Sweet silver cycles from
Eddie Harris – a wonderful late 60s album that features lots of lines on the electrified Varitone saxophone, mixed with cool contributions from a shifting lineup of soulful musicians! The set's one of
Eddie's real classics from the Atlantic years – completely inventive, but never in a gimmicky way – and a really great bridge between late 60s modes of funk, jazz, and soul – at the same level he'd serve up more famously in his collaborations with
Les McCann! There's a lot of that same energy here, but the vibe is even tighter – and
Harris really blows us away with his great arrangements, which get a slight bit of help from Arif Mardin. Other players include Melvin Jackson on bass, Seldon Powell on reeds, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards – and titles include "Silver Cycles", "Electric Ballad", "Little Bit", "Free At Last", "Coltrane's View", "Electric Salad", "1974 Blues", and "Smoke Signals".