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Show Ibrahim over the years. Yet not a note here sounds tired or cliched. Ibrahim has gotten commitment from him colleagues. Ford and Ward handle most of the soloing. Ward has been associated with Ibrahim at least since the 1979 watershed African Marketplace (7/80, p. 65), The alto-piano duet here, titled "Ntyilo, Ntyilo," recalls "The Homecoming Song" from that date. His piercing alto brings a modern edge to the ancient aspects of the leader's music. Ward also provides a fitting contrast to Ford's burnished tenor. (Listen to him wail in on Ford's heels for "Ek Se." Ford seems to save some of his most exciting work for other leaders. Like he did with Mingus, Ford wields his tenor here with absolute command. His multiple climaxes on "Ek Se," on which a Rollins influence shines through, make that track the album's highlight. Griffin and Davis solo only briefly. Their contributions in the form of muscle, textures and colorful fills (listen to Griffin snort and snicker through "Bra Timing") are indispensable to the sum. McBee and Riley do nothing fancy; they just make the deceptively simple rhythms come alive. Ibrahim followers will note a shortage of piano on "Ekaya." He apparently chose to emphasize his expanding capacities as a bandleader and composer for this date. If that makes you think Ellington, that's no doubt part of the design. Before now, comparing the two seemed premature. Based on the evocative power and range of "Ekaya," and the performances Ibrahim has drawn from each of the players (I suggest back to back listenings with "New Orleans Suite," a relation on several levels), it is no longer. Eric Shepard BOB MOSES, VISIT WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT, GRAMAVISIOtf GR 8307. Fan Man/ Deepest Blue/ Machupicchu/ Visit With The Great Spirit/ Monkltonai/ Carinho/ Suite Bahla. 47:56. Rahboat Moses, dm*, perc, vcl, synth; Tiger Okoshi, tpt, flgh, el tpt; Bob Mintzer, ts, el b clt; David Llebman, s$; George Garzone, ss, ts; David Grots, as, fit; Howard Johnson, bs, tuba, el contrabass clt; Tony Coe, ts; John D'Earth, el tpt; Oavld Sanborn, as; Michael Glbbs, tbn; Jerome Harris, el b, gtr; Lincoln Goines, el b; Steve Swallow, el b; Eddie Gomez, b; Steve Kuhn, p; Delmar Brown, syn; Cliff Korman, syn; Bill Frlsell, gtr; John Scofleid, gtr; Manoel Montlero, perc, vcl; BUI Martin, perc; Claudio Silva, perc, vcl; Ron De Francesco, perc;Jahnet Levatfn, perc; Danny Gottlieb, gong; Hiroshi Hieda, vcl; Rayko Shtota, vcl; Kyoko Baker, vcl. (Moses, Okoshi, Mintzer, Johnson play on all tracks, otherwise assorted personnel.) The French might call Moses a bricoleur. Translated loosely as 'handyman,' the term imparts an artsy/serious and ancient air to someone who makes it all work with oaqe 66 - cadence - September 1984 whatever's at hand. That's not to say that Moses or his music is haphazard; he knows exactly what he's doing. It's just that his methods and tools can be unconventional. Who else is usiny electric contrabass clarinet, rapping, go go bells and a drums-synth-tuba combination, all within a spirited big band setting these days? As on last years When Elephant's . . . (10/78, p. 56) - the elephants reappear here in some of the horn voicings and drum solos - Moses has constructed a highly accessible, if not necessarily easy, original pastiche. Some of his tools: lush Ellingtonish ensemble sections (parts of "Deepest Blues," "Carinho" and the lovely title track); a jumpy turn on Monk ("Monkitonal") featuring a scorching solo from guest Dave Sanborn and a hip rap; illuminating electric/acoustic juxtapositions, bits of the leader's poetry and all the sounds 29 musicians and a few dozen instruments can make. Moses never seems to lose control. Only "Suite Bahia" gets at all aimless. That Charles Mingus and Rahsaan Roland Kirk figure importantly in this man's background is no surprise. Like them there's a bit of both the professor and the clown in Moses. His music shares with these great spirits equal measures of history and risk; his creations are at the same time deadly serious and sly fun. Eric Shepard Paul Elllngson PAUL ELLINGSON, SOLO JAZZ PIANO VOL. 1, IVY JAZZ (Ul-El-2). Universal Flux/ Go Down Moses/ Little Laura/ Night In Tunisia/ Contlnumorphic/ Pete Kelly's Blues/ The Purples/ Without A Song/ Coal Train/ So Long Monk/ Key Largo/ The Spacial Model/ Pow Wow/ Sets Of Three/ Re: Person I Knew/ Extreme Nonfunction (tk 2)/ The Lord's Prayer/ Artistry in Rhythm/ America The Beautiful/ Deep Space/ I Loves You Porgy/ Kurt Sand- holtz/ infinite Variety. 