CiTR

This wonderful recording is led by one of the most distinctive tenor saxophonists in Jazz, Clifford Jordan. Here he leads two quartets each playing original material composed by Jordan himself and the individual band members.The people involved in Quartet #1 are Jordan on tenor saxophone, Stanley Cowell on piano, Bill Lee (Spike Lee's dad) on bass and the great Billy Higgins on drums. One composition by Jordan, two by Cowell and two by Lee are represented. The music is pure, lyrical and organic. Quartet #2 has Jordan and Higgins with Cedar Walton replacing Cowell and Sam Jones replacing Lee. Jordan is represented compositionally by the album's title track (Glass Bead Games) and Walton penned two and a Sam Jones blues (One For Amos) closes the set. Again the music is passionate, organic and unified. It just flows and has a quality that is missing from most Jazz recordings, a great feeling of a band! This music came out on a musician-run label called "Strata-East" and it is now hard to find. It was recorded in New York on October 29,1973 and in those days it was like a breath of fresh air. It is just that today....timeless music and the best of Jazz.