an elaborated blues. The first half of Waldron's rhythmically surging 'Snake Out', though, has the excitedly whirling soprano adopting an uglified tone. The piano changes the mood with an attractive, largely chordal improvisation, a relative of ' 'Round Midnight'. Waldron throughout is more chordal/percussive than on Songs of Love and Regret, the most recent previous record of his that I've heard, and that does lend a certain heaviness at some points. 'Sentimental' and 'Johnny' are developed powerfully, yet, like other tracks, with touches of humour. I'm less enamoured of 'What It Is', restlessly static, or of the teasing 'Epistrophy'. But 'Evidence' and 'Aida' are delights. The latter, with its modal paucity of chords, is very restful; its bars of sustained, unkeyed piano strings resonating very, very quietly to Lacy's soprano notes, like a sort of Aeolian piano (!), are charming. Incidentally, I phoned producer George Haslam for this explanation, the insert being limited to where, when and what. This must have been a cracking concert. On first hearing, its record was really exciting, though later critical listening reduced the emotional temperature to manageable levels. It ain't perfect, but it's very good. RON SALMON

Steve Lacy (1934-2004) held several distinctions in his 50-year career. He, alongsideJohn Coltrane, was responsible for the modern template of soprano saxophone playing. He was one of few musicians whose work is appreciated by both straight-ahead and avant-garde listeners. And he perhaps had albums released by more different labels than any other artist in jazz history (over 150). Concert recordings are still being issued and reissued on a swathe of imprints, keeping Lacy's remarkable music still flowing. And adding to this legacy is the young quartet Ideal Bread, laudably dedicating themselves to performing the late master's compositions.

Let's Call This...Esteemis a limited reissue of a SLAM Production: Lacy in duo with pianistMal Waldronlive from the Oxford Playhouse Jazz Festival on May 16th, 1993. This is a partnership dating back to Lacy's second session as a leader (Reflections, New Jazz 1958) and continued across continents and into some rather exploratory territory over the years until Waldron's death in 2002. That first album was an exploration of the music ofThelonious Monk, another constant facet of Lacy's career. Monk features prominently ("Let's Call This," "Monk's Dream," "Evidence," "Epistrophy") as do a couple of tunes associated withDuke Ellington("In a Sentimental Mood" and "Johnny Come Lately"). But both players also each contribute a pair of tunes (Waldron's "Snake Out" and "What It Is"; Lacy's "Blues for Aida" and "Esteem") for what is their sixth duet album together. Why Lacy and Waldron worked so well together is that both came out of a firm jazz tradition, then absorbed the innovations of free and avant-garde musics organically, never abandoning their foundations. Andrey Henkin

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