Pete Jolly - SEASONS

[Harry]

I grabbed this album to play today, giving it yet another "chance". I've owned the LP for a number of years, and the Dusty Groove issued CD is now over 15 years old and I got that when it was first issued. I've played the album a number of times, but I feel like I'm missing something. I just don't "get it".

Older threads here have high praise for the album. Discogs seems to have rather high prices for copies of the album in both LP and CD formats, and the praises by members there seem over the top as far as I'm concerned.

The album has a title track that's at least recognizable to Herb Alpert fans as the Roger Nichols tune, "Song For Herb", here called "Seasons", and it might be the best thing on the album, IMHO. Most other tracks sound like random noodling on various keyboards, and it all comes off as rather "electronic".

What am I missing?

 

[Bobberman]

I own the digital download version of this and I view it as an experimental album In my opinion I see it as Pete jolly's departure from his normal work being it was his last for A&M this could be viewed as a similar situation to the BMB's As time goes by or Herb Alpert's Just you and me in a sense that they were totally different albums to what we normally would expect and I rather enjoy it in that respect. the praise I would agree seems superfluous but yet as I said I call it simply a Departure from his regular works

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I own the digital download version of this and I view it as an experimental album In my opinion I see it as Pete jolly's departure from his normal work being it was his last for A&M this could be viewed as a similar situation to the BMB's As time goes by or Herb Alpert's Just you and me in a sense that they were totally different albums to what we normally would expect and I rather enjoy it in that respect. the praise I would agree seems superfluous but yet as I said I call it simply a Departure from his regular works

I think that's exactly it, Bobberman. SEASONS, AS TIME GOES BY and SUMMERTIME are all traditional A&M artists trying to find their place in a very new era.

 

[Rudy]

Jolly's recording here is an outlier as, before and after this record, he pretty much stuck to his basic trio format (sometimes with guests) throughout his jazz career. His other career was performing on numerous television and movie soundtracks--it's what one does in L.A. to make a living. Only two of the tracks are pre-written, yet even those were pretty much performed on the fly without rehearsal. (For that matter, the only A&M album that was his style was Give A Damn, beyond the pointless horn overdubs and phony applause that were two of the strangest production decisions ever made IMHO--with Jolly's trio, you just let 'em run and do what they do best, especially in a live setting which was Jolly's bread and butter for decades.) Having explored so much of his work now, I don't really enjoy the sleepy Herb Alpert Presents album that much anymore, but...it's also atypical, so, that's two albums at A&M that other labels wouldn't have touched.

Anyhow, there are a couple of reviewers at AllMusic whose opinions I respect, and this is the review for Seasons. It helped me picked out details I had missed and I enjoy it more now because of it. It's also an example of a production where the musicians are just left to their own devices for just about the entire album. (And thank goodness for that, or we'd have the 1416 N. La Brea Philharmonic all over this record.)

Pete Jolly - Seasons Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic

Discover Seasons by Pete Jolly released in 1970. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.

www.allmusic.com

This LP, hailed at the time of release and promptly forgotten, is Pete Jolly's masterpiece, a wonderfully emotional electronic tour de force. With the exception of one cut, it was completely improvised in a single four-hour session in the studio by Jolly and a superb, versatile rhythm section: drummer Paul Humphrey, guitarist John Pisano, and the ever-present Chuck Berghofer on bass (with Milt Holland and Emil Richards contributing as well). Jolly plays not only acoustic piano, but Wurlitzer electronic piano, accordion, musette, Sano Vox and the Hammond B-3. Minimal overdubbing was done later. "Seasons" unleashes Jolly's imagination, and he creates a marvelous tapestry of sound that both moves the listener and swings spontaneously. Beautifully produced by Herb Alpert -- who brought him to A&M -- the record is structured as a continuous suite -- with only the side break on the LP interrupting the flow -- and it comes to an exciting, carefully graded climax on "The Indian's Summer," with Jolly pounding the grand piano and a sudden burst of big band fireworks courtesy of Bill Holman. It doesn't end there however, as the closing cut, a near nostalgic weeper cum slippery little funk number called "Pete's Jolly" attests, sending it out on a fingerpopping note. There is arch humor in tracks like the scurrying "Bees" and the sauntering "Plummer Park" (which has been sampled plentifully by the hip-hop generation and contains the tight popping jazz funk that defined the CTI label, as does the last tune on the LP side, "Springs"), the vivid tone painting in "Rainbows" and "Sand Storm," and the aching beauty in "Autumn Festival." Roger Nichols' wistful "Seasons" and the sole standard on the album, "Younger Than Springtime," fit seamlessly into the fabric of Jolly's improvisations, and he uses "Springtime" as a recurring motif. Nothing from his earlier recordings could prepare the listener for this record, and he did nothing comparable until his death in 2004. [In July of 2007, Chicago's Dusty Groove imprint reissued the disc on CD. The transfer is fine indeed with warm, immediate, full-range sound.]

