Bobby Hutcherson
Skyline (Verve 559 616)

Followers of jazz labels need to be able to adapt to change over time, and accept things like the fact that Verve now puts out records like Blue Note used to, and Blue Note puts out records like Verve used to.

Bobby Hutcherson's 1999 album for Verve is very much a throwback to his classic Blue Note sessions, but with a fresh sound that makes it very much a 90s jazz album. By that I don't mean to imply that it's necessarily arbitrary, but rather that there's a certain quality to it that makes it somewhat less immediate than a good old Blue Note. Jazz snobs would probably argue that it's all in the cover. Yeah, so?

Skyline is Hutcherson's first album as a leader in a number of years, and his first major release since Manhattan Moods with McCoy Tyner (from 1994 I believe). The album shows him still very much in top form, backed by a hand-picked band of slightly more recent greats: Geri Allen on piano, Kenny Garrett on alto Sax, Christian McBride on bass, and Al Foster on drums.

They smoke their way through a set of new and old tunes, including two related to the movie "Superman" – "Who's Got You?," a Hutcherson original inspired by the movie, and "Can You Read My Mind," the love theme from "Superman." Hutcherson says these songs came about from his son watching the movie over and over on the VCR, and for some reason the idea of Bobby Hutcherson being intimately familiar with the movie "Superman" bemuses me. The man is one of my favorite jazz artists of all time, yet I know nothing about him personally, and this down-to-earth quality that comes to mind when I think of him sitting on the couch watching "Superman" with his son only adds to the appeal.

Skyline isn't his best album, but it's a great album anyway – he can't help it that almost every album he recorded in the 60s was a masterpiece.

Hutcherson alternates on vibes and marimba, leaning more toward vibes throughout, and the band is about as close to those all-star Blue Note session groups as you can get in the 90s. Allen shines throughout, solidifying her reputation as the best jazz pianist currently out there, and in a group context she proves sensitive, fleshing out Hutcherson's already broad vibe sound with great, beautiful chords and cool solos.

Foster, known to me mainly through the electric Miles Davis albums, is rock solid and thrilling. Garrett, whom I can take or leave, is solid and enjoyable, though not particularly explosive. McBride, as usual, is an ideal anchor. But the clear star of the show is Hutcherson, with his precise, rapid runs and spacey sustaining chords on the vibes.

If this isn't Patterns, it's still better than 95% of 90s jazz albums, which seem to be stereotypically "preservationist" half the time. The cool thing about the album is that Hutcherson, once a young cat on the scene, is now an elder statesman, without ever having gotten the huge fame of a Blakey or even a Ron Carter. But he's a favorite for connoisseurs and those apocryphal "London DJs" we've yet to meet, assuming they actually exist.

The best cuts are the aforementioned "Superman" songs – "Who's Got You" is quick and intense, "Love Theme From Superman" is slow and beautiful. The love theme, definitely a surprising choice, already ranks among my favorite Hutcherson tracks ever. I almost feel compelled to upgrade the rating on the album on the basis of this one perfect song, but there are enough other moments (such as an audible tape splice in "The Coaster") that remind me this is a 90s jazz album, and there's a glass ceiling on most of those.

"The Coaster" otherwise is a great cut (a Grachan Moncur III tune), very much in the old Blue Note spirit. Other high points include "Chan's Song" (a Herbie Hancock tune from the movie "Round Midnight," which Hutcherson and Hancock were in, by the way), the groovy Hutcherson original "Pomponio" (very Patterns), and the Hutcherson/Allen duet "Candle."

The remaining tracks are enjoyable, and overall this is an album that I keep finding new things to like about. I knew I'd like it, but figured it would get about three listens before going up on the shelf indefinitely, but it's an album that almost erases my prejudice against "new" jazz albums (as opposed to reissues).

Almost. It's well worth checking out for any Hutcherson fan, and does a good job of freshening up the man's sound – he's not ready for the museum yet. Say, where is that museum? Wait, what museum?

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Ouchie Hammerson