Present And Future – 1968
Jimmy Owens Jazz Workshop
A rather remarkable group of modern jazz all-stars
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In 1968 in Hamburg, Germany, trumpeter Jimmy Owens led an all-star group of young and veteran modernists through an uptempo original called “Present And Future.”
Pianist Joachim Kuhn starts it off with some adventurous solo piano before the rhythm section joins in.
Guitarist Volker Kriege has a short solo (Gunter Lenz is on bass) and then there are spots for altoist Lee Konitz, trumpeter Ack Van Rooyen, tenor-saxophonist Gato Barbieri (when he was a fiery avant-gardist), trombonist Slide Hampton, altoist Phil Woods, Jimmy Owens, and drummer Barry Altschul before the ensemble brings the piece to a close.
Owens, who would later became a respected educator, finishes the performance by having the group rehearse the ending a few times.
This was the earliest documentation of alto greats Woods and Konitz playing together (they would be part of the Alto Summit recording later that year) and it is fascinating seeing Barbieri at this point in his career.
-Scott Yanow
