Revisiting A&M Records No. 28
Herbie Mann: ‘Glory of Love’ (December ‘67)
I must not be jazzbo enough to understand why this very enjoyable one-off the groundbreaking flutist cut for Creed Taylor’s CTI subsidiary isn’t held in nearly as high regard as albums that came before and after it.
I assume the purist’s argument against it centers on the perceived faddishness of such a premiere talent turning contemporary rock and R&B tunes into groovy jams. These elitists would similarly slag Ramsey Lewis a year later for doing likewise to a basket of oven-fresh White Album muffins.
Even (especially?) in ’67 that uppity stance must’ve seemed like a steaming pile of indefensible horseshit.
Dislike the playing, fair enough, though I’d still accuse you of being out of touch and/or lacking knowledge, for the bench on these sessions was deep: Ron Carter on bass, Paul Griffin on piano, Eric Gale on guitar, Benny Powell on trombone, both Ray Barretto *and* Johnny Pacheco on percussion, plus a young Hubert Laws trading puffs with the bandleader.
I also prefer to believe Roy Ayers, not Teddy Sommer, laid down that dizzying vibes solo on a boogaloo-worthy rendition of ‘The Letter’ by the Box Tops. The truth is the opposite.
But dismissing this alternately lively and lovely set wholly because of song choice conveniently overlooks that Mann had been rearranging modern hits all decade long, and on many acclaimed albums. His much-praised hybrid ‘Impressions of the Middle East’ from earlier in the year even boasts a version of ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy.’
In hindsight, whipping up wicked variations of ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’’ and ‘Unchain My Heart’ and ‘House of the Rising Sun’ strikes me as savvy, not calculated. These gems have aged quite well — and they aren’t the peak moments anyway.
Better still are ‘Upa, Neguinho’ (Mann was an early proponent of Brazilian music), his own creeper ‘Oh, How I Want to Love You’ and a moody opening blues, ‘No Use Crying,’ that merits a pint of whiskey and a long slow dance with a lonely barfly.
In short: well worth a spin or stream.