The 1970 record buyer who came across Stone Flute expecting a typical Herbie Mann album in the Memphis Underground vein was in for a big surprise. Instead of funk, there was moodiness. Instead of a groove, there were violins, viola and cello. The feeling was one of floating in space, with the flute sailing freely over the William Fischer arrangements, like a Miles Davis trumpet solo of this, the Bitches Brew era. This is a totally atypical Herbie Mann recording, but one which rewards repeated listening.
(by Jim Newsom, All Music Guide)
This is the first time this classic album has been issued on CD anywhere in the world. Originally released on Atlantic subsidiary Embryo in 1970. An atypical album for Mann which has been described as, 'Herbie Mann's answer to the Miles Davis classic 'In a Silent Way'. Guests include Roy Ayers, Ron Carter and Sonny Sharrock.
If there is one thing that I can say, is that flautist Herbie Mann was moving away from traditional jazz by the late 60's. He explored soul with Memphis Underground (1969), which is quite good. Now he was exploring more avant-garde style jazz with his next release, entitled Stone Flute.
Originally released on the Embryo label in 1970, Stone Flute is an interesting album, as he uses vibraphonist Roy Ayers, guitarist Sonny Sharrock, bassists Miroslav Vitous and Ron Carter, drummers Bruno Carr and Mickey Rocca, and two string quartets(the first one has violinists Gene Orloff and Manny Green violist Selwart Clarke, and cellist George Ricci; the second has violinists Peter Dimitriades and Selwart Clarke, violist Al Brown, and cellist Kermit Moore). Roy, Sonny, and Selwart are the only musicians who play on all the tracks; the rest of the musicans play on various tracks. William Fischer also arranges the strings as well. Now, we will talk about the music.
The first side starts off with "In Tangier/Paradise Beach". The first part is a Donovan cover written by Dave Mills; the second part is written by Herbie. First you hear wind chimes or a bell tree before the you hear some dark, brooding strings kick in, and then you hear some sustained flute in the background and then some breathy flute playing from Herbie. Next, you then hear some supportive guitar from Sonny, and then Ron and Bruno kick in to support the song. It stays that way for the next four minutes until the second part of song comes in.
In the second part of the song, it's a bossa-nova piece with Roy playing piano on this track. The strings float in and out of the song, while Herbie does some solemn flute playing. Although Roy is known as a vibraphonist, he does a great job on piano here, and he does a few fills on vibes here too.
Next, there's a cover of the Beatles' tune "Flying". Here it starts out slow with thumping bass, eerie organ (played by Roy possibly), and Herbie plays the melody lines. Goodness knows I've heard my share of Beatles covers, but this one really takes the cake! It stays slow throughout the song with strings playing slow and Sonny throws in fills in and out of the song. When I hear this version of this song, it makes me feel I'm floating on air. Go figure!
Closing out side one is the dark, bluesy track "Dont You Know (How I Feel About You)". First it starts out with Sonny playing a nice bluesy solo, and then Herbie and the band come in playing the main theme. Next, Miroslav does a nice string bass solo, showing he's got great skills on the bass. Next, Herbie does his take on the blues with his nice flute playing. Roy also again does some nice fills on the vibes and organ. Even better, he does a nice vibes solo, showing that vibraphonists can do nice interpretations of the blues.
Side two starts off with the 12-minute "Miss Free Spirit". This one is a little bit more uptempo with some nice walking lead lines from both Herbie on flute and Roy on vibes. Mickey does some sweeping fills here and there by playing brushes on his drums, which sound quite like something Bill Bruford or Max Roach would do. Even better, Roy does an excellent solo on vibes which is fast and crisp, showing that he's got style and precision. Next, you have a nice, off-key solo from Sonny which sounds like Robert Fripp without the fuzz pedals before the strings kick in at the end. With the uptempo feel of this song, it puts a picture in my mind of a young, pretty lady running through a field of grass or on a beach being just downright carefree. It's a nice change since all of side one was slow, dark, and moody.
Next, there's the track "Waltz For My Son". It's a very slow piece at with vibes and organ from Roy. Herbie does some expressive flute playing with this one, in which he plays very, very breathy like the flute was clogged with soot. There are some real spooky strings on the song that kick in soon, and they make the song sound like a soundtrack to a TV Drama.
Closing out side two is a nicer , uptempo tune called "Pendulum". Written by William Fischer, this song is a bit more brighter and marchlike, with strings playing more lively in the main theme. Herbie plays the flute on this track with such vitality as if he were the Pied Piper! I also like how on this track that Ron plays some nice, walking bass lines rather than the usual background wallpaper basswork that he did on the other track he played on.
Stone Flute is a good jazz album from the master of jazz flute, because it really showed moods with combining different textures from the players themselves. The strings on here did a fine job too, providing fills when needed without smothering the music. So what do you have on here? You have Herbie providing ambience that is interesting, yet very haunting.
(stonefish9)