Indo Jazz Fusions: The Joe Harriott-John Mayer Double Quintet/Jazz at Jazz Ltd.

The Joe Harriott recording is a follow-up to "Indo-Jazz Suite" recorded by the Joe Harriott/John Mayer Double Quintet, a 10-piece ensemble made up of a jazz quintet and a quintet performing Indian music. On that recording the performances (except for the alto sax of Joe Harriott) sounded stiff. Perhaps more exposure to the material loosened them up because this recording is much looser and more enjoyable. The make-up of the double quintet is alto sax, trumpet, piano, bass, drums (under the direction of Joe Harriott) and violin/harpsichord, sitar, tamnura, tabla, and flute (under the direction of John Mayer). The music, originally recorded in 1967, has a lot of interesting sounds and textures - although the harpsichord has a little too much "Addam's Family" feel to it. The music from this release is about 40 minutes long.

"Jazz At Jazz, Ltd." was recorded by the regulars who sit in at the Jazz, Ltd. club in Chicago (FYI: this is a studio recording). The performances are sharp and vibrant - very representative of the nature of Dixieland and New Orleans-type jazz. There's a little under 40 minutes of this recording represented here.

As for the CD itself, there are extensive linernotes (from the original albums) that provide further insight into the performers, the compositions, and what these types of music represent in each of their individual styles. One band looks to the future, combining modern jazz with the music of other cultures, the other band looks to the past, showing what jazz was in the beginning.