GENE AMMONS & JAMES MOODY
Chicago Concert (Original Jazz Classics)
Reviewed by Ron Saranich

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Recordings such as Chicago Concert are the hardest to review. The musicians involved are of the absolute highest quality, yet for some reason the achievement is either lackluster or something simply doesn't click, resulting in an average performance. Gene Ammons was an outstanding tenor saxophonist. So was James Moody. Their rhythm section of Jodie Christian on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums were more than adequate. Yet there were no fireworks that day, no sense of urgency to communicate musical ideas, and nothing to make the listener sit up in their chair and shout for joy. This must be a musical pairing specifically formed for a weekend jazz concert in Chicago back in 1971. Sometimes these pairings work, sometimes they don't. To listen to one that burns with intensity and passion, listen to Ammons' work with Sunny Stitt titled Boss Tenors - Straight Ahead From Chicago 1961.

Ammons was in prison a second time for drug reasons from 1962 to 1969. That period of inactivity had to have an effect on his music. For whatever reason, Chicago Concert is average. For some of us, that is more than enough. For others, especially those watching their scarce dollars, I would recommend looking elsewhere for your Gene Ammons fix. Try "All Star Sessions" on Original Jazz Classics, or "The Happy Blues" and "Boss Tenor - both on Prestige. Now those are essential recordings.

© 2003 - Ron Saranich