Freddie Hubbard - Live At The Northsea Jazz Festival, 1980

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1998
Time: 74:48
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 69,3 MB
Art: Front

(16:50) 1. First Light
(13:05) 2. One Of Another Kind
(10:34) 3. One Of A Kind
(11:57) 4. Impressions
(12:31) 5. Happiness Is Now
( 9:49) 6. Red Clay

Freddie Hubbard's output grew increasingly erratic after his departure from CTI Records in the mid-1970s, and you never knew whether he would come out with a gem like Super Blue or an embarrassing "smooth jazz" stinker like Windjammer. Originally a two-LP set and now a single CD, Live At The Northsea Jazz Festival, 1980 definitely falls into the "gem" category.

The trumpeter/flugelhornist is captured on stage at The Hague in Holland, where he leads a cohesive quintet that includes Davis Schnitter on tenor sax, Billy Childs on electric keyboards, Larry Klein on electric bass and Sinclair Lott on drums and where he truly soars on familiar originals like "Red Clay," "First Light" and "One Of Another Kind" as well as an explosive version of John Coltrane's "Impressions."

Much like his CTI work of the early-to-mid 1970s, this live date doesn't cater to small-minded "jazz purists." Though Hub doesn't take the fusion concept as far as Miles Davis, Return To Forever or Weather Report, this is clearly jazz with funk and rock elements.

Unfortunately, the memorable interpretation of "The Summer Knows" that graced the original double-LP was omitted due to time limitations. But even so, it's great to see this album reissued on CD. By AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-the-northsea-jazz-festival-1980-freddie-hubbard-fantasy-jazz-review-by-aaj-staff

Personnel: Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; David Schnitter: tenor saxophone, flute; Billy Childs: keyboards; Larry Klein: bass; Sinclair Lott: drums

Live At The Northsea Jazz Festival, 1980

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Billy Childs, Buster Williams, Carl Allen - Skim Coat

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:58
Size: 123.5 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz, Piano jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[4:02] 1. Surrey With The Fringe On Top
[5:49] 2. The Winds Of Change
[6:35] 3. You Don't Know What Love Is
[5:44] 4. Every Time We Say Good-Bye
[6:44] 5. Skim Coat
[7:28] 6. Heroes
[7:52] 7. Love Dance
[5:19] 8. Deja
[4:21] 9. Deceptacon

Skim Coat brings together three highly compatible players: Billy Childs (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Carl Allen (drums). It’s a thoughtful but accessible modern jazz album—the perfect accompaniment to a pot of coffee and the Sunday newspaper. Metropolitan Records owner Stan Chovnick recruited this trio on the strength of its performance at a 1998 jazz educators conference in New York. A year later the educators were still buzzing about the band's appearance in the Big Apple, and it's easy to hear why. These three players share a special chemistry.

Childs’playing is often compared to Herbie Hancock’s, but the L.A. native has been carving out his own niche for some time now. He's a monster pianist, and his two songs here are high points on the album. Williams is an assertive bassist who’s played with Hancock, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Barron, Sarah Vaughan and dozens more. The veteran bassist contributes three diverse tunes to Skim Coat. Can't forget Allen, an experienced drummer in the Art Blakey mold who lends plenty of texture to these nine tracks. The trio creates a sense of unfolding emotion on these tunes, four of which are covers. "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" and Childs’ "The Winds of Change" are very different tracks, but each follows a similar pattern: Childs establishes the melodic theme before plunging into a spirited bop segment, which segues into a crisp response from Williams. Allen pushes a strong undercurrent before Childs restates the theme. "Surrey" is recognizable but bop-oriented, with a hint of Bud Powell.

"You Don’t Know What Love Is" is given a heady post-bop treatment. The title track is a skittery number with varying tempos and unexpected turns. The trio plays it straight on Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye," a gorgeous slow waltz. Bass solos seldom thrill me, but Buster Williams delivers a real beauty here, and all of his solos on Skim Coat are intense but direct. Williams' composition "Deja" is a radiant reverie, and the CD closes with his fast bop ramble "Deceptacon."

