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Blue Note Plays The Beatles

So, how can you possibly miss with Blue Note Plays The Beatles? The answer: you can’t. The Beatles have been around and their songs have been acceptable fodder for jazz musicians for nearly forty years now, so there is a wide variety of material in the Blue Note vaults covering The Beatles songbook, much of it from the label’s golden era. Here compilation producer Michael Cuscuna chooses incredibly rich versions of these songs, most from albums that, while perhaps not the top titles in the Blue Note discography, are nonetheless somewhat overlooked. Stanley Turrentine’s Mr. Natural appears to be currently unavailable, yet it is a really solid effort from 1964 that finds Turrentine fronting a group that includes Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw, and Elvin Jones. That’s one half the John Coltrane Quartet with Cranshaw filling in on bass and Morgan and Turrentine out front!! The performance of “Can’t Buy Me Love” that leads o off the compilation gives the teen hit a funky, Huckle-Buck-ish feel that serves solists Morgan and Turrentine particularly well Two years later found Lee Morgan fronting an eleven piece group with arrangements by Oliver Nelson on Delightfulee, currently available only as an import. Morgan’s playing extremely well, and among those playing Nelson’s arrangement of “Yesterday” are Ernie Royal (trumpet), Tom McIntosh (trombone), Phil Woods (clarinet), Wayne Shorter (who also takes a solo on tenor), McCoy Tyner (another soloist) and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

“Norwegian Wood, arranged by Bill Holman, comes from Rich’s classic live 1967 album Big Swing Face. In the hands of this talented band, spurred on by Rich’s ass-kicking, take no prisoners drum work, this piece rocks out like no other big band before or since. Rich’s performances didn’t seem like an old guy trying to play hip young music because his arrangements were solid big band arrangements, not dumbed-down versions with an electric guitar out front. The following year Rich released the even better album Mercy, Mercy, but there were no Beatles songs on that album. Nothing quite prepares one for the change of mood represented by the next selection, Bud Shank and Chet Baker on Shank’s arrangement of “Hello Goodbye.” This is the California cool school’s reaction to the rock influence on jazz that was being felt at the time. It probably sounded a bit anemic at the time, but sound perfect for the high-irony world we inhabit today. Shank’s playing is the most beautiful alto work next to Paul Desmond, and Baker anticipates Tomasz Stanko’s ‘predatory lyricism’ in his flugelhorn work. An improbably gorgeous rendition of a seemingly difficult to cover song.

Equally improbable is Grant Green leading a group through “A Day In the Life,” but damned if that doesn’t work, too. Green is swinging hard, and has Emmanuel Riggins handle the freaked out middle section on organ. Blue Mitchell (trumpet) and Claude Bartee (tenor sax) are the front line. Stanley Jorday, approaches “Eleanor Rigby” from a different angle, playing acoustic guitar accompanied only by Sammy Figueroa’s light percussion work. His seven-plus minute workout on the tune is a real tour de force. Equally stunning is Tony Williams’ version of “Blackbird” recorded in 1991 and featuring Wallace Roney, Bill Pierce, Mulgrew Miller, and Ira Coleman.

Bob Belden also recorded an album of Beatles music, Strawberry Fields, and there are two tracks from it here. Holly Cole, who was a pop-jazz performer long before Nora Jones happened on the scene, does well with a languid version of “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” largely because the song lends itself to a folksy, piano-heavy arrangement with Cole’s vocal out front. “Come Together” is much less successful, despite the presence of both Diane Reeves and Cassandra Wilson. It tries for a funk feel, but it is light as to be basically without nutritional value. Likewise, Bobby McFerrin’s “Drive My Car” is impressive the first few times one hears it, but slowly becomes ingratiating. That leaves pianist Kevin Hays’ 1996 recording of “And I Love Her” with Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette. Fortunately, that track’s a bona fide goodie from Hays’ album Andalucia, which you can probably only find as a used copy. But it’s well worth the effort.