Kuhn/Lafaro 1960 Review

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Kuhn/Lafaro 1960 ReviewFOUR and a Half ENJOYABLE STARS. This 1960 CD finds amazing pianist Steve Kuhn with future band-mate drummer Pete La Roca (Sims); and with the exciting addition of the legendary star-crossed bassist Scott LaFaro, this jazz trio CD becomes even more intriguing. The performances are very good and still fresh, but unfortunately this pricey Japanese CD (which I immediately ordered, no questions asked!) is rather short: containing only 5 performances, one of which is an alternate take, and coming in just under 30 total minutes. Four to five extended songs in the year 1960 would perfectly fit on a two-sided 33 1/3 phonograph record, hence the targeted shortness. Even so, many jazz fans will not be able to resist these historical performances since there is so very little recorded LaFaro available: 7 months after this recording at the age of 25, Lafaro, already one of the jazz world's greatest bassists would die in a car crash early in the morning returning to NYC. And some Lafaro discographies are just plain wrong in some cases.
The three 'Pieces De Resistance' begin with "Little Old Lady", probably Kuhn's first recording of what became a dependable staple in his repertoire and it is wonderful. Love the great "Weather Outside is Frightful" quote from "Let It Snow". In November in NYC, it probably was snowing. LaFaro does some stout 'walking' and conjures up a thoughtful, technical solo, as La Roca's cymbals sparkle. "Bohemia After Dark", at a breakneck 4/4, sizzles in this trio format with Kuhn giving bursts of a future style that would astound the jazz world on a recording called "Three Waves". LaFaro's bass 'sings' as La Roca pushes hard. Magical Kuhn quote: "Where somebody waits for me" from "Bye Bye Blackbird". "What's New" is a fabulous treatment of this stupendous jazz ballad, with Kuhn, one of jazz' premier balladeers, playing an unknown verse first. La Roca is great on brushes and sticks, with La Faro showing great empathy and technique. And there are those magical Kuhn tone clusters and triads that elevate any song to another level. This is one of Kuhn's best ballad performances ever and it came very early, career-wise.
Of the two performances of "So What", one is less burnished than the other. Those performances are what will interest most jazz fans of all the songs herein, although the first three songs are clearly superior, to my ears. Hearing Kuhn and LaFaro doing the Miles Davis classic, which is so associated with Bill Evans whom LaFaro had already joined in 1959, is too much to resist. But "So What" #1 is a more experimental warm-up performance. Even so, it is a very good performance, and it's clear they wanted to stay away from a MIles Davis "Kind of Blue" vibe, except for the Paul Chambers bass tag line. Love the "Surrey With The Fringe On Top" quote from Kuhn which evokes Miles/Jamal anyway. On "So What" #2, Kuhn turns up the afterburner on his piano and gets off some great lines, as does LaFaro, while La Roca's conversational solo is very restrained and effective. Clearly, we needed a third longer 'take' to solidify the ideas that had begun to flow through the group. But alas, not to be; be happy with what we got! Given the same circumstances of seeing that this short CD is available, I would buy it again at the same high price, as will many curious jazz fans with enough money. Steve Kuhn is one of my all-time favorites and his heroic performances should never be missed. LaFaro was an awesome musician. La Roca, who dropped out of music to practice law, returned to play some more in the 70's and is still active. Very good, but short performances. Very good sound and balance, but the recording level is low, so turn up the volume! Four and a Half Enjoyable Stars!!
(Notes:
*When this recording was made, LaFaro was already with Bill Evans forming one of jazz' great trios but still recording with others, like Kuhn, Getz, Ornette Coleman, and Victor Feldman. Decades later, Lafaro's shocking death continues to reverberate through the jazz world. Kuhn would become John Coltrane's first quartet pianist for a while, until McCoy Tyner arrived. He is in the midst of an amazing fifty year trio/solo piano career that has ramped up even more with the CD "Promises Kept". Pete La Roca (Sims) would become a Blue Note Records studio musician/leader on some great recordings ("Night of the Cookers", "Basra", et al). Then Kuhn, La Roca, and uber-bassist Steve Swallow would form a truly memorable trio producing the incredible, not-to-be-missed "Three Waves" (with Kuhn as leader), the ultra-romantic and ultra-modern "Sing Me Softly Of the Blues" (with flugelhornist Art Farmer as leader), and the fabulous "Basra" (with La Roca as leader and Joe Henderson on Tenor sax).
* the CD cover has a great, mysterious architectural photograph of the interior Guggenheim museum in New York City.)Kuhn/Lafaro 1960 Overview

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