The Ultimate (Elvin Jones album)

The Ultimate
Studio album by Elvin Jones
Released	August 1969 [1]
Recorded	September 6, 1968
Studio	Van Gelder, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:48
Label	Blue Note BST 84305
Producer	Duke Pearson
Elvin Jones chronology
Puttin' It Together (1968) The Ultimate (1969) Poly-Currents (1969)

The Ultimate is an album by American jazz drummer Elvin Jones, recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. ^[2] It is his second album featuring his trio with saxophonist/flautist Joe Farrell and bassist Jimmy Garrison.

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated, "This is one of Joe Farrell's finest recordings. Switching between tenor, soprano and flute, Farrell had to be good because he was joined in the pianoless trio by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones... Farrell is in consistently creative form but Garrison's occasional solos and Jones's polyrhythmic accompaniment are also noteworthy". ^[3] Harvey Pekar, writing for DownBeat , awarded the album a perfect score in a contemporary review that praised the album's ingenuity and rich emotion. ^[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

Track listing

1. "In the Truth" (Joe Farrell) - 5:04
2. "What Is This?" (Jimmy Garrison) - 7:09
3. "Ascendant" (Garrison) - 5:13
4. "Yesterdays" (Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern) - 5:39
5. "Sometimes Joie" (Garrison) - 10:38
6. "We'll Be Together Again" (Carl Fischer, Frankie Laine) - 3:05

Personnel

• Elvin Jones - drums
• Joe Farrell - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
• Jimmy Garrison - bass

References

1. Billboard Aug 2, 1969
2. Elvin Jones discography accessed December 1, 2010
3. Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed December 1, 2010
4. DownBeat: November 13, 1969 vol. 36, no. 23. Review by Harvey Pekar.
5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 113. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.