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Dave Green Trio plus Evan Parker: Raise Four

By Duncan Heining
May 2, 2022
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Dave Green Trio plus Evan Parker: Raise Four

Bassist

Dave Green

bass, acoustic
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Green recorded this set for the BBC Radio 3 programme Somethin' Else in 2004. In the interview included here with the show's presenter Jez Nelson, Green reflects on a forty year career in jazz. It is fitting that this fine record, only his fourth as leader, sees its release in the year Green marks his 80th birthday. What a great way to celebrate a wonderful career!

Less well-known than he should be beyond the UK and mainland Europe, Green is one of Britain's finest exponents of the largest member of the fiddle family. As a lad, growing up on the outskirts of London, he was good mates with the Rolling Stones' drummer (the sadly late) Charlie Watts. That friendship was never forgotten by Watts, who hired Green when he formed the Charlie Watts' Orchestra in 1986 and the quintet that recorded From One Charlie in 1991.

One of Green's first professional gigs was with the seminal Don Rendell-Ian Carr Quintet which he joined in the early sixties. Other long-term associations were with

Humphrey Lyttelton

trumpet
1921 - 2008

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

Stan Tracey

piano
1926 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Tracey,

Michael Garrick

piano
1933 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Garrick,

Peter King

saxophone
1940 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter King and

Joe Harriott

saxophone
1928 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Harriott. As he says in the interview with Nelson, Green was always equally comfortable playing Dixieland, Mainstream, Bebop or stretching out into free improvisation. One of the regular bass players for visiting American artists at

Ronnie Scott

saxophone, tenor
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ronnie Scott's Club from the early days in Gerrard Street to its current premises, Green backed major figures such as Roland Kirk,

Ben Webster

saxophone, tenor
1909 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Ben Webster,

Buddy Tate

saxophone, tenor
b.1913

" data-original-title="" title="">Buddy Tate,

Coleman Hawkins

saxophone, tenor
1904 - 1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Coleman Hawkins and

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins. His skills have continued to be much in demand by visiting stars. Indeed, one favourite jazz memory comes from a gig in Colchester with the great

Lee Konitz

saxophone, alto
1927 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Konitz and a trio that included Green and pianist

John Taylor

piano
1942 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">John Taylor.

In a way, what you get here is a distillation of all that experience. Raise Four features Green's then regular trio of multi-reeds player

Iain Dixon

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Iain Dixon and American ex-pat drummer

Gene Calderazzo

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Gene Calderazzo plus renowned saxophonist-free improviser

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker. The tunes of

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk were an obvious and excellent choice for this meeting between Green's trio and Parker. Their angularity and edginess fit Parker to a tee. But it is the interaction and empathy between the players which makes for a hugely satisfying encounter.

"Shuffle Boil" opens with a free cadenza on soprano from Parker, before shifting into its funky, slippery groove. Here, Dixon's bass clarinet is paired with Parker's horn and the contrast of textures works perfectly. Green's bass introduces, "Ex-Changes," the one completely free offering here. The performance sits well with the "standards" on the album, shifting through a series of duets—between Green and Dixon, Dixon and Parker, Parker and Calderazzo and finally Calderazzo and Green. It's worth the entry price on its own.

The title track is great fun and the band are clearly having a ball. Featuring both horn players on tenor, it recalls those infamous tenor duels of the forties and fifties. Back then it was

Wardell Gray

saxophone, tenor
1921 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Wardell Gray and

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon. Here, it is Dixon and Parker with a rhythm section just as fine as the one featured on Gray and Gordon's "The Hunt" or "The Chase." Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Spring" is given the most tender of readings with heart-on-sleeve tenor from Parker set against Dixon's clarinet. But listen to the rhythm section and at the heart of the performance is the warmest of glows. Memo to self—must play this for Parker-fearing jazz fans!

That just leaves "Played Twice"—and this listener wanting more. The feel here—and elsewhere on the disc—is very much that of the early

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman quartet or Steve Lacy's Monk recordings—in particular, The Straight Horn, which itself features "Played Twice." The quartet have that loping, striding thing but with a slight spring in the step down that makes Monk's tunes sing and tug at the heart. A group that deserves a reunion very soon. Just don't leave it another eighteen years, guys.

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Track Listing

Jez Nelson/Dave Green Interview; Shuffle Boil (Monk); Ex-Changes (Green/Dixon/Parker/Calderazzo); Raise Four (Monk); A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing (Strayhorn); Played Twice (Monk). Rec. November 5, 2004.

Personnel

Dave Green

bass, acoustic

Iain Dixon

saxophone

Gene Calderazzo

drums

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano

Album information

Title: Raise Four | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Trio Records

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