Blues Nexus

James Spaulding is one of the unsung talents of jazz. He plays a great smoking alto sax and he is one of the finest flutists in the field. He played on a ton of great Blue Note records in the 1960s, but never as a leader. He certainly showed later that he had leadership abiltiy, as illustrated by this fine blues-based CD from the early 1990s. He has no credits here as a composer, but there are plenty of good tunes by jazz artists such as Elmo Hope, Clifford Brown, and Hank Mobley. Recommended!

Or so say the liner notes to this recording. James Spaulding never recorded as a leader for Blue Note records - although he appeared often on other's Blue Note recordings. If he had recorded for Blue Note, "Blues Nexus" might have been the result. Kicking off with a Hank Mobley number, "Hipsippy Blues", Spaulding's alto sax growls through the solo in a way that only tenor saxes are known to do. Mobley is again revisited in his standard "Soul Station" where Spaulding really lets it rip. Despite being a composer of considerable ability, Spaulding sticks to covers on this recording, mining a lot of turf such as Clifford Brown's "Gerkin for Perkin", a languid version of Art Farmer's "Rue Prevail" on the bass flute, and other great compositions by Freddie Redd, Tina Brooks, Paul Chambers, Roy Hargrove, Elmo Hope, and bandmate Ronnie Matthews. "Blues Nexus" could be called the great lost Blue Note recording. Line up:James Spaulding - alto sax & flute; Dan Faulk - tenor & soprano sax; Don Sicker - flugelhorn; Ronnie Matthews - piano; Ray Drummond - bass; Louis Hayes - drums.

"Blues Nexus" was one of the later of several excellent sessions Spaulding recorded on Muse after a period as a Blue Note session man that mysteriously yielded no dates as a leader. Like each of the others and three other fine recordings on three other labels, this session delivered wonderful music that somehow manages to be virtually ignored. I'm grateful to the previous reviewer for taking the time to positively comment on his music.Spaulding covers the tunes of other composers on this CD, from Hank Mobley to Paul Chambers to Elmo Hope to Clifford Brown and Ronnie Matthews and even a much younger colleague, the trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Whatever the setting, J. Spaulding delivers his searing alto ("Hipsippy Blues," "Gerkin Blues"), his surprisingly light and agile flute ("John Charles," one of the best tunes on the album), his deeply thoughtful bass flute ("Rue Prevail") and his sprightly piccolo ("Chamber Mates," an irresistible romp). In an age, where drab predictability rules the day, Spaulding is anything but. No album is the same; no tune on an album bores.J. Spaulding changed personnel on each release; "Blues Nexus" features Ronnie Matthews on piano, Ray Drummond on bass and Louis Hayes on drums, a quartet that would hold its own in any setting. Dan Faulk and Don Sickler contribute on horns on several of the tracks.This is a consistently satisfying album from a musician who never fails to deliver the musical and emotional goods. He deserves a far wider audience than he has received.