Hubert Laws

The Rite of Spring

Hubert Laws, Flute
Bob James, Piano, Electric Piano & Harpsichord
Ron Carter, Bass & Cello
Jack DeJohnete, Drums
David Friedman, Percussion & Vibraphone
Airto Moreira, Percussion
Gene Bertoncini, Guitar
Stuart Scharf, Guitar
Walter Kane, Bassoon
Jane Taylor, Bassoon
Wally Kane, Bassoon
Plus Large Ensemble & Strings

Produced by

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer
Recorded June 1971

Catalog Number: EK 61628
Format: CD
Release Date: 2001
Label: Epic/Legacy

Customer Reviews

This work was recorded in June of 1971, and I've owned the album since 1972. 32 years later it remains my favorite. Rare art created by master composers, performed & interpreted by master musicians, and produced & recorded by geniuses in 3 days. It humbles me to this day.

- Grebbx

Years ago, I bought this recording on cassette and just about wore it out. I hadn't thought about Hubert Laws much in recent years until I saw this CD in the bargain bin at a favorite record store and snapped it up immediately.
It doesn't matter if you come to the classics via jazz, or to jazz via the classics, Laws' melding of the two forms IS a classic. CTI issued many great jazz albums in its short life and Rite of Spring stands as one of the best.
I like the CD from start to finish, particularly Laws' take on Pavane and the First and Second Movements of Brandenburg Concerto #3. The music is exquisitely relaxing and surreal, the bassoons behind the flute imbuing the recording with a dreamlike air.
As usual with a CTI recording, the backing musicians form a stellar lineup that includes Bob James, Ron Carter, Gene Bertoncini, and Airto Moreira among others. Only its brevity reduces the rating to four stars as I think it would be better had it been combined with another CTI Hubert Laws masterpiece, the unavailable Afro-Classic.

- Kurt Harding