''Nostalgia in Times Square'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist

Jemeel Moondoc Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before s ...

, which was recorded in 1985 and released the following year on the Italian

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

label. He leads a quintet that features Ornette Coleman guitarist Bern Nix, former

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

pianist

Rahn Burton Rahn Burton, also Ron Burton or William Burton (February 10, 1934, Louisville, Kentucky - January 25, 2013) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Burton began taking piano lessons at age 13, and worked locally in Louisville before playing his f ...

, bassist William Parker and drummer

Denis Charles Denis Alphonso Charles (December 4, 1933 – March 26, 1998) was a jazz drummer. Biography Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to Ne ...

. This is Moondoc's first date with piano since his 1977 debut album, Muntu's '' First Feeding''.

Music

The title track is a medium-tempo blues written by Charles Mingus for the 1959

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

film ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'', recorded by the bassist on the album '' Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland'' and reprised as "Strollin'," with a vocal by

Honi Gordon Honi Gordon (sometimes Honey Gordon) was a jazz vocalist. Career Honi Gordon sang as a member of the Gordons (with her father and two brothers) in the early 1950s.Henderson, Ale"Honi Gordon" AllMusic. Retrieved June 4, 2017. Her first recordings, ...

, on ''

Mingus Dynasty ''Mingus Dynasty'' is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on Columbia Records in May 1960. It is a companion album to his 1959 record, ''Mingus Ah Um'', and was inducted in the List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipie ...

''. "Flora," a ballad named for Moondoc's maternal grandmother, marks his recorded debut on soprano saxophone, a horn he first played in the early 1970s as a member of Cecil Taylor's student orchestra at

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

. "In Walked Monk" is a homage to pianist

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, named after Monk's tribute to Bud Powell "

In Walked Bud "In Walked Bud" is a 1947 jazz composition by Thelonious Monk. It was composed by Monk in honor of his friend, fellow pianist Bud Powell, and based in part on the Irving Berlin standard " Blue Skies". Monk recorded many renditions of "In Walked B ...

". "Dance of the Clowns" started off as interlude music for the score that Moondoc wrote for the play ''The Siberian Express'', and would be renamed as "Dance of the Negro Lawn Jockeys" in later years.Original Liner Notes by Francis Davis.

Reception

The album was received as a move inside the tradition. ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' says that "is interesting for the addition of a guitar player and the abandonment of vibes for piano" but notes that "it's certainly a conservative step and there's nothing on the set that really grabs attention." Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Tim Niland called the recording a "forward thinking, yet swinging album," and commented: "Despite just being a quintet, the group was able to achieve a much bigger sound than their size indicated...This was a very enjoyable album, reminiscent of the music that was made by Charles Mingus last great working band with Don Pullen and George Adams. It's well worth revisiting the Black Saint and Soul Note catalogs for overlooked gems like this."

Track listing

:''All compositions by Jemeel Moondoc except as indicated'' #"Nostalgia in Times Square" (Charles Mingus) – 13:12 #"Flora" – 12:18 #"In Walked Monk" – 15:16 #"Dance of the Clowns" – 10:51

Personnel

–

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B ten ...

soprano sax The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

* Bern Nix –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* William Parker – bass *

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Jemeel Moondoc albums Black Saint/Soul Note albums