Tate Live

by Ken DrydenVeteran tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate toured with a band led by young drummer Torsten Zwingenberger in both 1983 and 1988; the selections heard on this live recording made at the Quasimodo in Berlin are from the latter year. The rest of the group includes vibraphonist Hendrik Meurkens (who would later make a name for himself as a leader on several Concord releases), pianist Otto Weiss, and bassist Dieter Gutzkow. For the most part, the group sticks to extended workouts of well-known standards like "Tangerine" and "Sweet Georgia Brown," though a rare appearance by Tate on flute is ruined somewhat because the tape reel ran out prematurely. A furious take of "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is followed by a smoking closing blues, "She's Got It," with humorous (but somewhat throwaway) vocals by Tate and Meurkens. Tate proves to be an entertaining MC, and it is fun to hear him try to pronounce the drummer's name. Since this is one of Buddy Tate's last recordings prior to a 1988 heart attack (though he made a few recordings after his triple-bypass surgery), bop fans will want to pick up this Nagel-Heyer CD.