Roy Brooks

A local hero in Detroit and known internationally for his stints with Horace Silver and Max Roach, Roy Brooks (1938-2005) was an accomplished drummer and musical saw (!) player, whose move back to his hometown in the late 1960s and subsequent mental problems prevented him from becoming famous. Yet the six extended tunes performed by a top-notch Hard Bop quintet in 1970 confirm both his talents and the strength of his music. In top form are other now-deceased more celebrated players in the same style: trumpeter Woody Shaw (1944-1989) playing with crackling intensity and pianist Harold Mabern (1936-2019), who provides the all-important two-handed accompaniment. The band is completed by tenor saxophonist Carlos Garnett (b. 1938 ) who worked in McCoy Tyner’s bands and bassist Cecil McBee (b. 1935), who has played in almost every Jazz situation.

Interpreters not innovators, by this time the five had polished the stylistic sheen to its brightest reflection and were able to develop a piece in the 20 to 30 minute range without letting up for a moment and investing note, tone and timbre with intense excitement. The songs were standardized into head, solos, recap theme and finale. But like every participant in any classical form, perception results from skillful amplification of existing elements. Tracks include two Brooks’ compositions, one each by Shaw and Garnett plus a Charlie Parker line and a brief encore of Miles Davis’ “The Theme”. Honestly keeping within defined strictures the five create foot tappers and finer snappers that stack up favorably besides any Jazz Messengers set. Individuality is assayed when Brooks introduces a couple of tune with eerie musical saw vibrations. As notable is his solo at the end of Garnett’s “Taurus Woman”. After accompanying with cowbell whumps the slightly Latin theme alongside Mabern’s assured comping, Brooks intensifies the sequence by alternating between bell and full kit dynamics becoming an Afro-Cuban rhythm section by on his own. Elsewhere his crunches and rat-tat-tas enliven other expositions as they push them forward.

Constantly accenting and shading his playing throughout Mabern’s mix of modal basis and Memphis blues means that no matter how many split tone smears the saxophonist outputs or how often the trumpeter squeaks heraldic high notes, the pianist’s subtle chord layering mixed keeps the narratives fluid and horizontal. McBee’s ambulatory logic is similarly understated, but as on “Understanding” he slips up and down the scale with ease without negating woody pumping. Only using squeals and honks to double time along with the frequent percussion explosions, Garnett’s work is straight-ahead and shaded, but allowed to investigate every atom of every texture as he plays. Hints of sound exploration are limited to his own tune where multiphonics, doits and flattement are briefly emphasized.

Usually though the saxophonist sounds low-pitched commentary on the trumpeter’s high pitched and steadily accelerating brassy bites. At the top of his form, Shaw’s fortissimo pitches are best used on his own “Zoltan”. Backed by cymbal crashes and keyboard variations, he attains Dizzy Gillespie-style capillary heights, but stays moderato and grounded during theme elaboration. His strategy is confirmed by Mabern’s muscular response, which recaps the head in a quiet manner after Shaw’s Gabriel emulations. However the trumpeter’s intensity is still concentrated enough to throw in a quote from “Farmer’s Market” in the midst of surging increases in timbres and pitch during a galloping group exploration of “Billie’s Bounce”.

Jazz was in a supposed downturn in 1970 with many declaring that real excitement and innovation was in the steadily burgeoning Rock music industry. This CD shows they were looking and listening in the wrong places. This 51-year-old album and more recent history confirm how wrong they were.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Disc 1: 1. Introduction 2. Prelude to Understanding 3. Understanding 4. Billie’s Bounce Disc 2: 1. Zoltan 2. Taurus Woman 3. The Theme

Personnel: Woody Shaw (trumpet); Carlos Garnett (tenor saxophone); Harold Mabern (piano); Cecil McBee (bass) and Roy Brooks (drums)