(Post-Bop) Bob Florence - Soaring - 1983, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Right from the very beginning you sense a kind of authority from the deftly crafted music of Bob Florence. There is a tenacity about his writing which publicly unfolds as his 18-man band dives headlong into intemperate musical waters, stirring excitement and anticipation. The emerging colors are sharply bright, shaded with gentle hues; the motion is constant, it being created with affable swing and spurred by the intriguing quirks of melodic invention, harmonic suspension and remarkable solo intervention.
Without a doubt, the Bob Florence Limited Edition (the recent change from Big Band to Limited Edition reflects the "old, rare and unique" quality of its members, an obvious exception being "old") is the most exciting, vibrant big band on today's jazz scene. The composing and arranging of Florence's is without peer; the players each are deserving of the same accolade; the soloists are some of the best, most profoundly inventive voices which can be heard.
I'm certainly not alone in my opinion, however, as critics throughout the world have hailed this band of Florence's. His peers in the recording industry have seen fit to nominate both of his previous big band efforts for Grammy Awards. This album, "Soaring," the leader's first for Bosco Records, will no doubt receive similar attention.
Before we move on to the subject of the music, a comment or two should be offered about the good-willed machinations behind the making of this record. Bosco Records, the invention of tenor saxophone giant Pete Christlieb, was born of necessity. Christlieb, who solos extensively on this LP, created the label to house his own group efforts after suffering the indignities imposed by the major labels whose interests seemed to be other than creative. Somewhere along the line, he dared to imagine the label housing those jazz efforts of others and he began working with Florence on this project. Artistic freedom became not a privilege but, rather, a requirement imposed by the company! The license was to create a quality album in which every element - sound, material, flavor - was right.
"Pete was insistent that we take as much time as we needed to get everything just perfect," Florence recalled after the recording date. "Sometimes I'd say that this or that was OK, but then Pete would say "I think this could be a little better." There were no dictates; no settling for anything less than perfect. It was wonderful."
"Just wonderful" best describes the entire effort. The six cuts on the album were recorded in two sessions one beautiful October day at Group IV in Hollywood. Friends of the band dropped in by the handful, each anxious to be some part of the creation of this extraordinary album. (Another attraction might have been the linguini and clam sauce John Russell was cooking in Pete's camper to feed the jazz throngs; the rich aromas wafting through the hallways supplied plenty of inspiration.)
Many things happen in the course of a record date and each walks away with different impressions, memories, thoughts. I, as well as many of the participants on the date, will think first of a most touching scene involving a man without whom this date would probably not have happened. Robert MacDonald had worked with several bands before beginning a "commercial" music division at Los Angeles City College at a time when the world jazz - and the music - was not seen as being proper in college curricula. Six of the 18 members of the Bob Florence Limited Edition had studied under the aegis of MacDonald, with many more having fallen under his influence. Confined to a wheelchair after having suffered a stroke, Bob MacDonald sat, his emotions worn plainly on his sleeve, beaming at the swinging efforts of his former students. With the band assembled before him, it was akin to theists at the feet of their guru. In a jazz sense, it was more inspiring.
Inspiration is as evident as Florence's authority from note one. "Afternoon of a Prawn"is a minor blues which serves the band as a great opener. Florence sets the scene with four bars on the Fender Rhodes before being joined by bassist Joel DiBartolo and drummer Nick Ceroli who, throughout this album, lives up to Florence's calling him "the best big band drummer alive."
The tune's title is a reference to the soprano saxophone's nickname; fishorn. Kim Richmond solos on the soprano and Lanny Morgan is heard on the alto, both breathing exciting life into a tune which has been in the band's book for about two years.
"Jeff 'n Jeff" might have been titled "Mutt 'n Jeff" had neither Bob Cooper or Pete Christlieb, the two tenor saxophone soloists, been short. As it is, they both stand about 6'6" and blow about as big on this lilting waltz of Florence's. Coop leads off with Pete soon following. Coop takes the first chorus before a band interlude sets up Pete. The twosome comes back for a go without rhythm before the tune comes to its logical conclusion.
Side One ends with the title track, "Soaring," a light samba featuring Warren Luening's flugelhorn and Chauncey Welsch's trombone. "Both solos are brilliant," said Florence, adding that not much else could be said about the tune because "it's so simple and straightforward." The piece is a fairly new addition to the book and demonstrates the Limited Edition's ability to display a light quality. Welsch's solo is a succinct, humours medley of quotes which is wonderfully effective.
Side Two opens with "Nobody's Human," a malapropism of Florence's which is a straightforward shouter and should immediatley appeal to big band enthusiasts. "I remember when I wrote this thing," Florence recalled. "I threw away more than I wrote." There is a lot of writing in the piece and Florence has best illustrated his wonderful sense of the ensemble with this swinger. Kim Richmond solos magnificently on the alto saxophone as does Bob Efford, one of the band's two baritone saxmen.
In contrast to the difficulty in writing "Nobody's Human" comes "A Soundsketch," a mini-concerto for Christlieb that Florence says wrote itself. "They just happen once in a while," said Bob. "It's like somebody tapping you on the shoulder and saying 'Hey! Why don't you write this?'" If it was written effortlessly, it was played even more so, Christlieb, who also takes the lead tenor on the melody, structures perfectly his solo. Intensity and sensitivity go hand-in-hand here and the tune works as the album's only ballad offering.
The album closes out on a jaunty note with "Misbehavin'," a composition for which the idea came some 25 years ago when Florence penned a chart on Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz." It's a difficult waltz that really doesn't feel like a waltz. It is also a great solo vehicle for the flugelhorn of Warren Luening's and the baritone saxophone of Bob Efford's as well as a challenge for the entire ensemble.
"This tune has been in the book for about five years," said Florence. "Without a doubt, it's the hardest thing we do. It is fraught with peril; danger signs posted all over." The band obviously paid heed to the dangers and perils as it got through the piece on one take.
The Bob Lorence Limited Edition was not an easy band to record. Although two takes, not counting an occasional false start here and there, were made, most of the inclusions on this record were first tries. There was no overdubbing and no editing; only a couple of "mix-fixes."
While the credit for this fine album goes firstly to Bob Florence and his 17 musical cohorts, a great deal of the credit must go to bassist Jim Hughart who engineered the record. Hughart has played with the Limited Edition on numerous occasions, subbing for Joel DiBartolo. His knowledge of music in general and the band's book in specific no doubt contributed to his masterful engineering job. Of all the big band albums which I've heard, this is the very best in sound quality alone.
And as for the music? Well, it too is the very best you can find. Enjoy.
A. JAMES LISKA (A. James Liska is the West Coast Editor of "down beat" magazine, jazz critic for the Los Angeles Daily News and host of "The Jazz Hour" on KFAC radio.)