The Blues and the Abstract Truth is an album by American composer and jazz saxophonist Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961 for the Impulse! label. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album and features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy (his second-to-last appearance on a Nelson album following a series of collaborations recorded for Prestige), Bill Evans (his only appearance with Nelson), Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes. Baritone saxophonist George Barrow does not take solos but remains a key feature in the subtle voicings of Nelson's arrangements.Oliver E. Nelson: Liner notes from Impulse! A-5, March 1961. The album is often noted for its unique ensemble arrangements and is frequently identified as a progenitor of Nelson's move towards arranging later in his career.
Music
Among the pieces on the album, "Stolen Moments" is the best known and has become a jazz standard: a 16-bar piece with solos in a conventional 12-bar minor blues structure in C minor. "Hoe-Down", inspired by the fifth section of Aaron Copland's Rodeo, is built on a 44-bar structure (with 32-bar solos based on rhythm changes). "Cascades" modifies the traditional 32-bar AABA form by using a 16-bar minor blues for the A section, stretching the form to a total of 56 bars. The B-side of the album contains three tracks that hew closer to the 12-bar form: "Yearnin'", "Butch and Butch" and "Teenie's Blues" (which opens with two 12-bar choruses of bass solo by Chambers).
Nelson's later album, More Blues and the Abstract Truth (1964), features an entirely different (and larger) group of musicians and bears little resemblance to this record.
Reception Writing in the December 21, 1961, issue of DownBeat magazine, jazz critic Don DeMicheal commented:Nelson's playing is like his writing: thoughtful, unhackneyed, and well constructed. Hubbard steals the solo honors with some of his best playing on record. Dolphy gets off some good solos too, his most interesting one on "Yearnin.
The Jazz Journal International cited the album as "one of the essential post-bop recordings".
It was voted number 333 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
In 2026, The Blues and the Abstract Truth was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation's recorded sound heritage."
Other versions/influences The composition "Stolen Moments" has been recorded and performed by numerous musicians including Phil Woods, J. J. Johnson, Frank Zappa, Ahmad Jamal, Booker Ervin, the United Future Organization and the Turtle Island Quartet. The first eight bars of Nelson's solo on the bridge of "Hoe-Down" were quoted by Ernie Watts and Lee Ritenour in the song "Bullet Train" from their 1979 album Friendship.Electra Records album number 6E-241. "Teenie's Blues" was used as a 2009 show-opener by rock band Steely Dan.
In 2008, pianist Bill Cunliffe released the tribute album The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2, featuring new arrangements of the original pieces.
Jews and the Abstract Truth was the debut album by experimental klezmer band Hasidic New Wave (whose members included improvisers trumpeter Frank London and saxophonist Greg Wall), released on Knitting Factory in 1996.
Track listing All tracks composed by Oliver Nelson.
Personnel Freddie Hubbard – trumpet Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone; flute Oliver Nelson – tenor saxophone; alto saxophone on "Teenie's Blues" George Barrow – baritone saxophone Bill Evans – piano Paul Chambers – bass Roy Haynes – drums
Production Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer Chuck Stewart – photography Pete Turner – cover design
Charts + Chart performance for The Blues and the Abstract Truth Chart (2021) Peakposition
References
External links The Blues and the Abstract Truth at vervemusicgroup.com "Album of the Week" discussion on the Organissimo jazz forum Bill Cunliffe's tribute to the original album (features new arrangements) The Blues and the Abstract Truth at discogs.com