 

[JOv2]

I only recently (within the past two years or so) picked this one up and I'm sure glad I did. Being first of lover of classical and second jazz, I find Jolly's musical musings utterly fascinating: there's always something new to latch on to or takeaway from this delightful recording.

I'm sure glad we have this wonderful release, which, from my standpoint, is surely a highpoint for early 1970s A&M releases.

 

[Harry]

For those into vinyl, Pete Jolly's SEASONS is getting a "clear amber wax" edition at the end of March 2024. There's also a green edition.



Liner notes are by Herb Alpert and Chuck Berghofer. Remastered from original analog tapes by Kevin Gray.

Amazon has it here: Amazon.com

Direct from Light In The Attic: Seasons

From Dusty Groove: pete jolly -- All Categories (LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store

 

[Rudy]

I'm wary that it's an off-brand label. No guarantee the pressing will be any good--I'd hope for an RTI pressing (as Kevin works with them a lot) but who knows? I listen to it so seldom that the Dusty Groove rip I have will do.

 

[Harry]

I don't own this but spotted the hype sticker on Discogs. Maybe Herb should just change his name...

 

[Rudy]

60 years on, you think they'd finally get his name right.

Pressed at RTI--that is a good sign. I'm wondering if the sound would be less stuffy than the original A&M pressing.

Amazon's price is $8 more than everyone else. Interestingly, the long-neglected Lonnie Smith album Afro-desia is being released the same day and could be combined with Seasons if I decided to order it. As I may find time to stay an extra day in Chicago, or get to AXPONA an hour or two later, I could stop at Dusty Groove and pick them up (if I preorder).

 

[Mike Blakesley]

They got it wrong twice, no less!

Speaking as someone whose last name gets misspelled on a regular basis (usually by leaving out one or both of the E's, in my case), I can relate to any irritation Herb feels about this. Eventually you just shrug.

 

[sardine]

I've followed Pete Jolly's long career for decades. I purchased the CD reissue of Seasons from Dusty Groove years ago and I'm picking up the amber color LP reissue on Saturday from Dusty Groove. I find the music on Seasons a fun listening experience. I'm also going to Music Direct this Saturday to peruse their large used LP selection. It's one of the hidden treasures in the Chicagoland record collecting experience as the LPs are not listed on-line.

 

[Rudy]

It's one of the hidden treasures in the Chicagoland record collecting experience as the LPs are not listed on-line.

I found that they sometimes blow out "damaged" or overstocked inventory via Discogs. I've been to their Chicago location, but it was to trade in a turntable (five hour drive, but worth it to avoid shipping damage and fees). At the time, they were taking visits by appointment only, but that might have been to audition equipment vs. browsing the vinyl selections. One of my Chicago pals makes regular trips to the store, and has bought all of his recent equipment there.

I've actually been looking for a MoFi Bitches Brew that isn't obscenely priced, but I think they've been sold out of those for a while now.

 

[Rudy]

Pressed at RTI--that is a good sign. I'm wondering if the sound would be less stuffy than the original A&M pressing.

I've replayed my A&M copy twice this past week and actually it is fairly good sound-wise, so I'll be passing on the vinyl reissue. If it was something I played all the time, sure, I'd like the upgrade. And I'll admit the pull of the amber-colored vinyl is tempting. But I think I'm good. I have that CD reissue already and it's fairly close to the original A&M vinyl in sound.

 

[sardine]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the audio rooms at this years AXPONA play Seasons as a demonstration disc.

 

[Rudy]

Hard to tell. Some of the more adventurous rooms might entertain it, if they even know it exists. With so many good reissues coming out with Kevin's name on them, it would be hard to narrow it down. I seriously don't think he sleeps.

Two LPs that will be seen in a lot of rooms this year are the two that Kevin has released on his Cohearant label. All-tube electronics, and recorded a la early Blue Note in his living room, I believe. (That's why the second record was called Hackensack West.)