 | Curtis LundyAgainst All OddsLabel: Justin Time | Jazz | September 14, 1999Format UPC Order # Unit Price |
LinksCredits
| TracksNo Title Duration Excerpts 03 A Long Journey 07:06 04 Groydology 11:51 06 Where'd It Go? 05:29 07 Sweet Audrey 04:37 08 Blue Woman 06:11 09 All Things Being Equal Are Not 07:41 Liner NotesScanning various CD guides and jazz encyclopedias for the name Curtis Lundy can prove both fruitless and frustrating. Fruitless because Curtis has not been afforded the record date leadership opportunities his talent warrants to garner such listings; frustrating because for the lone listing under the name Lundy, one finds Carmen Lundy the singular jazz vocalist. So what's vexing about that? Well it seems Carmen is always identified, often in the first bio sentence, as '... sister of bassist Curtis Lundy..." Yet that mention of Carmen's brother is rarely if ever prided by a bio for Curtis Lundy!Ah, the disparities of band and recording date leadership, supposedly two of the defining elements of the successful jazz career. Hopefully this admirable new recording date will remedy that disparity a bit, for if Curtis Lundy is anything, surely he is a leader. I recently discovered this first-hand during extensive rehearsals for a Jazz Ahead program in Brooklyn that served as a loving tribute to Brooklyn's adopted daughter Betty Carter. It was the prescient Betty who plucked the young Curtis straight off the streets of Miami and the campus of Miami University as her new bassist back in 1979, thus jump-starting the bassist's big league jazz career. So it was quite apropos that Lundy was part of a select coterie of Betty Carter veterans chosen to work and perform with thirteen of Betty's Jazz Ahead students for the Brooklyn tribute. In the midst of such formidable Carter-ites as Geri Allen, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Don Braden, Curtis Lundy worked diligently with the youngsters and took on a tireless leadership role. His encouragement and attention to musical detail during those rehearsals of the young artist's original material was a constant source of inspiration; seems it's been like that with Curtis Lundy since he first made the scene. And this, despite the slim discography, which to date includes the out-of-print vinyl issue Just Be Yourself (New Note), and his ongoing choir director role with The ARC Choir, a gospel unit whose 1997 issue Walk With Me (Mapleshade) stands as a striking example of its genre. Splitting hairs, we can also add Beatitudes, a date he co-led with longtime partner Bobby Watson (New Note), which is also long out of the pipeline. Along comes the long overdue and aptly-titled Against All Odds. But first let's clear up a bit of that Curtis Lundy biographical disparity. Born 44 years ago in Miami, drums were his musical starting point, but bass was his calling as he submitted to the sub-tone serenade at age 12. It was scarcely three years before electric bass-wielding Curtis had his own working party band, in the early 70's vein of such advanced groove bands as Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool and the Gang. At 17 the bass really caught hold of the aspiring football star as Lundy discovered the magic of the acoustic bass in high school. From high school, football jones still intact, Curtis entered the University of Miami where he once and for all determined that music, not the gridiron, held the most promise for his professional pursuits. It was in Miami that he first encountered Kansas City alto saxophonist and spiritual Charlie Parker descendant Bobby Watson, forming a partnership that continues to this day with Against All Odds. Another key relationship was forged at U of M when Curtis came under the tutelage of Lucas Drew, then the principle bassist with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra. It wasn't long before New York beckoned and Betty Carter summoned Curtis to join her trio, which then also included who were to become two of Curtis' other longtime partners; drummer Kenny Washington and pianist John Hicks yet another member of the Against All Odds cast. Curtis' immersion in the New York scene yielded rewarding associations with such masters as Art Blakey (where Watson first made his mark), Johnny Griffin (where he was reunited with Washington); Freddy Hubbard, Pharoah Sanders, and Hicks' various bands. These and other associations were valuable building blocks that have defined Curtis Lundy's artistry, but the association with Betty Carter runs so deep in his playing and in his philosophy of music that it continues even after Ms. Carter has ascended to ancestry; witness his continued involvement in the ongoing Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program. Betty Carter is well-noted for running a finishing school of rhythm section players. She appeared to think, as did B.H., that the bass is one of the singer's best friends, the instrument singers cleave closest to in the ensemble. From Betty Carter, Curtis Lundy learned invaluable lessons in how to swing a groove for all its worth, then turn around and extract all of the ache and longing out of a tender ballad. His tone broadened and ripened under Betty Carter's leadership, qualities that manifest themselves continuously on this impressive new disc. Perhaps most succinct in the case of this session, Curtis Lundy learned how to lead a band from each of his sideman stints, but perhaps nowhere as keenly as under Betty Carter. Leading a band is one of the certain high qualities Curtis brings to Against All Odds, for he is unquestionably the leader. Unlike other bassists who might feel some sense of liberation from the traditional roles when afforded such an opportunity, Lundy does not seize the moment to exhibit gymnastic virtuosity or to pluck bass solos on every track. Instead he is content with truly swinging the ensemble and providing the substantive underpinning necessary to encourage successful output from the soloists. Comfortable in his role, Curtis chooses not to push raw ego to center stage. Given such an auspicious cast with John Hicks and Anthony Wonsey on piano; Winard Harper on drums; Roy Harper on trumpet and flugelhorn; Pleven Everett on trumpet; Bobby Watson on alts sax; and Shelley Carrol on tenor sax, there is absolutely no need for him to push the solo envelope. The tunes range from Curtis' robust bass call on the infectious opener, aptly titled "Players Anthem," to such lovely ballads as Onaje Allan Gumbs' hushed "All Things" and Curtis' burnt orange lament "Teardrops," to the optimistic melody of tenorist Shelley Carrol's "Sweet Audrey." Peven Everett, one of Betty's Jazz Ahead musicians, contributes the irresistible funky shuffle of "Groydology," with its insistent upper register piano ornamentation, a line tailor-made for Watson's soulful alto. Broadening the program is sister Carmen, who wrote three vocals for the date: "A Long Journey Home," "Blue Woman," which also serves as a feature for Hargrove's buttery flugelhorn, and "Where'd It Go." The latter theme is written squarely in the sweet spot of Carmen's rich, dark coffee voice. Approaching mid-career, a time when such still youthful artists as Curtis Lundy are often overlooked when it comes time to pass out the record date leadership opportunities, clearly Curtis seized this opportunity with relish. He has put together a sympathetic unit that works as a band, in the high sense of that tradition, and he's prepared a program of challenge, swing, and varying moods. As you are about to hear, though the wait between dates was lengthy, it was well worth it Willard Jenkins |
