Search - Jimmy Woods :: Conflict

Exciting music from a forgotten alotist.

jazzfanmn | St Cloud, MN United States | 12/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This forgotten alotist cut this album in 1963, and is backed by Harold Land on tenor, Carmell Jones on trumpet, Andrew Hill (here credited as Andrew Hille)on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. All of the music on this disc is composed by Woods himself. It is a very adventurous form of hard bop and swings hard. Max Roach/Clifford Brown quintet veteran Harold Land, obscure trumpeter Carmell Jones (who moved to Europe shortly after this session), and Andrew Hill all provide solid performances the stars of this session however, are Woods and Elvin Jones. Wood's bright vibrattoless tone is a fascinating mix of Parker, Ornette Coleman, and tenors Booker Ervin and Wayne Shorter. While some of his ideas have a Coltrane feel (who's didn't in '63) he is a consitantly inventive and original soloist. Drumming powerhouse Elvin Jones threatens to blow everyone off the record, at times I found myself listening to him instead of the soloists he was playing behind. I do not know whatever became of Jimmy Woods, he just seemed to vanish from the jazz landscape, but this is a fantastic set of music. The price (a real shame that "import" is often just a synonym for "expensive") makes this disc one only hard core fans will buy, but it will more than reward the investment!"