Stan Getz
Dynasty
Verve Originals

The Crusaders
Pass The Plate
Verve Originals

John Klemmer
Barefoot Ballet
Verve Originals

Michael and Randy Brecker
Return Of The Brecker Brothers
Verve Originals
By George W. Harris

These four discs from Verve’s reissue series seem to paraphrase the famous song from The Sound Of Music, “How Do You Solve A Problem Like The 70s?” During the heyday of rock, jazz musicians had to figure out a way to either answer or adapt to the seismic shift in popular music. Fusion, smooth jazz, and funk usually won the day, but there were some who kept on course, and relished the challenge.

Recorded during a 1971 three day tenure at the famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in England, tenorist Stan Getz was put together with a forward thinking European group consisting of Eddy Louiss/organ, Rene’ Thomas/guitar, and Bernard Lubat/drums. The songs are mostly originals by Louiss and Thomas, and are brilliantly modern and explorative, stimulating a Getz that seems inspired by the different musical environment. All of the songs have a loose, improvisatory feel to them, adding to the experimental atmosphere. Themes range from the bluesy “Song for Marine” to the spacey bossa of “Dum! Dum!”. The gorgeous “Theme for Emmanuel” and the crackling “Ballad for Leo” give everyone a chance to stretch out a bit, while Getz’ duet with Thomas on “Ballad For My Dad” is cohesive, yet explorative. This is a great and overlooked gem in the Getz catalogue. Search around for it!

By 1971, the Jazz Crusaders had seen the writing on the wall and tried to get a larger audience by dropping the “Jazz” part of the name and veering more towards a funky and soulful style of music. On this release, the original band of Stix Hooper, Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson and Wilton Fender are augmented by the blues guitar and bass of Arthur Adams, who gets the band sounding like a cross between the Friends Of Distinction and Sly and The Family Stone on tunes like “Goin’ Down South” and “Treat Me Like Ya Treat Yaself.” Joe Sample’s “Listen And You’ll See” is a forerunner of his smooth as silk “contemporary jazz” style, with lovely fingering throughout, while Henderson’s 15 minute title suite is filled with memorable themes. A bit of something for everyone on this irresistibly joyful date.

Tenorist John Klemmer sold a gazillion records back in the 70s, and he didn’t do it by emasculating his horn like so many of the Kenny G and beyond generation. The Don Ellis alumnus used an electrified-echoplexed sax, but he didn’t over indulge. His music was a successful mix of accessible pop jazz and thoughtful hard/post bop. Records like “Waterfalls” and “Intensity” brought jazz into fm radio airwaves, while this 75 release was the followup to his most famous “Touch.” With Dave Grusen/p, Larry Carlton/g, Joe Porcaro/perc, and John Grusen, Klemmer goes from the mellow “Forest Child” to the hard driving “Poem Panther” without losing fans of the smooth modern jazz. This record shows that a jazz artist can sell well with out selling out.

Randy and Michael Brecker were THE duo of contemporary R&B/jazz of the 70s, riding the wave along with Grover Washington and David Sanborn. Having disbanded in 1980, they became first call session artists for pop stars like Steely Dan and Paul Simon. This 92 session is a major reunion, and includes guests Mike Stern/g, Dennis Chambers/dr, Don Alias/perc and David Sanborn. With Michael on tenor and EWI, the band sounds startlingly Weather Reportish on tunes like “Song For Barry,” while the winding and tricky “Spherical” is worth several listens. The duo guitars of Stern and Dean Brown along with Sanborn’s alto on “King Of The Lobby” is as good as a groove can get on this fun and funktastic session. Fusion lived well in those days!