Rick Clark's Music I Love Blog - Artist: Milt Jackson / Album: Sunflower
One thing I immediately missed with the advent of compact discs was the experience of album jacket art. I’m a huge fan of it. There were several labels whose consistent album art design set them apart from other labels. ECM, Windham Hill come to mind as does Creed Taylor’s CTI label. When Milt Jackson’s Sunflower showed up in Pop Tunes in 1973, it had the slick tactile quality of CTI’s other releases and presented an instantly cool memorable photograph.
A number of friends who were already rather hardcore jazz aficionados were generally dismissive of many CTI releases, considering them too slick and commercial. Don Sebesky’s orchestrations were often cited as guilty for reducing some good playing to muzak. That said, I was somewhat familiar with Jackson’s earlier albums, but I truly wouldn’t discover them until I got lost in Sunflower. Even though I loved discovering earlier Milt Jackson classics like Plenty, Plenty Soul, Soul Brothers, Ballads & Blues and the especially fine great Bags & Trane, Sunflower has always been one of my favorite albums to decompress and tune a space.
The first thing you hear on Sunflower is Jay Berliner’s nylon-stringed classical guitar softly luring you into this beautiful bloom of Ron Carter’s resonant upright bass, Billy Cobham’s light snare flourishes and Jackson’s rich warm vibes on the exquisite Jackson-original “For Someone I Love.” Freddie Hubbard begins laying out the melody and, by 1:18 into “For Someone I Love” Jackson’s vibes are floating over Sebesky’s air-conditioned orchestrations. It really is lovely and so is the entire album.
Artist: Milt Jackson / Song: “For Someone I Love” from the 1973 CTI album Sunflower
Hubbard is especially impressive throughout Sunflower. His ride on “For Someone I Love” (beginning around 4:20) is virtuosic, but doesn’t scream “look at what I’m doing.” For me it hits a really magic place around 5:45 with his fluttering technique while the strings push upwards. Herbie Hancock’s piano playing is so soulful and dynamic throughout this track and throughout Sunflower.
The second track on Sunflower, “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life,” continues the mellow spirit of this album. Sebesky’s orchestra never overwhelms the great playing. Cobham and Carter are especially nimble on this track as Hancock, Hubbard and Jackson take turns laying out one lovely ride after another.
Side Two of Sunflower picks things up a little with the steamy funk of “People Make The World Go Round” and wraps up with the title track (which has also been titled as “Little Sunflower”). which was written by Freddie Hubbard. Both of these songs offer some of the most memorable melodies in popular jazz of the era.
There is a 40th Anniversary Edition of Sunflower that contains an extra track, a great grooving version of Jackson’s “SJK.”
Sunflower is an absolutely great album. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for listening.