Westward Bound! offers previously unreleased recordings from underrecognized tenor bop giant Harold Land and is being issued for June 12 Record Store Day. As such, it will follow a sequence that first presents a two-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, followed a week later by CD and on August 6 with digital offerings. This, as was the stellar George Coleman Quintet – Live in Baltimore from last Fall, is a collaboration between Zev Feldman, aka ‘The Jazz Detective’ and Resonance President, and Cory Weeds’ Reel to Real Recordings. As is customary, it comes with an expansive booklet that features new interviews with Sonny Rollins and Joe Lovano, as well as essays by jazz historian Michael Cuscuna and pianist Eric Reed.
The dates feature three separate units. The first three tracks include trumpeter Carmell Jones, pianist Buddy Montgomery, bassist Monk Montgomery (along with Land, the only constant across the nine selections), and drummer Jimmy Lovelace. Two tracks feature pianist Hampton Hawes in a reunion-like pairing, with Mel Lee on drums, while the final four are delivered with pianist John Houston and drummer Philly Joe Jones. As we’ve come to expect from the Feldman-Weeds partnership, these are remarkably crisp recordings, given their age. They originally aired as part of a weekly broadcast from the venue on KING-FM.
One of the reasons that Land is not one of the top-of-your tongue tenors is that he didn’t spend much time in New York aside from a celebrated stint with Clifford Brown and Max Roach’s quintet. From the mid-fifties on, Land, who was raised in San Diego, worked mostly from L.A., recording with big band leader Gerald Wilson, and supporting giants such as Dinah Washington, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Les McCann, and Hampton Hawes. In later years he often linked up with Blue Mitchell and Bobby Hutcherson. As gleaned from the comments of Rollins (who replaced him in the Brown-Roach combo) and Lovano, Land was regarded by his peers as one of the premier saxophonists of the time, Lovano placing him on the same tier as Rollins and Coltrane. He delivers robust tone, articulates each note carefully, is blessed with natural swing, and has a flawless command of the instrument, especially the lower registers.
The earliest date here is December 12, 1962, at The Penthouse in Seattle, also the site for the other two dates. This is a fiery session featuring a Clifford Brown-styled trumpeter Carmell Jones, originally from Kansas City. They begin with a Land original, the bop styled “Vendetta,” each note played with conviction by the two front liners and later by pianist Montgomery. The second tune, “Beepdurple,” some obvious wordplay, is from the pen of Carmell Jones, later recorded on the composer’s 1965 Jay Hawk Talk album. The two begin in ensemble format, from which springs a rather surprisingly relaxed but smooth flowing Land solo as each idea moves seamlessly to the next. Jones and Montgomery hold up their respective ends as they follow. Land’s “Happily Dancing/Deep Harmonies Falling” is in ¾ time, but the tune is rife with modern melodies and changes, unlike most jazz waltzes in that time signature.
The second date is from September 17, 1964, and features Hampton Hawes with whom Land first worked together in the late ‘40s. Later Land was the saxophonist on Hawes’ defining 1958 For Real! with Scott LaFaro and Frank Butler. The first is the Hart-Rodgers standard which Hawes opens beautifully in his intro supported only by bass, with his piano thankfully louder in the mix than was Montgomery’s. Lee kicks in with brushes, Land states the melody and takes an extended flight. Toward the end Land and Lee trade eights, with the drummer using sticks this time. Hawes’ solo is brilliant, while Montgomery keeps a steady walking bassline. “Triplin’ the Groove,” a Land original follows, with the same solo format but a brisker tempo and plenty of call-and-response sequences. We could argue that Hawes may be as underrecognized as the leader with Reed commenting in his essay, “Although it is not widely acknowledged (or even known) Hamp was largely responsible for blending the language of the Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music in such a way as to influence many that came after him.” He and Land certainly let loose on this sizzling track.
The final date, August 5, 1965, features four selections, none of which are Land originals. Yet, there’s plenty of potency here as well, much of it supplied by the legendary drummer, Philly Joe Jones, who relocated to L.A. in the ‘60s, where he played regularly with Land. These sessions begin with “Autumn Leaves,” the treatment of which is likely inspired by the Cannonball Adderley-Miles Davis treatment on 1958’s Somethin’ Else. “Who Can I Turn To?” from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint -The Smell of the Crowd, was popularized by Tony Bennett at the time. Land’s breathy blowing here is akin to Ben Webster’s. The one jazz original is Jones’s “Beau-ty,” a swinger propelled by the drummer’s unrelenting groove and declamatory solo. The brief, tight closer “Blue ‘N’ Boogie” is used as a theme and a mini-feature for Jones.
Land exhibits a mastery of control and command throughout, amongst all three supporting units. These early ‘60s dates represent an unrecorded segment of Land’s career as a leader, then regarded (as described by Cuscuna) as “one of the baddest tenor players in L.A.,” who later garnered more attention when playing with Hutcherson and Mitchell. These are exciting, swinging sessions, on a par with the several that the Feldman-Weeds partnership have delivered.
