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Henry Franklin: Jazz Is Dead 14

By Chris May
September 25, 2022
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Adrian Younge

keyboards

" data-original-title="" title="">Adrian Younge and

" data-original-title="" title="">Ali Shaheed Muhammad's Jazz Is Dead label is a moveable feast when it comes to consistency. In its fourteen albums date, there have been some great ones, some not so great ones and a couple of duds. With bassist Henry Franklin, however, the label has come up with a blinder, its most satisfying disc to date.

Los Angeles-based Franklin is not well known beyond musician circles, but his track record is distinguished. He has released twenty-two own-name albums since 1972, all of them, unhelpfully, on low-profile indie labels. He has recorded as a sideman on major labels with

Hampton Hawes

piano
1928 - 1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Hampton Hawes,

Bobbi Humphrey

flute
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobbi Humphrey,

Julian Priester

trombone
b.1935

" data-original-title="" title="">Julian Priester,

Freddie Redd

piano
1928 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Freddie Redd,

Woody Shaw

trumpet
1944 - 1989

" data-original-title="" title="">Woody Shaw and

The Three Sounds

" data-original-title="" title="">The Three Sounds, among others. He has performed with

Pharoah Sanders

saxophone, tenor
1940 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharoah Sanders,

Archie Shepp

saxophone, tenor
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Archie Shepp,

Freddie Hubbard

trumpet
1938 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Freddie Hubbard,

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman,

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry,

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins,

Milt Jackson

vibraphone
1923 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Milt Jackson and

Bobby Hutcherson

vibraphone
1941 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Hutcherson, and a host of other A-listers. In 1968 he played on

Hugh Masekela

flugelhorn
1939 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Hugh Masekela's number one single "Grazing In The Grass" (Uni).

With Jazz Is Dead 14, Younge and Muhammad have done Franklin proud. The band is killer. It includes guitarist

Jeff Parker

guitar
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Parker, trumpeter

Clinton Patterson

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Clinton Patterson, alto saxophonist

David Urquidi

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">David Urquidi, tenor saxophonist

Scott Mayo

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Mayo and drummer

Jonathan Pinson

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jonathan Pinson. Younge plays acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 and clavinet. The eight tracks are all originals co-credited to Franklin, Younge and Muhammad. Their textural and emotional scope is broad, ranging from tender and poignant ("Memories Lost," "A Song For Sigrid") through turbulent ("Feedback") and take in a bossa nova ("Caf�� Negro") along the way. They all have strong tunes and one suspects Franklin was the chief writer.

As producers, one also suspects that Younge and Muhammad applied an uncustomarily light hand to the proceedings. As

Creed Taylor

producer
1929 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Creed Taylor said about "producing"

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961): "You don't produce John Coltrane. I basically just made sure the lights were on and that he and Rudy [Van Gelder] had what they needed." Now in his ninth decade, Franklin knows what he is doing.

Album playing time is short at thirty-one minutes, giving each track an average duration of under four minutes. So while there are lots of solos, they are necessarily brief (and concision is a wonderful thing). With Jazz Is Dead 14, feel the quality, not the width.

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Track Listing

Karibu; The Griot; People's Revolution; Memories Lost; Feedback; Cafe Negro; African Sun; A Song For Sigrid.

Personnel

Henry Franklin

bass

Clinton Patterson

trumpet

David Urquidi

saxophone, alto

Scott Mayo

woodwinds

Adrian Younge

keyboards

Jeff Parker

guitar

Jonathan Pinson

drums

Nicholas Baker

percussion

Album information

Title: Jazz Is Dead 14 | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Jazz Is Dead

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