SUNDAY JAZZ
ELVIN JONES
Elvin Jones - The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions [2000] (8 x CDs)
The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions brings together Elvin Jones’s Blue Note recordings from the late sixties into the early seventies, and what’s immediately clear is how intentional this music is. These are not loose studio blowouts or leader dates built around extended soloing. The tunes are generally compact, the moods carefully varied, and the sound consistently focused. Hearing the sessions in sequence makes it obvious that Jones thought in terms of records, pacing, contrast, and how a band moves through material rather than simply stretching out on it.
Jones’s leadership shows up less in instruction and more in feel. The drumming is always active, elastic, and deeply swinging, but never restless. Tempos breathe, rhythms overlap, and the ensembles seem to lean into his sense of motion rather than follow it. What stands out is how naturally the drums sit as an equal voice. They are not supporting the music from underneath so much as shaping it from within, nudging direction, coloring transitions, and keeping everything in forward motion.
Across the box, the range of tone and texture is striking. Cymbals hiss and shimmer, toms roll and rumble, and the bass drum lands with weight or restraint depending on the moment. Jones uses the entire kit as a palette, and even when he solos, there’s a sense of structure and narrative rather than display. Risk and spontaneity are everywhere, but they are balanced by control and clarity.
As a whole, the set rewards immersion. Shorter tracks pile up into a larger statement, and repetition becomes revealing rather than redundant. What comes through is why Jones earned the kind of respect that bordered on reverence. He plays like rhythm belongs to him, not in a domineering way, but with complete assurance. This box doesn’t mythologize Elvin Jones. It simply lets the evidence play, session by session, swing by swing. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Elvin Jones - Reza 7:13
02 Elvin Jones - Sweet Little Maia 7:49
03 Elvin Jones - Keiko's Birthday March 6:52
04 Elvin Jones - Village Greene 5:11
05 Elvin Jones - Jay-Ree 3:51
06 Elvin Jones - For Heaven's Sake 5:07
07 Elvin Jones - Gingerbread Boy 5:12
08 Elvin Jones - In The Truth 5:04
09 Elvin Jones - What is This 7:09
10 Elvin Jones - Ascendant 5:13
CD2
01 Elvin Jones - Yesterdays 5:39
02 Elvin Jones - Sometimes Joe 10:39
03 Elvin Jones - We'll Be Together Again 3:06
04 Elvin Jones - Inner Space 6:33
05 Elvin Jones - Once I Loved (O Amor Em Paz) 6:22
06 Elvin Jones - Raynay 7:58
07 Elvin Jones - Champagne Baby 11:27
08 Elvin Jones - Dido Afrique 11:14
CD3
01 Elvin Jones - Agenda 13:51
02 Elvin Jones - Agappe Love 5:53
03 Elvin Jones - Mr. Jones 7:38
04 Elvin Jones - Yes 2:24
05 Elvin Jones - Whew 9:34
06 Elvin Jones - Shinjitu 7:38
07 Elvin Jones - Yesterdays 10:56
CD4
01 Elvin Jones - 5/4 Thing 5:26
02 Elvin Jones - Ural Stradania 8:29
03 Elvin Jones - Simone 6:31
04 Elvin Jones - P.P. Phoenix 4:59
05 Elvin Jones - For All The Other Times 10:07
06 Elvin Jones - Slumber 5:33
07 Elvin Jones - Three Card Molly 8:27
08 Elvin Jones - Cecilia is Love 10:07
09 Elvin Jones - Who's Afraid 4:20
CD5
01 Elvin Jones - 'Round Town 3:26
02 Elvin Jones - Brite Piece 4:46
03 Elvin Jones - Lungs 2:25
04 Elvin Jones - A Time for Love 4:48
05 Elvin Jones - Tergiversation 3:28
06 Elvin Jones - La Fiesta 6:06
07 Elvin Jones - The Children's Merry-Go-Round March 2:50
08 Elvin Jones - New Breed 6:55
09 Elvin Jones - What's Up? - That's It 5:37
10 Elvin Jones - Soultrane 6:13
11 Elvin Jones - One's Native Place 6:17
12 Elvin Jones - G. G. 5:44
CD6
01 Elvin Jones - At This Point in Time 7:35
02 Elvin Jones - Currents/Pollen 11:14
03 Elvin Jones - The Prime Element 8:19
04 Elvin Jones - Whims of Bal 12:24
05 Elvin Jones - Pauke Tanz 6:24
06 Elvin Jones - The Unknighted Nations 6:28
07 Elvin Jones - Don't Cry 7:42
CD7
01 Elvin Jones - Brite Piece 13:19
02 Elvin Jones - New Breed 12:05
03 Elvin Jones - Sambra 13:13
04 Elvin Jones - My Ship 8:52
05 Elvin Jones - Taurus People 6:17
06 Elvin Jones - Fancy Free 21:05
CD8
01 Elvin Jones - I'm A Fool to Want You 11:34
02 Elvin Jones - Sweet Mama 15:31
03 Elvin Jones - The Children, Save The Children 8:00
04 Elvin Jones - The Children's Merry-Go-Round March 28:30
05 Elvin Jones - Small One 7:10
06 Elvin Jones - For All The Other Times 4:22
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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Great drummer - no indication who the sidemen are? - in any case thanks BB
ReplyDeleteHi Dr Robert,
DeleteBlue Note didn’t always make the sidemen obvious in the packaging, but the sessions themselves are packed with heavy hitters, Joe Farrell, George Coleman, Pepper Adams, Frank Foster, Chick Corea, Wilbur Little, Dave Liebman, Gene Perla, and a rotating cast of top‑tier players depending on the date. It’s one of those boxes where the personnel shifts are half the story, each lineup giving Elvin a different colour to push against.
Cheers.
Thank-you very much
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, BT.
DeleteCheers.
Hi BB, could it be you posted this box set before in 2024, or is there a difference? Then of course, you can never have enough Elvin Jones, even twice. Another class act for Sunday Jazz, thanks a lot! Take care, grtz.
ReplyDelete