Sold Date: May 18, 2023
Start Date: May 11, 2023
Final Price: $23.50 (USD)
Bid Count: 2
Seller Feedback: 1477
Buyer Feedback: 0

1968 Blue Note "a Division of Liberty Records" on Label Stereo Release of Bandleader/Composer/Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson Entitled Total Eclipse, Produced by Duke Pearson & Francis Wolff, Recording by George Sawtelle, Liner Notes by Herb Wong - "Total Eclipse was Bobby Hutcherson's first recording session with tenor saxophonist , who became one of his major collaborators (and a quintet co-leader) during the late '60s. '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 ), and he's in a mood to intellectually challenge himself and the rest of the quintet, which also includes bassist  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. '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  recorded together that was released at the time; though they're all high-quality, this remains perhaps the best of the lot." - Spectacular Personnel for the Quintet Features Legendary Composer Booby Hutcherson on Vibraphones, the Great Harold Land on Tenor Saxophone and Flute, the Brilliant Chick Corea on Piano, Reggie Johnson on Bass & the Talented Joe Chambers on Drums! - Selections on Side A Are Original Bobby Hutcherson Compositions Herzog, Total Eclipse at 8 Minutes 52 Seconds and the Chick Corea Song Matrix - Tracks for Side 2 Consist of the Bobby Hutcherson Penned Same Shame at 9 Minutes 25 Seconds & Pompeian - Used Copy, Cover Is Slightly Faded and Splotchy with Seam Splitting at Spine, Record Has Marks & Scuffs but Should Play Relatively Clean - Stereo Recording, Product Code BST 84291 - California Residents Add 10.25% Sales Tax - International S & H Extra -