Few jazz birds flew higher or further than Herbie Mann did in the 1960s, releasing over 30 albums in the decade alone and, apparently to the chagrin of some jazz cognoscenti, having great commercial success in doing so. While Mann is not a revered figure in the jazz history books, his contributions to jazz and its opening up to different sounds originating from around the world and American rock, pop and R & B, as well as other innovations, cannot be undervalued.
From 1959 through the early 70s Mann’s vast discography puts him in perhaps the widest array of contexts of any artist including, but of course not limited to: Afro-Cuban jazz, African influenced jazz, Bossa Nova (of which he was one of the first Americans to release records in the genre), soul jazz, 60s New York-style Latin, Third Stream, pop, Middle Eastern, rock, and even variants on modal jazz.
Because of his commercial success, Mann was one of the important band and recording session leaders of the 1960s. The talent that passed through his groups in studio or live reads like a virtual who’s who of top tier 60s jazz, latin and bossa nova musicians, with many of these sidemen going on to successful careers as leaders in their own right. Among these are vibists Roy Ayers and Dave Pike, guitarists Baden Powell, Larry Coryell, Attila Zoller and Sonny Sharrock, saxophonist Steve Marcus, bassists Earl May, Ben Tucker, Ahmed Abdul Malik and Miroslav Vituous, pianists Sergio Mendes, Chick Corea, Charlie Palmieri and Don Friedman, percussionists Willie Bobo, Johnny Pacheco and Ray Barretto, drummer Dom Um Romão, Bruno Carr and many, many, many others. Mann is of course also known for having employed Duane Allman in 1971 for some of the legendary guitarist’s last recordings, including an unreleased and now lost session titled Herbie Mann 71 which also includes Sharrock.
Mann also used his position to help his band members further their careers by making recordings either for Atlantic or the Atlantic off-shoot labels with which Mann was closely associated as a producer, Vortex and Embryo, between 1968 and 1970. These include records by Ayers (Stoned Soul Picnic), Corea (Tones for Joan’s Bones), Pike (Doors of Perception), Marcus (Tomorrow Never Knows, Count’s Rock Band, and The Lord’s Prayer), Zoller (Gypsy Cry), Sharrock (Black Woman), and Vitous (Infinite Search, later remixed and re-titled Mountain in the Clouds). Mann himself recorded several records for Embryo, including the brilliantly atmospheric Stone Flute (1970), the funky Memphis Two-Step and the hit Push Push, both from 1971. Vibist Roy Ayers had already established a reputation as a top tier jazzman in his native Los Angeles before his long association with Mann in the late 60s and early 70s. He would, of course, go on to become one of the top selling jazz artists of the 70s with his fusion of funky soul styles and jazz. Perhaps what stands out among some of the other names is their association with avant-garde palettes of jazz in the case of Friedman, Zoller and Sharrock.
Sharrock, who revolutionized jazz guitar playing in his mode of emulating the wailing, crying, screaming sounds of the New Things saxophonists of the 60s, seems like a particularly odd fit for the band. Live recordings from Japanese television and the studio dates show Sharrock to be a supportive and sensitive accompanist for more standard, inside material as well and his association with Mann lasted six years, culminating on record with the fiery solo on “Memphis Underground” from the 1973 live date Hold On, I’m Comin’. Mann also produced Sharrock’s Black Woman in 1969. As RealGoneMusic’s 2016 issue of Herbie Mann Live At The Whisky: The Unreleased Masters shows, Mann gave Sharrock and his vocalist wife Linda room to shine in a live context as well.
This brings us to our record at hand, 1968’s Windows Opened. It has never been properly reissued in the U.S. It was recorded at two sessions at Atlantic’s studios in New York on February 8 and April 2 of that year with sessions produced by ubiquitious Atlantic staff producers Joel Dorn and Arif Mardin. Unlike other studio records from the era by other jazz artists, this record actually features Mann’s working band of Ayers, Sharrock, Vitous and Carr. The record is representative of Mann’s open ears and wide range of tastes at the time, that also bring the considerable virtues of his sidemen to the fore. The instrumentation of vibes, guitar, bass and drums backing him was one that he’d employed on and off since Right Now! in 1963. This quartet of Ayers, Sharrock, Vitous and Carr would record two rare EPs in Japan in 1970, ostensibly under Ayers’ leadership, titled All Blues and Comin’ Home Baby which were both comprised entirely of tunes that had been recorded by Mann and were part of the live set at the time. We shall revisit these in a later post.
