15/01/2010
Below is a review of Bobby Hutcheron’s ‘Patterns’ album which I downloaded yesterday evening. I-Tunes seems to have a lot of classic hard bop albums on sale for relatively cheap: I got this, Wayne Shorter’s ‘Juju’, Grachan Moncur III’s ‘Evolution’ and Andrew Hill’s ‘Black Fire’ for a total of just under twenty five pounds. It’s something I never thought I’d do as the liner notes are one of the high points of any Rudy Van Gelder Edition release (a series which three of those four albums belong to), but as it’s kind of hard for me to get out and about at the moment I though nah, what the hell. Glad I did.
Compared to Hutcherson’s other work I’d say that ‘Patterns’ falls somewhere between the mellifluousness of ‘Happenings’ and the more free-flowing dynamics of ‘Dialogue’. There’s less of an emphasis on solos, allowing the instruments to run together a little more but things never get as chaotic as they do on the latter of those two albums. The title track is first up and features Hutcherson’s vibes trading bitter-sweet melodies with James Spaulding’s slightly troubled sounding flute. This piece would have fit nicely on ‘Dialogue’ if the title of that album was the sole decider. A Reggie Workman bass solo finishes the track, the prominance of the instrument carrying over somewhat into ‘A Time To Go’ which is buttressed by Workman’s steady pulse and higher pitched plinks. Stanley Cowell’s loping piano work provides the counterpoint as subtle changes of emphasis and percussive flicks drive the piece forward. Drummer Joe Chambers takes a step back on ‘Ankara’ to foreground Spaulding’s flute, which hovers over a glacial vibes and piano accompaniment which is almost indentical to the one found on the track ‘Bouquet’ from ‘Happenings’. Chambers contributes brushed snare and cymbal embelishments but ’Ankara’ remains the most reflective and understated track on ‘Patterns’. The cantering ‘Effi’ follows with more sprightly vibes work and some quick fingered contributions from Workman. ‘Irina’ is up next, returning the album to more introspective territory. The interplay between the instruments is incredibly tight here, with Chambers once again providing just enough sighing snare brushwork in the righthand speaker to keep the piece anchored while vibes, piano, flute and bass stitch complex shapes around each other. Then it’s onto the semi oriental motifs of ‘Nocturnal’ via a characteristically poetic Cowell opening. The album closes with a more frantic alternative take of ‘Effi’ (mislisted on I-Tunes as another take on ‘Patterns’).
This is probably the best Hutcherson album I have heard thus far, and that’s saying something. I posted a link to the track ‘Aquarian Moon’ from ‘Happenings’ a couple of days ago; if yr. not familiar with Hutcherson’s work I strongly recommend that you check it out.
