Bobby Hutcherson – Total Eclipse (1968/2013) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Total Eclipse is the thrilling jazz classic by Bobby Hutcherson. Bobby Hutcherson is widely considered music’s greatest vibraphonist. The outing is the first recording session between Hutcherson and saxophonist Harold Land. It features all Hutcherson originals and Chick Corea’s “Matrix.” This stellar album also features Joe Chambers, Reggie Johnson and Chick Corea.

Total Eclipse was Bobby Hutcherson’s first recording session with tenor saxophonist Harold Land, who became one of his major collaborators (and a quintet co-leader) during the late ’60s. Land’s rounded, echoing tone is a nice contrast for the coolly cerebral post-bop that fills Total Eclipse. Hutcherson contributes four of the five compositions (the other, “Matrix,” is by pianist Chick Corea), and he’s in a mood to intellectually challenge himself and the rest of the quintet, which also includes bassist Reggie Johnson and longtime drummer Joe Chambers. The results are full of the sort of skillful musicianship one would naturally expect of Hutcherson’s ’60s-era Blue Notes. Land’s solo lines are fluid and lengthy, assimilating some of Coltrane’s innovations while remaining accessibly soulful. Though they’re all pretty strong, “Pompeian” is the most ambitious piece; it opens with a happy-go-lucky, waltz-time flute melody, and after a bit of foreboding, Hutcherson expands upon it with a tinkling bell solo. Toward the end of the piece, the whole group builds to a chaotic eruption, with Hutcherson switching to marimba (as he often did when he wanted a darker tone and high-tempo articulation); the pretty flute theme is then repeated as the dust settles and the piece ends. Overall, though, the album foreshadows Hutcherson’s move away from his explicit avant-garde leanings and into a still-advanced but more structured modernist framework. For some reason, Total Eclipse was the only post-bop-styled album Hutcherson and Land recorded together that was released at the time; though they’re all high-quality, this remains perhaps the best of the lot.

Tracklist:
01 – Herzog
02 – Total Eclipse
03 – Matrix
04 – Same Shame
05 – Pompeian

Musicians:
Harold Land – tenor sax and flute
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes
Chick Corea – piano
Reggie Johnson – bass
Joe Chambers – drums

About the Mastering:
High Resolution Mastering by Alan Yoshida and Robin Lynn at Blanche DuBois, April 2012.
“In preparing these hi def remasters, we were very conscientious about maintaining the feel of the original releases while adding a previously unattainable transparency and depth. It now sounds like you’ve set up your chaise lounge right in the middle of Rudy Van Gelder’s studio!” — Blue Note President, Don Was.
The album is accompanied by its original sleeve notes plus additional photos and newly-written package essays.

Download:

BbbyHutchersnTtalEclipse19682013HDTracks24192.part1.rar
BbbyHutchersnTtalEclipse19682013HDTracks24192.part2.rar

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