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GARY BARTZ NTU TROOP
I've Known Rivers & Other Bodies (Prestige)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
The Montreux Jazz Festival has been the venue for many legendary performances over the years, and luckily almost all of them have been recorded, then discussed year after year, debated and compared, remastered, remixed and sometimes even immortalized in literature. This 1973 performance by Gary Bartz Ntu Troop is one I'd never heard a peep about. Not one mention. Is it possible that this engrossing, superbly performed concert is considered to be just another day at Montreux?! If so, pack my bags and book my flight. I don't want to miss a single show from now on. Sure, I'm 30 years late for this one, but...
My point is where's the chatter? Bartz, a veteran of the Miles Davis Group, had exciting chops and an imaginative sense of arrangement. The drum and bass team of Howard King and Stafford James conspired to herd the music between jazz, rock and funk, and it was the backbone they created that made everything work. King, in particular, could rock with the conviction of Ginger Baker, as he did on the majority of "Don't Fight The Feeling," keep a steady beat that had a little hot sauce on it, take a short and muscular solo, and come out of it in an effortlessly subtle jazz mode. All this maturity in his playing and he was 17 years old at the time.
The challenge laid down by King and Stafford was met by Pianist Hubert Eaves, whose performance that July 7th evening was at least fine and at best spectacular, his best coming when the music moved to the avant-garde and he was free to fill the gaps with beautiful chords and textures on acoustic piano. Bartz, as mentioned before, did not lack chops or imagination, and his playing on these 11 songs. He stopped from time to time to talk to the audience, and on occasion even sang. Not the best singer on the planet by any stretch, this may be why the concert isn't on the list of legendary performances. There are a few lapses in the chemistry, such as a two minute stretch during Bartz's solo on the title track when the rest of the band just seemed to be disconnected, and that, too, could have something to do with it. To quote Pat Paulsen, "Picky, picky, picky." I've Known Rivers documents a fine concert at Montreux that deserves your attention.
© 2003 - DJ Johnson