1978 · Album
Crossings
Recorded Late 1977 · Galaxy · Produced by Not specified in source material
A Meeting Decades in the Making
Garland and Jones finally recorded together in a trio, decades after playing in the same band.
Late 1977 brought together Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, and Ron Carter for what should have happened much earlier in their careers. Garland and Jones had both played in Miles Davis' first classic quintet, yet they had never sat down to record as a trio. When they finally did, something worth hearing came out of it. This is solid, unfussy piano-bass-drum interplay — the kind of session that works because the players know how to listen to each other and leave room for breathing. There are no grandstand moments or attempts to prove anything. Garland plays with the economical touch he'd developed by this point in his career, and Carter and Jones lock in without fuss.
What makes Crossings stand out among Garland's later recordings is precisely its lack of pretension. By 1977, Garland had been through enough musical fashion to know what he did well, and he sticks to it here. The trio format strips away any chance to hide behind arrangements or star power. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow called it one of Garland's best later dates, and that assessment holds up — not because the music reaches for something grand, but because it executes what it attempts with genuine comfort and swing.
This isn't the place to start if you're new to Garland. Begin with his earlier Blue Note work instead. But if you've spent time with those records and want to hear what he sounded like when he'd settled into his own playing, when the flash had given way to clarity, Crossings offers that. It's a record for people who already care about the pianist, not a landmark moment, just a good day in the studio with old friends.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Red Garland
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The musicians on this record
Philly Mignon 1978
Philly Joe Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Third Plane 1978
Ron Carter
plays bass here
plays bass here