Childs impresses throughout. He communicates the comfortable essence of each melody before escorting the listener to different stimulating places. Childs is a piano man to watch closely in the 2000s. As a soundtrack for meditative relaxation, Skim Coat is hard to beat. This is substantive mainstream jazz delivered from the heart. ~Ed Kopp

Skim Coat

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Freddie Hubbard - One of a Kind

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:23
Size: 97,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:20) 1. UK Forty
(7:22) 2. One of a Kind
(8:18) 3. First Light
(2:30) 4. There Is No Greater Love
(4:44) 5. Love Connection
(7:12) 6. One of Another Kind
(7:56) 7. UK Forty One

Hubbard played the mellophone and trumpet working under local legends Wes and Monk Montgomery, before moving to New York and becoming immersed with some of the city’s finest Jazz musicians, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy, J. J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. His recording “Ready For Freddie” solidified him as one of the most innovative and underrated Jazz trumpet players alive, and it’s follow-up, the critically acclaimed album “First Light”, not only won him his first Grammy Award, cementing not only his jazz status but also his mainstream appeal

“…a barnstorming trumpet player… …triumphantly volatile.” – John Pareles, New York Times

The Ad Lib Series, now available on DVD for the first time, is a collection of 46 concert TV programs presenting the best Jazz, Pop and Blues artists showcasing their skills with a Jazz flair. Seen on TV internationally, Ad Lib (filmed in 1980) was the first musical television series recorded in Stereo. Each DVD features 2 episodes of the acclaimed Ad Lib Series.

As Seen on TV, this special Ad Lib Series DVD, “Freddie Hubbard: One of a Kind”, captures one of the 20th Century’s greatest Jazzmen, impressing everyone who heard him blow his horn. Freddie Hubbard, known throughout his career as a passionate yet bold and ferocious trumpeter, constantly adapted his playing style with a seemingly effortless poise, creating an individual style with powerful grace.
https://arkadiarecords.com/product/freddie-hubbard-one-of-a-kind/

Personnel: Freddie Hubbard: Trumpet; Billy Childs: Piano; Stephen Houghton: Drums; Buck Clark: Percussion; Larry Klein: Bass

One of a Kind

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Billy Childs - The Winds of Change

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:34
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

( 6:21) 1. The Great Western Loop
(10:32) 2. The Winds Of Change
( 8:02) 3. The End Of Innocence
( 7:12) 4. Master Of The Game
( 7:33) 5. Crystal Silence
( 6:45) 6. The Black Angel
( 6:05) 7. I Thought I Knew

On 2023's The Winds of Change, Billy Childs embraces a thrilling, deeply sophisticated post-bop sound that evokes his work from the early '70s and '80s with artists like Freddie Hubbard and J.J. Johnson. The Winds of Change marks his third album with the jazz-friendly Mack Avenue label, following 2017's Grammy-winning Rebirth and 2020's Acceptance. As with those records, here Childs leads a small group, this time a veritable all-star ensemble featuring trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade.

Together,they delve into a mix of originals and covers inspired by Childs' longtime passion for film music, especially the moody West Coast film noir, neo-noir, and hard-boiled soundtracks associated with composers like Jerry Goldsmith, Michel Legrand, and Bernard Herrmann. The opening "The Great Western Loop" (perhaps a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest?) begins with a spiraling piano riff offset by big, chunky, dark bass hits and Akinmusire's climbing trumpet melody. It's a kinetic, harmonically rich composition that wouldn't sound out of place on any of Freddie Hubbard's fusion-influenced albums.

That song along with the shimmering, late-afternoon balladry of the title track and the slow-churning "The End of Innocence" also feel like a song cycle. Part of this is due to the empathetic interplay between Childs and Akinmusire, who both play with a painterly touch, their shadowy harmonies caressing the vast cityscapes and West Coast mountain ranges the songs seem to conjure. Just as evocative are the covers, including an airy take of Chick Corea's 1972 composition "Crystal Silence" where Akinmusire's breathy trumpet veritably traces the glassy surface of Childs' chordal lake.

