Though
Big John Patton isn't the innovator that
Larry Young was, it would be a mistake to think of him as being strictly a soul-jazz player.
Patton can get funky, to be sure, but he hasn't been afraid to venture into post-bop territory and take the Hammond B-3 away from traditional soul-jazz settings. Recorded when the organist was 57,
Blue Planet Man is an unpredictable set that ranges from grits-and-gravy soul-jazz to more intellectual post-bop.
Patton gets into a funky, down-home soul-jazz groove on
"Funky Mama," and vocalist
Rorie Nichols has a very R&B-minded cameo on
"What's Your Name?." Yet
Patton is very
Thelonious Monk-ish on the angular
"Popeye" and is just as cerebral on
"Bama" and
Archie Shepp's
"U-Jaama." In fact, one of the CD's main soloists is alto saxman
John Zorn, who is primarily known for playing avant-garde and free jazz. Not one of
Patton's essential releases,
Blue Planet Man is definitely enjoyable and well-intended -- the album reminds us that
Patton can hardly be considered one-dimensional. ~ Alex Henderson
