Westward Bound!

A Texas native, tenor saxophonist Harold Land grew up in San Diego and his playing always evoked a balance of styles, bringing together the big swinging tone and edgy harmonics of the hard bop era with the warm lyricism and dusky romance of the West Coast sound. The engaging archival collection Westward Bound! brings both of these aspects into sharp focus. Released in conjunction with Record Store Day 2021, the album showcases a handful of unissued live recordings featuring Land and his group performing at Seattles The Penthouse nightclub in 1962, 1964, and 1965. Just as Lands own style drew from a geographic mix of influences, his bandmates here also display the vibrant blend of East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast traditions that were quickly breaking down the barriers of modern jazz in the 1960s. Joining Land at various times are a superb line-up of players, including Kansas City-born trumpeter Carmell Jones, Indiana-bred siblings pianist Buddy Montgomery and bassist Monk Montgomery, Pennsylvania drummer Philly Joe Jones, and others. Interestingly, both Land and trumpeter Jones were members of Gerald Wilsons West Coast big band during this period, and their playing here feels like a small group version of Wilsons tasteful, melodic modern jazz style. Also joining Land for several tracks is fellow California legend pianist Hampton Hawes, who lends his sparkling sophistication to My Romance and the hard-swinging blues Triplin the Groove. While Land never went totally avant-garde, by the late 60s his playing was moving in more expansive modal directions, influenced by John Coltrane and the spiritual and political unrest of the era. Westward Bound! is a buoyant time capsule of modern jazz on the move, before the free jazz era, when East Coast bop met West Coast cool. ~ Matt Collar