RAY DRUMMOND - Bass
ALVIN QUEEN - Drums
HAROLD MABERN - Piano
JOHN GOLDEN - Engineer
JERRY GORDON - Art Direction
MARK NEEDHAM - Assistant Producer
ALLEN PITTMAN - Assistant Producer
DAVE SHIRK - Pre-Mastering Engineer
LARRY KELP - Liner Notes
THOMAS VILOT - Art Direction
A CD reissue of a George Coleman Theresa LP, this set features the
great tenor in prime form heading a quartet also including pianist
Harold Mabern, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Alvin Queen. The seven
selections (two added for the CD) give Coleman an opportunity to
stretch out, and he really digs into such tunes as "They Say It's
Wonderful," "Good Morning Heartache," and a 14½-minute version
of "Up Jumped Spring." A definitive release from a major tenor
saxophonist.
Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide
Tenorsaxophonist George Coleman schließlich war im August 1987
mit Harold Mabern, Piano, Ray Drummond, Baß, und Drummer Alvin
Queen zu Gast in Oakland. "At Yoshi's", kraftvoll und mit Soli von
brennender Intensität, ist seine überzeugendste Produktion
seit langem.
Tenor saxophonist George Coleman is best known for his mid-1960s stint
in Miles Davis's quintet, playing with the trumpet legend between the
departure of John Coltrane and the arrival of Wayne Shorter, most
notably on a string of '64 live dates. Although Coleman kept a fairly
low profile in the following decades, he did record sporadically as a
bandleader, and AT YOSHI'S stands as one of the finest outings under
his own name. On this seven-song set, Coleman is backed by a proficient
ensemble that includes pianist Harold Mabern, a longtime associate who
works intuitively off of the saxophonist's deep, full-bodied horn
lines. "Good Morning Heartache" features gentle work by Coleman, with
Mabern chiming in seemingly far in the background, while "Laig Gobblin'
Blues" and "Father" present both musicians cruising along at a
comfortable clip with tight rhythmic support. For fans of both Coleman
and Mabern, AT YOSHI'S is highly recommended listening.
CDUniverse.com
Though you wouldn't know it from the infrequency of his recordings,
George Coleman is the most magisterial tenorman extant. At long last,
Theresa has issued At Yoshi's, an August 1987 live performance from
Oakland with pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer
Alvin Queen (Carl Allen has since taken over behind the kit). Without
question, Coleman is at his best before a live audience, from whom he
draws his energy, and the tenorman blows with abandon here, turning his
horn into less an added appendage than an extended esophagus. Far
superior to his 1985 Theresa outing Manhattan Panorama, recorded in
parts at New York's Village Vanguard, At Yoshi's displays the muscular,
barrel-chested Coleman as a tenorist almost beyond emulation, a
strongman who has been pumping blue iron since he joined B.B. King's
blues band at the tender age of 17. Much ado is made about Coleman's
"circular breathing"-a simultaneous inhaling and exhaling through his
horn-and one hears it in spots here. But Coleman dismisses this
technique as a mere circus trick. The tenorman's greatness, though,
lies more in his rich and robust tone, his total recall of the
modern-jazz vocabulary and, most important, his unflagging energy. Like
his forerunners on the saxophone Hawkins Hodges Young Coltrane
Rollins-Coleman gains in strength and vision as the night progresses.
Of course Coleman s stamina benefits from indeed is shared by, pianist
Mabern, a fellow blue-blooded Memphisite who is to Coleman's quartet
what McCoy Tyner was to Coltrane's foursome in the mid-'60s. A riveting
collection of ballads and hard-driving blues, At Voshi's is a 67-minute
performance (the CD-only bonus track, the Coleman original "Father," is
dedicated to pianist Tommy Flanagan) recorded direct to two-track
digital. Among the highlights are the tender-yet-firm ballad "They Say
It's Wonderful," Freddie Hubbard's "Up Jumped Spring" and Mal Waldron's
"Soul Eyes," a 14-minute feature for Mabern's whirlwind pianistry. At
Voshi's, thankfully, was worth the wait. A tune or two from this CD
will fit nicely into a Coleman set featuring music from his earlier
recording for Timeless, Amsterdam After Dark, as well as the tenorman's
work on Herbie Hancock's impressionistic Maiden Voyage for Blue Note,
and Miles Davis' two important mid-'60s live recordings for Columbia,
Four And More and My Funny Valentine.
