Cecil McBee- Mutima (Strata-East)  I didn’t appreciate how much I enjoyed listening to Cecil McBee until I started to sift through some of the records I loved and found him credited as the bassist. This album, Mutima, features McBee as bandleader and composer and it’s a killer. The first track, “From Within,” begins with bowed bass- what sounded like double stops to me is apparently two basses. Some commentators on the web have talked about McBee playing two instruments simultaneously, which I find a little implausible; more likely overdubbing. (I did send a note to Mr. McBee to... Read More

Ronnie Boykins (The Will Come, Is Now) Ronnie Boykins was a disciple of Sun Ra’s Arkestra with a long list of credits as a bassist.  This album, which is Boykins’ sole release as a band leader, is great fun. It starts with “The Will Come, Is Now,” a good simple bass line that is joined by an agglomeration of horns that sound, well, a little “off”—maybe somewhat out of tune, a little discordant, it could be just a free jazz thing where everybody is playing something different, but I find it amusing. They knock it into shape as they get going, though, and it gets better as... Read More

Black Jazz Records -Theo Parrish’s Black Jazz Signature  The Black Jazz Records label is becoming increasingly collectible due to some powerful albums that cross multiple modern jazz boundaries. This compilation of some of the great tracks from that label, compiled by DJ Theo Parrish, is an inexpensive introduction to some of the artists and tracks whose work made that label legendary. It does not contain all the best work to be found on the label, but there is enough here not only to whet your appetite, but to satisfy. Two LPs, four sides, it starts with a Doug Carn track from his... Read More

Robin Trower- Twice Removed From Yesterday Robin Trower released this album a year before his classic Bridge of Sighs. Although it is probably overshadowed by the latter’s popularity, it has just as much power and is bluesier in its orientation. It’s also an excellent hard rock recording. I’m listening to an early UK pressing, which is cheap enough (shipping to the States notwithstanding). You don’t have to wait long for the pay-off: that hard, bluesy guitar with distorted edges rippling with fuzz and echo jumps right out on the first track, “I Can’t Wait Much Longer,” which... Read More

Clifford Jordan- Glass Bead Games Glass Bead Games is the second albumJordan released on Strata-East in 1974, following In the World in 1972. Like In the World, it relies on two different groups of musicians, including Stanley Cowell, one of the co-founders of the label and Bill Lee, whose family participated on The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe reviewed here.  Unlike In the World, Glass Bead Games is a two record set. The album seems to garner universal praise, with prices to match. It has been reissued on vinyl several times. I thought it might be helpful for readers, both those... Read More

Live Soul Jazz: Roy Brooks -The Free Slave Roy Brooks The Free Slave may be one of his best though it is not well known outside of collectors of soul jazz. Brooks is credited playing with a lot of famous names, but he leads on The Free Slave, accompanied Cecil McBee, Hugh Lawson, Woody Shaw and George Coleman, in a live session recorded in 1970. We were at the cusp of jazz falling off the mainstream playlists as it became even more inventive (cause and effect? If not on a major label attempting to appeal to a broad audience, the artists had more freedom to experiment). This record,... Read More

Clifford Jordan In the World Clifford Jordan In the World was released on Strata-East in 1972 (though the album was recorded in 1969). Jordan was already a well-seasoned player, having worked with Max Roach, Horace Silver and Eric Dolphy. (The album credits state that it is the first in a Dolphy series produced by Jordan). Like Jordan’s Glass Bead Games which followed on Strata-East, In the World depends on two different groups of musicians- and there are some killers players here–Julian Priester, Don Cherry, Richard Davis and even Roy Haynes (who alternates with Albert... Read More

Mary Black-No Frontiers Mary Black’s No Frontiers was an audiophile favorite back in the day. I hadn’t thought about this record, or played it, in decades. A mention of it somewhere brought it to mind and I thought, man, that was a pretty good album. After several fruitless searches through the “miscellaneous” wall of records here, I gave up and bought an early pressing via a UK seller. Now I remember why this record was beloved. (And it’s usually after I buy another copy that I find the one I had). Anyway, back to Mary Black.   There are some great songs on here—not... Read More

Cochemea Gastelum- All My Relations A mixture of native American chanting with some surprisingly vibrant percussion work, led by a horn player known for backing the late Sharon Jones with the Dap-Kings, Cochemea’s All My Relations is not only a sonic treat but a spiritual journey that alternates between trance and jazz with the kind of percussive sparkle and tone that make it “demo” material. A musically astute friend (thank you, Chris) brought his copy over to my place for a listen a few weekends ago. In no time, I took a quick photo of the cover and bought it immediately after... Read More

Nathan Davis- Makatuka This album, released a year before the recently reviewed “6thSense in the 11thHouse,” was recorded in the same Pittsburgh studio, by the same engineer, with a different band, the Nathan Davis Sextet. It also features a vocalist, Wheeler R. Winstead, whose soulful groove adds another dimension to an album chock full of surprises. This is a record of virtuoso horn playing, from the range of saxes and clarinet played by Davis (who could wring out just about every sound imaginable from those instruments) to some glorious trombone work by Nelson Harrison. These players... Read More