[Review] Joe Zawinul Trio: To You With Love (1961)
Before his shot at the big time with Cannonball, there was this dud.
Kronomyth 1.0: Make a jazz noise here.
If you had told me in 1959 that Joe Zawinul would one day help lead a musical revolution, I would have said you were crazy. Then I would have hopped back into my time machine and returned to my original timeline, only to be reminded that I’d completely forgotten to kill Fidel Castro. So, I hope the blood on your hands was worth it, you snooty jazz know-it-all. This album, his first as a leader, was recorded before he joined Cannonball Adderley’s band and began writing his own music. What you have here are ten popular jazz standards played by three professional musicians who put the funk in perfunctory, plus a conga player who seems to have wandered into the wrong session. Maybe it’s not as bad as all that, but To You With Love might have been recorded by any number of nameless jazz bands and lost to time. Instead, because Zawinul’s name is associated with it, it’s been resurrected a few times by minor labels looking to cash in on his cachet. On these songs, Zawinul hits the right notes, the rhythm section provides adequate support, and sometimes you hear congas in the background and wonder what that’s all about. The song selections are safe and smart (except for Greensleeves, which is a terrible choice for a jazz arrangement) and the album works as background music. This is readymade jazz, however, meant to score a paycheck and not change the world. There are literally hundreds of jazz albums you should hear before this one.
Original elpee version
A1. I Should Care (Paul Weston/Axel Stordahl/Sammy Cahn) (3:16)
A2. Easy Living (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin) (3:24)
A3. Please Send Me Someone to Love (Percy Mayfield) (4:14)
A4. It Might As Well Be Spring (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II) (3:02)
A5. Love for Sale (Cole Porter) (4:12)
B1. Squeeze Me (Duke Ellington) (3:50)
B2. Greensleeves (traditional) (1:43)
B3. My One and Only Love (Guy Wood/Robert Mellin) (3:40)
B4. Masquerade Is Over (Allie Wrubel/Herb Magidson) (2:57)
B5. Sweet and Lovely (Gus Arnheim/Harry Tobias/Jules Lemare) (4:21)
The Players
Joe Zawinul (piano), Frankie Dunlop (drums), George Tucker (bass) with Ray Barretto (congas).
The Plastic
Released on mono elpee in 1961 in the US (Strand, SL 5007).
- Re-issued on compact disc in 1989 (Fresh Sound, SLS CD 100).