There's also a roiling, militaristic rendition of Kenny Barron's "The Black Angel," originally featured on the aforementioned Hubbard's 1970 album of the same name, a further affirmation of the deeply personal influences at play on The Winds of Change.By Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-winds-of-change-mw0003900312

The Winds of Change

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Gary LeMel - The Best Of Times

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:03
Size: 126.0 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[5:04] 1. Call Me Irresponsible (Feat.Paula Cole)
[3:10] 2. It Amazes Me
[2:22] 3. I'm Old Fashioned
[4:31] 4. Lovely Way To Spend An Evening
[6:14] 5. Skylark
[3:33] 6. I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love)
[3:57] 7. I Got Lost In Her Arms (Feat. Billy Childs)
[4:30] 8. Here's To Life (Feat. Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)
[3:18] 9. Once Upon A Time
[2:33] 10. When I Fall In Love
[3:08] 11. How Do You Keep The Music Playing
[5:03] 12. My Foolish Heart (Feat.Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)
[3:31] 13. I Remember
[0:22] 14. Interlude
[3:39] 15. Imagination (Feat.Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)

The music on this CD was all out previously on Gary LeMel's earlier albums Moonlighting, Lost in Your Arms, and Romancing the Screen, dating from 1994-2001. LeMel has an expressive voice and is heard here exclusively on very slow renditions of ballads, although sometimes the instrumental sections are taken at faster tempos. A sameness is felt by the third song, and it is difficult for one's mind not to wander. Certainly these renditions of "Call Me Irresponsible" (which co-features Paula Cole), "Skylark," "Here's to Life," and "When I Fall in Love" will not make one forget the definitive versions, and many of the arrangements are overblown. Only the closing "Imagination," which is performed in a combo with prominent playing by bassist Bob Hurst and tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard, has much life. Overall, the music is heartfelt, but it would be nice to hear LeMel on fresher, spontaneous, and more inspired material. ~Scott Yanow

The Best Of Times mc
The Best Of Times zippy

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Freddie Hubbard - Born To Be Blue

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:48
Size: 95,8 MB
Art: Front

(12:16)  1. Gibraltar
( 8:06)  2. True Colors
( 7:26)  3. Born To Be Blue
( 6:48)  4. Joy Spring
( 7:11)  5. Up Jumped Spring

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard teams up with veteran tenor-saxophonist Harold Land and Hubbard's regular rhythm section of the period (keyboardist Billy Childs, bassist Larry Klein, drummer Steve Houghton and percussionist Buck Clark) on this fine modern hard bop CD, a straight reissue of the original Pablo LP. Hubbard had hurt his reputation with his very commercial Columbia recordings of the mid-to-late '70s so in 1981 he was doing his best to return to his brand of straightahead jazz. This date is highlighted by "Gibraltar," Clifford Brown's "Joy Spring" and a revisit to Hubbard's "Up Jumped Spring." ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/born-to-be-blue-mw0000188314

Personnel: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Billy Childs (keyboards); Larry Klein (bass); Steve Houghton (drums); Buck Clark (percussion).

Born To Be Blue

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Freddie Hubbard - Keystone Bop: Sunday Night

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:47
Size: 158,2 MB
Art: Front

(15:22)  1. Birdlike
(10:25)  2. The Littlest One Of All
(16:02)  3. The Intrepid Fox
(17:02)  4. Sky Dive
( 9:54)  5. Body And Soul

An LP-and-a-half's worth of material recorded by Freddie Hubbard and his sextet (with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Billy Childs, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Larry Klein, and drummer Steve Houghton) at the legendary San Francisco club Keystone Korner one night in 1981. The great trumpeter is in excellent form on three of his compositions ("Birdlike," "Sky Dive," and "The Intrepid Fox"), Hutcherson's "The Littlest One of All," and "Body and Soul." Although few surprises occur, Hubbard fans can be assured that this set finds him in excellent form on a good night. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/keystone-bop-sunday-night-mw0000126498

Personnel: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, flugelhorn); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone); Billy Childs (piano); Larry Klein (bass); Steve Houghton (drums).

