''News for Lulu'' is an album of

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

compositions performed by saxophonist

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

, trombonist

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexican ...

and guitarist

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

. Released in 1987, the album features tunes associated with the classic hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s, written by

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to descr ...

Freddie Redd Freddie Redd (May 29, 1928 – March 17, 2021) was an American Hard bop, hard-bop pianist and composer. He is best known for writing music to accompany ''The Connection (play), The Connection'' (1959), a play by Jack Gelber. According to Peter ...

and

Sonny Clark Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Early life Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pit ...

. ''News for Lulu'' is primarily a studio recording, though live versions of three of the studio tracks are included at the end of the album. Though Zorn, Lewis and Frisell were mostly known at the time for playing experimental music, the hard bop songs are interpreted in a manner that's mostly faithful to the originals. The original cover photograph features the actress

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

who played 'Lulu' in the silent film ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phys ...

'' (1929), evoking the song "News for Lulu" by Clark. It was released in 1988 on the Swiss HatHut Record label, and re-released in 1993 and again in 2008 with a new cover and additional take of "Melanie" recorded live at Jazzfestival

Willisau Willisau is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the Lucerne canton of Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2006 from the municipalities of Willisau Land (W. Country) and Willisau Stadt (W. Town).More News for Lulu'', which featured 1989 live performances drawn mostly from the same group of hard bop compositions.

Reception

Critical reception to the album was largely positive. The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Scott Yanow stated "There are hints of the avant-garde here and there, but also plenty of swinging, bop-oriented solos and coherent ensembles. Very intriguing music that is highly recommended to a wide audience of jazz and general listeners".

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

reviewer Martin Longley observed "These compositions all sound very familiar and this can’t be because they’re aired very often on the bebop stage. This has become an oft-visited disc in the collection, but its tunes surely deserve greater use as standards, either because they’re real hard bop classics or because they exist as prime distillations of archetypal bebop moves. It’s hard to tell which is which and why they sound so amazingly compulsive". Chris May of All About Jazz wrote: "It's a perfect blast on two levels—as a celebration of some great tunes and as platform for incisive collective improvisation". Andrew Jones compared the unusual sax-guitar-trombone lineup to a group led by

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

in the late 1950s, featuring the leader's sax and clarinets alongside valve trombonist

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...

and guitarist Jim Hall (see, e.g., ''

Western Suite ''Western Suite'' is an album by American jazz composer and arranger Jimmy Giuffre which was released on the Atlantic label in 1960.rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

(drums, piano and/or bass), and as a result the three musicians found themselves sliding in and out of soloing and supporting roles depending on the song and arrangements, occasionally veering into experimental territory but mostly swinging and staying rooted in blues.Jones, Andrew: ''Plunderphonics, 'pataphysics & Pop Mechanics: An Introduction to Musique Actuelle'', 1995 SAF Publishing LTD,

Track listing

:* Tracks 1-17 recorded at Soundville Recording Studio

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

on August 28, 1987. Tracks 18-20 recorded live at Jazzfestival

Willisau Willisau is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the Lucerne canton of Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2006 from the municipalities of Willisau Land (W. Country) and Willisau Stadt (W. Town).John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

- alto saxophone *

- trombone *

- guitar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:News for Lulu (Album) 1988 albums Albums produced by John Zorn John Zorn albums Bill Frisell albums George E. Lewis albums Hathut Records albums Collaborative albums