92:23. 8/78 - 12/82. Ellingson, p. Once there was the Lydian Chromatic Concept, Could Mr. Ellingson be the next George Russell with his Vertical System? Very briefly, his detailed intellectual theorist research (illustrated in his extensive liners) states that most American music (especially Jazz standards), as opposed to most European music, has a "constantly shifting tonality" rather than a central key. This means that most of what folks learn in music theory class is grossly incorrect (or the tip of the iceberg, so to speak). Fine. The implications can be debated by a few genuinely interested parties. It can also be discussed by typical pseudo-intellectuals with nothing better to Jdo. But if, by any remote chance, Mr. Elling-son's concepts are put to use by the educational system, one hopes that his prejudices and ignorance (especially as concerns the so-called Jazz avant-garde) to say nothing of his unmitigated value judgements as concerns his approach to creating music will be excluded. ("Polytonality has few adherents since it is the most difficult requiring much study of scales and chord construction before attempting to play and nothing swings as hard either, as constantly shifting tonality." Italics mine.) But what of this double LP? How hard does this music swing? Not too. Ellingson is a pleasant enough player in a decidedly impressionistic bag though his execution is sometimes stiff and hesitant. And while he acknowledges that Ivy Jazz documents will "... include more or less successful experiments" one cannot help but wonder during the hour and a half playing time why Mr. Ellingson bothers releasing all this material. Prejudices aside, he makes some interesting theoretical points (for those who care about such things). He should probably stick to writing text and perhaps leave the exemplification to someone else while he woodsheds in private to live up to his own stated expectations. Milo Fine SAM SANDERS & VISIONS, THE GIFt OF LOVE, THAT AFRICAN LAbY PROD. Gift Of Love/ Slightly Anxious/ Day After Yesterday/ Un-Stable/ Free Fall/ Mickey's Tune/ Fantasy. 41:27. Sanders, ts; Ed Pickens, b; Michael Zaporski, p; Kenn Cox, p (Day After Yesterday, Fantasy); Jon Knust, dms. What sounded pleasant albeit innocuous enough at first begins to chafe with repeated listenings. This is a first album for Mr. Sanders who according to the liner notes has been performing with his band Visions for over ten years. Though no mention is made as to locale, 1 would deduce that Detroit is his home turf. There are moments when this music sounds derivative of the classic Coitrane quartet, although the sound of Sanders' tenor is decidedly evident on "Slightly Anxious." Following an intro that could have been lifted from a number of Pharoah Sanders/Leon Thomas collaborations he charges through a few bop inspired bars with some rather gutteral tenor playing. The material ranges from the samba-like opening of the title track through a couple of ballads (Day After Yesterday, Fantasy! to the hard bop stylings of the remainder of the tunes. The rhythm section remains just that, and rarely if ever does it add anything memorable to the proceedings. Sanders is capable of turning a nice phrase or two, the title track being a case in point, but there are too many occurrences in which his chops seem to get away from him. The breathy articulation heard on "Day After Yesterday" or his hurried delivery on "Un-Stable" is mercifully exempt from a slower number such as OsilH 29th Street Saxophone Quartet "Pointillistic Groove** (Osmosis 6002) Recorded live!* November 25, 1984 Bobby Watv I Jackson - alto sax Rich Roihenberg - tenor sax Jim Hartog - Ht*iiu»ne >^ -.NY IMII2. Bubby Watson's compositions <£ Second Floor Mush -I 28th Street, New York, NY W» |