Keystone Bop: Sunday Night

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Billy Childs - Rebirth

Size: 130,1 MB
Time: 56:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Backwards Bop (6:37)
02. Rebirth (7:37)
03. Stay (5:57)
04. Dance Of Shiva (6:49)
05. Tightrope (6:36)
06. The Starry Night (8:09)
07. The Windmills Of Your Mind (7:07)
08. Peace (7:26)

It's been a while since we've heard pianist Billy Childs really dig in. While he certainly hasn't been dormant, reaching tremendous artistic heights in semi-recent times with a pair of highly refined chamber jazz explorations and a much-lauded tribute to Laura Nyro, the Childs of yore—the man that would throw down the gauntlet night after night while in the employ of legends like trumpet titan Freddie Hubbard or trombonist J.J. Johnson—hasn't been heard from in a while. Rebirth brings that part of Childs' past back into view, but it also continues to shine a light on his clarity of expression and his incredible skills in the arranging department. It's punctilious and unpredictably powerful all at once. Believe it or not, you can have both ways. At least, that is, if you're Billy Childs.

While those aforementioned post-millennial winners were well-staffed affairs—the chamber ensemble projects were chock full or orchestral trappings and the Nyro album had a guest list that ran a mile long—Childs pares things down for this one, running lean in the personnel department. For six of the eight tracks, it's just a quartet at play. Of course, referring to the marshaled forces of Childs, saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Eric Harland as "just a quartet" is akin to referencing the New York Yankees as "just a baseball team." These are heavy hitters that came to play. That fact is made abundantly clear right of the gate on "Backwards Bop," one of three tunes on this program that Childs recorded in his Windham Hill days in the '80s. It's a bold opening stroke, setting the bar incredibly high with precision unison lines, sharp turns, and powerful solo stands. Glawischnig is like a tightly wound spring, Childs works with an authoritative tone that never dulls or blur his incredibly articulate touch, Wilson comes off like a shrewd harmonic navigator, and Harland puts his monumental chops to good use. It's the perfect example of how to hook the ear from the start.

The pair of guest-enhanced tracks—one a unique yet stylistically congruent follow-up to "Backwards Bop" with appearances from trombonist Ido Meshulam, percussionist Rogerio Boccato, and vocalist Claudia Acuna, the other a ballad with vocalist Alicia Olatuja in the spotlight—both immediately follow that slam dunk of an opener. Acuña co-wrote the title track, a piece that benefits greatly from her inimitable wordless vocals. Harland creates a steadily skittering backdrop that gives the song a nervous energy, Wilson's soprano takes to the sky, and Childs scampers around, mixing playfulness and potency in his piano work. "Stay," on the other hand, does just that, giving Olatuja a chance to shine in a mellow musical climate that never really intensifies.

The five remaining numbers are gratifying in so many ways. "Dance Of Shiva," ridiculously intricate in its design, engineering, and realization, features some startlingly fresh statements from Childs and Wilson; "Tightrope" finds all four men moving with lighter steps and listening closely, painting and dancing a varicolored waltz together; "The Starry Night" suggests its title through the dreamiest of piano forewords, skyrockets into the stratosphere with Wilson's soprano acting as the nose cone of the ship, and settles into orbit for solos; and "The Windmills Of Your Mind" glows and burns a deep red, with Childs and company drawing out the most intense flavor notes and emotions buried in the song's structure. Then serenity sets in for the closer—a poetic (piano and saxophone) duo take on Horace Silver's "Peace."

Childs hasn't always put all of his talent cards on the table at once, suppressing one aspect of his artistry in deference to others at times, so it's nice to see that change with Rebirth. He's showing his full hand here—chops, nuance, composing, arranging, and all—and it's a musical royal flush if ever there was one. ~Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Billy Childs: piano; Steve Wilson: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Hans Glawischnig: acoustic bass; Eric Harland: drums.

Rebirth

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Joe Locke - Moment To Moment: The Music of Henry Mancini

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:00
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:33)  1. Slow Hot Wind
(6:48)  2. Moon River
(6:49)  3. Moment To Moment
(3:40)  4. Whistling Away The Dark
(6:28)  5. Charad
(7:32)  6. Loss Of Love
(6:33)  7. The Days Of Wine & Roses
(5:45)  8. Two For The Road
(5:48)  9. Dreamsville

