The death of Arthur Lee, mastermind of Love, will undoubtedly be marked by writers on this website. But he was just one of several uniquely talented musicians to pass on recently.
Rufus Harley, notorious as the jazz bagpipes player, died Monday (7/31) of prostate cancer. His psychedelic 1972 album, reissued in May, and the only one of his five classics on CD, has buckets of gospel organ and backbeats heavy enough for P-Funk. “The Crack” is a groove with eerie synthesizer, over which Harley wails. On a thrilling version of “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” that fans of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “The Old Rugged Cross” will dig, organist Bill Mason gets some spotlight time and Larry Langston drums up a storm. “Hypothesis” speaks in the modal jazz language of John Coltrane. It’s back to heavy funk on “Gods and Goddesses,” with the electric bass of Larry Randolph added. The closing “Etymology,” also with Randolph, is a hard-driving 12/8 prog-rock excursion. Harley’s bagpipes and electric soprano sax are never just novelties; there’s superb musicianship here.
An out-of print compilation on a defunct budget reissue label (so good luck tracking it down and odds are you may have to pay dearly), this is the only place to find Harley’s classic Atlantic material on CD. It emphasizes bagpipes and original compositions, so his fine saxophone playing is slighted and there’s only a couple of his wild covers of pop songs (fortunately, Anthony Newley’s “Feeling Good” is included), but the pipes were his claim to fame and what most people want to hear.
Harley’s Atlantic LPs can be found for around $20, sometimes less. This one, the latest of his Atlantic ventures and thus the one on which he had attained the best control of the unwieldy pipes, mixes jaw-dropping covers (“Eight Miles High,” “Moon River,” etc.) and two extended duets that display his more experimental, exploratory side.
Jump blues/R&B pianist/vocalist/songwriter Floyd “Mr. Magnificent” Dixon died Wednesday (7/26) of cancer, or kidney failure (I’ve seen both cited; they could be related), at age 77, just a few weeks after finishing a small tour. His 1954 hit “Hey Bartender” (which found new life with The Blues Brothers) was a milestone of Rhythm & Blues. This 22-song compilation of 1950s material contains that song (in its original version) and plenty of other rockin’ tracks. Dixon was one of the first artists to make the transition from the smoother R&B style of Charles Brown to a more blues/gospel-infused style – a transition he then encouraged Ray Charles to make when they toured together.
Aladdin was the label where Dixon had the most hits, so even though this two-CD set contains a lot of peripheral stuff that he’s just a sideman on (or maybe not even on at all), it’s a must-hear for “Wine, Wine, Wine,” “Telephone Blues,” and other jump-blues favorites.
Dixon’s stirring 1996 comeback, split between new songs and remakes of his old faves.
Soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who died at age 90 on Friday (8/4), had a voice of pure silver. Marrying EMI producer Walter Legge ensured that she would be sympathetically cast for studio productions, and her recorded legacy is brilliant. Among her specialties were the songs and operas of Richard Strauss, and this disc of 1953-54 sessions is a classic. Weltschmerz doesn’t get any bittersweeter than the Four Last Songs. There and in the operatic excerpts, she finds multiple layers of meaning while delivering great beauty.
Mozart’s greatest opera (perhaps the greatest opera of all) offered Schwarzkopf the great role of Donna Elvira, and she made it her own. This recording (now on three CDs) of a 1953 Salzburg Festival concert (believed to be July 27th) is actually a Dream Team, with legendary conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler leading the Vienna Philharmonic and Choir of the Vienna State Opera plus an all-star cast also including Cesare Siepi (Don Giovanni), Rafael Arié (Il Commendatore), Elisabeth Grümmer (Donna Anna), Anton Dermota (Don Ottavio), Otto Edelmann (Leporello), Erna Berger (Zerlina), and Walter Berry (Masetto). Schwarzkopf delivers a hot-blooded reading but also works well within Furtwängler’s overall vision. For an idea of how great she is, just compare this with the film made of the 1954 Salzburg production with Lisa Della Casa, a fine singer but not even close to being on Schwarzkopf’s level.
Third time was the charm for this Los Angeles cult fave. Love’s whimsical yet shadowed Summer of Love production is one of the touchstones for modern freak-folk, but with glitzier production. And it’s worth remembering that the haunting opening track, “Alone Again Or,” was penned by the band’s other great doomed talent, Bryan MacLean.
Side one (that’s tracks 1 to 6 for digital listeners) of Love’s second LP was great, most famously “7 and 7 Is.” Too bad about the rambling jam occupying all of side two. Don’t overlook their eponymous debut, BTW.
