Buddy Rich
Very Live at Buddy's Place (Beast Retro 12002)

The super-bastard Buddy Rich recorded this album in 1974 in his New York City nightclub, and it's pretty much what you'd expect from a 1974 Buddy Rich album – some tight grooves, a lively atmosphere, and the amazing chops of Buddy himself holding the whole thing together.

The band is good (Kenny Barron on piano and Sal Nistico on tenor sax are standouts) and the sound is halfway between straight-ahead hard bop and the wah-wah jazz of the era---the electric guitar and bass, plus the presence of a very 70s conga player make this disc a snapshot of a very specific time and place.

It's not essential by any means, but it's extremely lively and will leave your toes tappin' until Buddy comes out to kick your ass. Leave it to Beast Retro to unearth such an irrelevant recording – one of what, two hundred similar dates Buddy and the band would have played a year? It's no Miles at the Blackhawk, that's for sure.

Nothing historic or "important." But it's a nice look back to a time before jazz ceased to command an audience – a night out in 1974 catching some goddamn good jazz, but moreover, just having a good time. A chance to get a babysitter and get away from the kids for a night on the town, fueled with some boozin' and groovin', and then a drunken drive home.

Yeah, that's the way it went. Maybe the night ended with some lovin' with the babysitter right before you dropped her off. Who am I to judge? It was another time, another place.

Quite a bit of groove-oriented material here ("Chameleon," "Sierra Lonely") interspersed with some "real jazz" ("Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Billie's Bounce"). It's probably an album that will appeal to DJs more than casual or even serious jazz fans, who will see it for what it is – a decent enough record.

I personally don't hear any breakbeats of note, but there's some heavy grooves one could spin if one were so inclined. Actually, I have no idea what would be DJ-friendly on this CD, because I kind of don't believe that this jazz-obsessed DJ culture really exists.

If it does, doesn't it see itself as a cliché by now? A real hip DJ would be spinning The Archies and AC/DC, right? Wait, I stumped myself again.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Gene Ambulance