Vibraphonist Joe Locke offers a fresh look at works by Henry Mancini on this release, as he leads a powerhouse quartet that includes pianist Billy Childs, bassist Eddie Gomez, and drummer Gene Jackson. His dramatic and spacious treatment of one of Mancini's most beloved works, "Moon River," gives the oft-recorded song a very new sound, while another frequently played number, "Days of Wine and Roses," begins with a dreamy introduction before progressing into a head-shaking hard bop arrangement. "Charade" is another well-loved movie theme that gets a thorough revamping; in Billy Childs' chart the piano alternates between a swirling line that contrasts with the leader as he plays its theme with a straight-ahead bop segment. But the group is not content just to stick to Mancini's best-known songs; "Loss of Love" is a straight-ahead ballad nailed on the first take, while "Whistling Away the Dark" showcases Eddie Gomez's lovely arco bass. When one combines great compositions and inventive, talented musicians such as the member of the Joe Locke Quartet, the results have to be highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/moment-to-moment-the-music-of-henry-mancini-mw0000178289

Personnel: Joe Locke (vibraphone); Billy Childs (piano); Eddie Gomez (bass); Gene Jackson (drums).

Moment To Moment: The Music of Henry Mancini

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Freddie Hubbard - Skagly

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:22
Size: 94,8 MB
Art: Front

( 7:52)  1. Happiness Is Now
( 5:36) 2. Theme from 'Summer of '42' (The Summer Knows)
( 7:44)  3. Cascais
(14:34) 4. Skagly
( 5:35)  5. Rustic Celebration

In general Freddie Hubbard's Columbia recordings can be skipped by serious jazz fans because, with the exception of Super Blue and to a lesser extent this album, they are overtly commercial and rather insincere efforts. This particular record at least uses the trumpeter's regular quintet of the period (with Hadley Caliman on tenor and flute, the up-and-coming keyboardist Billy Childs, bassist Larry Klein and drummer Carl Burnett) although the title cut has three guests (including keyboardist George Duke) whose role seemed to be to make the music more funky. With the exception of the standard "Theme from Summer of '42," none of the other songs (all group originals) caught on but Hubbard takes some good solos during these modern mainstream performances. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/skagly-mw0000819807

Personnel: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, flugelhorn); Hadley Caliman (flute, tenor saxophone); Phil Ranelin (trombone); Billy Childs (keyboards); Larry Klein (acoustic bass, electric bass); Carl Burnett (drums).

Skagly

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Billy Childs - Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro

Size: 142,2 MB
Time: 61:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. New York Tendaberry (Feat. Renee Fleming & Yo-Yo Ma) (7:18)
02. The Confession (Feat. Becca Stevens) (4:39)
03. Map To The Treasure (Feat. Lisa Fischer) (7:15)
04. Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp (Feat. Esperanza Spalding & Wayne Shorter) (5:17)
05. Been On A Train (Feat. Rickie Lee Jones & Chris Potter) (6:20)
06. Stoned Soul Picnic (Feat. Ledisi) (4:26)
07. Gibsom Street (Feat. Susan Tedeschi & Steve Wilson) (6:27)
08. Save The Country (Feat. Shawn Colvin & Chris Botti) (7:30)
09. To A Child (Feat. Dianne Reeves) (5:45)
10. And When I Die (Feat. Alison Krauss & Jerry Douglas) (6:08)

Laura Nyro was an intensely emotional powerhouse of a singer-songwriter who, over the course of a 30-year career, wrote huge hits for others. One measure of her impact is that, for two weeks in 1969, she had written three songs in Billboard’s Top 10. Yet, as a performer, she never won a Grammy award or earned a Top 40 single before her untimely death in 1997 at the age of 49.

A new album of her songs by Grammy-winning composer-pianist Billy Childs and all-star cast of singers and musicians seems likely to win Nyro new fans and reinvigorate her musical legacy.

Much more than a tribute album, Map To The Treasure: Laura Nyro Reimagined (Sony Masterworks), which is set for release on Sept. 9, boldly reinterprets and recontextualizes her songs, drawing on jazz and chamber music, while retaining the joyous blend of Brill Building pop, soul, gospel and jazz that made Nyro such an original.

Although she never won more than a fervent cult following as a singer and performer, almost everyone has heard the great covers of Nyro songs like The 5th Dimension’s “Stoned Soul Picnic” and “Wedding Bell Blues”; Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “And When I Die”; Three Dog Night’s “Eli’s Comin’”; and Barbra Streisand’s “Stoney End.” Yet her most lasting legacy might be her influence on a generation of pop and jazz innovators: Joni Mitchell, Donald Fagen, Rickie Lee Jones, Todd Rundgren and Elton John have all acknowledged her as an inspiration.

