Bobby Hutcherson Dialogue CD

This is part of Blue Note Records "Rudy Van Gelder Editions" series.

Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson was among the most successful and appealing of the 1960s musicians who merged post-bop aesthetics with the experiments of free jazz. His 1965 album DIALOGUE is one of his best--melodic, adventurous, rigorously musical, and ever-searching. Hutcherson pushes the jazz envelope here while maintaining allegiance to structure and form. The insistent, Latin-tinged opener, "Catta," is a case in point, a bold exploration set to percolating rhythms and a memorable theme. Some of the best players of the era--including trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Sam Rivers, and pianist Andrew Hill--help make this classic even classier.

Coming fresh on the heels of his groundbreaking work with Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson's debut album is a masterpiece of "new thing" avant-garde jazz, not really free but way beyond standard hard bop. Dialogue boasts an all-star lineup of hot young post-boppers -- trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, woodwind player Sam Rivers, pianist Andrew Hill, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Joe Chambers -- and a set of imaginative compositions by either Hill or Chambers that frequently pushes the ensemble into uncharted territory. The result is an album bursting at the seams with ideas that still sound remarkably fresh, not to mention a strong sense of collectivity. Hutcherson has so many fine players on hand that the focus is naturally on group interaction rather than any particular soloist(s), setting up nice contrasts like the fiery sax work of Rivers versus the cooler tones of Hutcherson and Hill. Hill's pieces stand tradition on its head, twisting recognizable foundations like the blues ("Ghetto Lights"), Latin jazz ("Catta"), and marching bands ("Les Noirs Marchant," which sounds like a parade of mutant soldiers) into cerebral, angular shapes. Chambers, meanwhile, contributes the most loosely structured pieces in his delicate, softly mysterious ballad "Idle While" and the nearly free group conversations of the ten-minute title track, where Hutcherson also plays the more African-sounding marimba. What's impressive is how focused Hutcherson keeps the group through those widely varied sounds -- no one is shortchanged, yet the solos are tight, with no wasted space or spotlight-hogging. Dialogue remains Hutcherson's most adventurous, "outside" album and, while there are more extensive showcases for his playing, this high-caliber session stands as arguably his greatest musical achievement. ~ Steve Huey

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 3, 1965. Includes liner notes by A.B. Spellman and Bob Blumenthal.

Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.

Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (04/03/1965).

Personnel includes: Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone, marimba); Sam Rivers (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Andrew Hill (piano); Richard Davis (bass); Joe Chambers (drums).

Producer: Alfred Lion.