JULIAN PRIESTER / WALTER BENTON
Out of This World
Milestone
MCD-47087-2

Milestone Records, one of the many labels under the Fantasy umbrella, has done a great service to music fans in releasing Out of This World, a two-fer that showcases primarily the work of West Coast tenor, Walter Benton. As a touring musician in the 50's, Benton saw many shores in the company of Clifford Brown, Kenny Clarke and Prez Prado. Following the same suit led by many of his contemporaries, Benton was to try his luck in New York, only to return to Los Angeles in the early 1960's. The criminally under-recorded Benton is a casualty of logistics, perhaps never in the right place at the right time. His aggressive, pensive sound is a unique blend of West Coast fire and creative intrepidity.

In New York, Benton would commence a musical relationship with arguably the most innovative trombonist of the day, Julian Priester. Benton and Priester were most complimentary to one another on a front line, and were eloquently matched as soloists. It is a wonder that they did not record again in support of each other's leadership. Ironically, the careers of the tenor and the bone would be marked by the legendary Max Roach group recording, We Insist: The Freedom Now Suite (Candid, 1960). The record's stark expressionism and erratic disposition would serve as a launching pad for Priester, while Benton would only record a meager handful of sessions as a sideman in the following year. Never resigning himself to the duality of the New York music scene, he returned to Los Angeles in 1962, where he is presumed to still reside.

Spiritsville, the second session for Priester to record as a leader, is a set of music that overflows with energy, propelled by catchy rhythms and effusive melodies. Benton, who authored three of the date's compositions, and baritone saxophonist Charlie Davis complete the spirited horn lineup, unconventional as it was for the time. Fuelling the rhythm are pianist McCoy Tyner, Sam Jones on bass, and drummer Art Taylor. Indeed, the sidemen on these dates comprise a first string roster of hard bop of the 50's and 60's. Compare with Benton's backing on his own, Out of This World: Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Tootie Heath. None of the music disappoints. Hubbard and Kelly do wonders and justice for the Benton compositions within Out of This World. The group approaches the standard, "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)," with delicacy, Benton caressing the changes with gorgeous lyricism. The effects left at the end of the disc leave you longing for the other ballad of the date, "Iris," which was left deleted in this reissue due to space restraints (a most reliable source tells me that "Lover Man" is the keeper of the two; completists should hunt down the rare LP).

Out of This World is a most welcome addition to the reissue catalog. The two dates inside are extraordinary slices of the direction in which bop-based jazz was heading in 1960. The tenor of Walter Benton is available again for us to move with, and to take pleasure from, lest we forget the near-forgotten.

Alan Jones

Track Listing: 1. Chi-Chi; 2. Blue Stride; 3. It Might as Well Be Spring; 4. Excursion; 5. Spiritsville; 6. My Romance; 7. Donna's Waltz; 8. Out of This World; 9. Walter's Altar; 10. Night Movements; 11. A Blues Mood; 12. Azil; 13. Lover Man-Oh, Where Can You Be?

Personnel on Spiritsville: Julian Priester, trombone; Walter Benton, tenor saxophone; Charlie Davis, baritone saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Arthur Taylor, drums

Personnel on Out of This World: Walter Benton, tenor saxophone; Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Albert "Tootie" Heath, drums; Jimmy Cobb, drums on "Walter's Altar" and "Azil"