Windows Opened is also notable for Atlantic house artist Stanislaw Zagorski’s unique pop art/collage cover. Zagorski’s graphic language was a key component of Atlantic’s look in the mid to late 1960s. The back cover, along with some illustrations in Zagorski’s inimitable style, includes a number of poetic excerpts including an apt epigraph for the music and the musicians who made it, a translation of Turkish poet Orhan Veli Kanik that reads:
“The window—that’s the best of all:
At least you can watch the birds fly
Instead of staring at four walls.”
The five quintet tracks on the record put the band’s tremendous talent on full display. The powerhouse rhythm section of Vitous and Carr alternatively drives the band to its limits, creates deep pockets of groove, changes directions on a whim and responds both to each other and the soloists with sensitivity and aplomb. It is unfortunate that these two musicians did not record more in contexts like this as they have a unique, (and again) powerful presence that challenges and raises the musicianship of the soloists while flying high themselves. The Czech born bassist, then only 21 years of age, is particularly virtuosic in his dialogues with both Carr and the soloists. Carr is one of jazz’s great underrecognized talents on the drums, on par or beyond other more recognized figures, combining the power and drive of Art Blakey with the perceptive responsiveness and touch on the cymbals of Billy Higgins, but still being very much his own man. Ayers’ success in the 70s as a crossover artist has somewhat obscured his credentials as a phenomenal straight ahead soloist, fusing a superlative facility on the instrument with a wide imagination. He shares the spotlight equally with Mann, intertwining collective improvisational lines with Mann on the loping, rocking “There Is A Mountain,” creating spacey back drops as an accompanist, and contributing aggressive, soulful soloing throughout. He also contributes the only original band composition for the album, the remarkable title track. Sharrock takes only two solos on the record, displaying an uncharacteristic restraint (for his reputation) and sense of space on the band’s take of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” and perhaps his best solo on record on “Windows Opened” with its frenetic flights, drones and eventual soft landing. Sharrock’s comping has an ear for the needs of the group and its material from sparse, open voicings, to modal comping in fourths to full on rocking strumming to gentle and sympathetic backing. Lastly, we have the contributions of the leader himself, whose signature sound and personal approach to the diverse gamut of material rises to the occasion, floating and dancing confidently, while also extracting the beauty of the melody on the one non-quintet track, the more produced take on the oft-recorded Jimmy Webb song “By The Time I Get To Phoenix.” Mann’s surety, poise and coolness permeate his playing from beginning to end, certainly knowing he was leading a top shelf group of young talent.
From the loping drive of their version of Donovan’s “There Is A Mountain,” the space and beauty of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were A Carpenter” and the aforementioned “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” the elasticity and momentum of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” the funky soul jazz groove of Charles Tolliver’s “Paper Man,” and the forceful modal push of the title track, Windows Opened offers a glimpse into the varied, polychromatic hues of the state of jazz in 1968—executed by a unique, unlikely and supremely talented unit of musicians.
jg
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Recorded February 8 and April 2, 1968
Personnel:
Herbie Mann- flute
Roy Ayers- vibes
Sonny Sharrock- guitar
Miroslav Vitous- bass
Bruno Carr- drums
Side One
1. There Is A Mountain (Donovan Leitch) 6:08
2. If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin) 5:41
3. Paper Man (Charles Tolliver) 6:47
Side Two
4. Footprints (Wayne Shorter) 8:27
5. By The Time I Get To Phoenix (Jim Webb) 2:22
6. Windows Opened (Roy Ayers) 7:30
Produced by Joel Dorn and Arif Mardin
Atlantic SD 1507
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