CARTER JEFFERSON - THE RISE OF ATLANTIS
Carter Jefferson for Timeless from 1978.
Terrific post bop album with latin influences -All Killer No Filler!
John Hicks (Piano), Terumasa Hino (Trumpet), Woody Shaw (Producer), Clint Houston (Bass), Victor Lewis (Drums),Carter Jefferson (Sax ), Lani Groves (Vocals), Shunzo Ohno (Trumpet), Steve Thornton (Percussion), Harry Whitaker (Piano)
Here's the customary underwhelming AMG review :
Tenor saxophonist Carter Jefferson made somewhat of a name for himself when trumpeter Woody Shaw chose him as a member of his first working quintet. Shaw is the producer of this album, Jefferson's fine debut (and evidently only) recording as a leader. Taking a cue from Shaw, the saxophonist sticks essentially to a quintet of trumpet and sax backed by all-star rhythm sections. Three of the tracks include hard bop trumpeter Terumasa Hino while the other three feature little-known Japanese trumpeter Shunzo Ono. Most of the tunes are firmly in the school of hard bop, the sort of music that Woody Shaw played so well. While there is not any new ground broken, it is all performed competently enough. While not as emotionally charged as his work with Shaw, Jefferson impresses with a fluid, mobile attack that shows a solid grasp of his material. If the groups seem to be sometimes merely going through the motions, there are nonetheless enough fine moments to make this a worthwhile purchase.AMG.
A reliable and advanced soloist who spent most of his career as a sideman, Carter Jefferson is best-remembered for his association with Woody Shaw during 1977-1980. Jefferson started on clarinet and played alto before settling on tenor, going on tour early in the backup bands of the Temptations, the Supremes, and Little Richard. In 1971, he moved to New York to attend New York University and soon spent two years with Mongo Santamaria and a period in 1973 as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After his important stint with Woody Shaw (with whom he recorded several times), Jefferson worked with many top players, including Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Cedar Walton, Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band, Malachi Thompson, and Jack Walrath's Masters of Suspense. His premature death in Poland after emergency surgery was a major loss. Carter Jefferson only led one record, The Rise of Atlantis, on the Timeless label in 1978. AMG.
