Like Both Directions At Once (Coltrane) or Rubberband (Davis), Jazz Sabbath purports to be the long-lost 1970 debut by up-and-coming jazz band, Jazz Sabbath. On the eve of the album’s release, the pianist and bandleader, the splendidly monikered Milton Keanes, was hospitalised and the album was shelved. By the time of his release, many of the tunes had been hijacked by a Birmingham-based rock band, Black Sabbath, who added lyrics and guitar - and the rest is history.
Watch the documentary - or if you will, rocumentary, here:
It’s a neat story, and marginally closer to the truth than you might realise. Whilst Black Sabbath primarily digested old blues albums in their youth, guitarist Tony Iommi was reportedly a big fan of Django Reinhardt, and an early demo, Song For Jim, was influenced by Wes Montgomery. And he was not alone; original drummer Bill Ward was a devout fan of Gene Krupa. If you don’t believe me, take a fresh listen to Wicked World from the band’s debut, or Digital Bitch from Born Again. OK, maybe not the latter. But there is the occasional hint of jazz buried beneath the doom-laden chords.
Milton Keanes is really Adam Wakeman, who has played keyboards for many years with both Black Sabbath and singer Ozzy Osbourne. He is also the son of Rick Wakeman, keyboard player with Yes. He is joined on Jazz Sabbath by Jacque T’fono on upright bass and Juan Také on drums - real names not provided.
Opener Fairies Wear Boots is a revelation, played faster than the original and with a spring in its fairy steps. The added guitar solo, courtesy of Steven Stringer, felt unnecessary, adding a rock touch to what was quite convincing in a jazz trio format. Evil Woman was one of the more melodic tunes from Black Sabbath’s debut. Keanes adds a delightful intro of his own, and the melody shines through in the trio format.
Iron Man is another highlight here. I must confess, this was never may favourite Sabbath tune, but Keanes manages to locate genuine beauty in that grinding riff. To do the same with Changes was less of a challenge; the real surprise was that Black Sabbath ever recorded it in the first place.
Listen to Iron Man here:
Children Of The Grave - check out Bill Ward’s drumming on the original - begins in trio format here, and features some fine solo playing by Keanes. Sadly, as with the opener, if gives way to a rock close, featuring both organ and saxophone - which probably seemed like fun at the time, but probably takes the joke a little too far from a listening standpoint.
The album even comes with neat, Blue Note-style artwork, complete with inverted cross.
Whether Jazz Sabbath can move beyond this fairly neat one-trick, like The Bad Plus, remains to be seen. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy here, and some genuine surprises along the way.
