California Concert - The Hollywood Palladium

 

Fire And Rain

California Concert

Recorded At The Hollywood Palladium July 18, 1971

Ray Thompson, Engineer for Wally Heider Recordings

Re-Recording Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder

Cover Photography by Pete Turner

Liner Photography by Chuck Stewart

Album Design by Bob Ciano

CTI Records CTX-2+2 (RVG 87669)

From the inside cover: Is jazz dying? Did the trouble at Newport represent the writing on the wall?

Judging by an event that took place here the other night, the answer is a relieved and resounding negative.

Jazz history of a kind was made when a crowd as vast as it was enthusiastic jammed the Hollywood Palladium for a concert billed as "CTI Sumer Jazz."

There was a delicious irony in the selection of a location for this spectacularly successful performance. The ballroom, where jazz is very seldom heard, is owned by Lawrence Welk, whose orchestra and show performed there regularly for many years until he recently went into semi-retirement. The mere possibility that the ballroom would be inundated by a swarm of jazz fans allegedly caused delays in the granting of a license. Possibly in the ballroom management was under the impression that what took place outside the Newport festival field was typical. Actually, of course, it was a disastrous exception that proves the rule, namely that jazz audiences in general, though boisterously receptive, are consisted orderly and are willing to pay good money to see their idols in person.

For CTI's Summer Jazz, they paid $5 for tickets bought in advance, or $6 for those purchased at the door. Despite this fairly high tariff, more than 4,000 patrons had passed through the entrance by the time the concert got underway at 8:30 or so the crowd had swelled to an estimated 5,000.

The show was unusual in several respects. It was neither a permanently organized band nor a slapdash jam session. Everybody used the same all star rhythm section. Moreover, for the most part the performance comprised new versions of tunes whose record sales assured them instant recognition.

In the line-up were Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Hank Crasford, alto sax; Hubert Laws, flute; Johnny Hammon, electric piano and organ; George Benson, guitar; Airto Moreira, percussion; Billy Cobham, drums and Ron Carter, bass.

Freddie Hubbard started it off with "Red Clay," and saved "Straight Life" for the evening's finale. George Benson showed tremendous power in "So What," Hank Crawford was at his most soulful in "Never Can Say Goodbye."

Johnny Hammond Smith spent much of the evening at the electric piano, displaying a style remarkably compatible with that of the rest of the group. However (when he switched to organ for "It's Too Late," his carefully planned exercise in tension-building soon brought the whole audience to its feet.

For my own personal taste, the true hero of the evening was Hubert Laws. He is quite possibly the most accomplished all around flutist ever to play jazz.

For the ballroom bash, his exquisitely eloquent interpretation of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain," early in the evening, provided a challenge to his colleagues, for it was difficult to prevent the rest of the show from seeming anti-climatic.

All in all, "CTI Summer Jazz" seems to indicate the commercial direction that the music may well take without any loss of musical integrity. – Leonard Feather (Reprinted through the courtesy of Melody Maker)

Fire And Rain

Red Clay (Part 1)

Red Caly (Part 2)

Sugar

Leaving West