Also among her early fans were two 16-year-old, budding jazz musicians from Los Angeles: Childs and a young bass player named Larry Klein, who had met in a music theory workshop for musically gifted high schoolers at USC. After class, the two friends found inspiration listening to Nyro records together; they would later play together as sidemen for Freddie Hubbard in the late 1970s. (“Larry got me on that gig,” Childs said recently.)

After that, their musical paths diverged: Childs became a jazz pianist and composer of chamber and symphonic music, while Klein found fame as a producer for Mitchell and other pop and jazz artists. The Nyro project, with Childs arranging and playing keyboards, and Klein producing, is their first collaboration since touring with Hubbard.

The friends have assembled an impressive cast of singers for the project, including Jones, Esperanza Spalding, Renée Fleming (who sings the aria-like “New York Tendaberry”), Alison Krauss, Dianne Reeves, Ledisi, Becca Stevens, Shawn Colvin, Susan Tedeschi and Lisa Fischer (of 20 Feet from Stardom fame).

Guest musicians on the album include soloists Yo-Yo Ma (who accompanies Fleming), Wayne Shorter, Chris Botti, Jerry Douglas, Chris Potter and Steve Wilson, along with the inspired pianism of Childs and a band that includes drummers Brian Blade, Jay Bellerose and Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Scott Colley and guitarist Dean Parks.

Klein has ample experience producing large, complex projects; he co-produced River: The Joni Letters with Herbie Hancock, which won the Album of the Year Grammy in 2008. That record explored the jazz implications of Mitchell’s songs and led to a greater acceptance of her as a composer of jazz standards; this album could do something similar for Nyro.

In scoring a suite of Nyro songs, Childs drew upon his background in both jazz and classical formats—he has written works for orchestras, including the L.A. Philharmonic as well as leading his own chamber jazz group.

The result is full of revelatory moments including inspired soloing by Shorter to adorn Spalding’s pure vocal in “Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp”; Botti’s mournful trumpet elegy in the introduction to a solemn, orchestral interpretation of “Save The Country” (sung with feeling by Colvin); and the way “Stoned Soul Picnic,” fully inhabited by r&b singer Ledisi, morphs at the end into a funky, boppish piano solo.

When selecting songs for the album, Childs chose to explore Nyro’s Gothic imagination, which may surprise fans of her more familiar and sunnier melodies. “Her songs are like part of one long opera,” he said by phone from Los Angeles, “where there are these recurring characters—God and the Devil, her father, her mother, her friends, men who have done her wrong and men who are good. It’s like a great novel.”

He said he felt compelled to include not only some of the hits, like “Stoned Soul Picnic” and “Save The Country,” but also very dark songs that confront the world’s evils, like the heroin ballad “Been On A Train,” harrowingly realized by Jones; and “Gibsom Street,” whose chilling lyrics, sung by a world-weary Tedeschi (sample verse: “Don’t go to Gibsom cross the river/ The devil is hungry, the devil is sweet/ If you are soft then you will shiver/ They hang the alley cats on Gibsom Street”), reminds Childs of German expressionist films like M or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Childs enjoyed working with his old friend Klein. One example of their collaboration was rethinking the song “Save The Country.” Nyro’s version had an optimism—it was like a rallying song for the nation’s spirits following the assassinations of President Kennedy; his brother Robert Kennedy; and Dr. Martin Luther King. Childs said, “I loved the tunefulness and the upbeat quality of her version, but Larry had an idea: He said, ‘Why don’t we do it with a more somber approach, as though we’re looking back on the past 40 years, and the country has gone to hell in a handbasket?’ It’s more of a desperate plea, so I approached it that way. And it was a great idea.”

Childs knew he faced a tremendous challenge in reimagining Nyro’s work. “How do you improve on something that’s already perfect?” Childs asked. “The point for me is not to improve on it, because you can’t. But I love this music so much, and it’s had such a profound effect on me, that I want to put it through the prism of my own experience.”

This is not your mother’s Laura Nyro record, but “red-yellow honey, sassafras and moonshine” for a new generation. —Allen Morrison

Map To The Treasure

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