... LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-done overview of work that Pharoah Sanders did for the Timeless label during the 80s – recordings that are not nearly as widely-circulated as his material for Impulse and Theresa, but which represents a key third slice of his career! The setting here is sometimes more conventional in terms of standard jazz productions – smaller groups who play a bit more inside, yet still are a perfect match for Sanders' spiritual vibe on the tenor – an instrument he often uses to cross bridges of jazz generations in these recordings – linking the 70s spiritualism to some of the energy of the younger 80s musicians who were moving things back to basics. Given that Pharoah never had a "basics" stage of his career, this later life material is a real surprise – a bit like the territory that Archie Shepp was hitting in a similar mode at the time – lessons learned from the fringes, brought back to transform the center. Titles include "Africa", "Times Past", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Soul Eyes", "Moniebah", "Moonchild", "You've Got To Have Freedom", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", and "Origin". Also includes an unreleased version of "Central Park West". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that just makes us say "wow" right from the very first note – a perfect showcase for all musicians involved, and a really mighty meeting of the creative minds! We've really loved the strong return to form that Matthew Shipp has given us on piano in recent years – and of course, the basswork of William Parker is always tremendous – but they both somehow rise even more to the top alongside the drums of Gerald Cleaver and reeds of Daniel Carter – in a session that's wonderfully spiritual, very rhythmic, and often quite straight at times! There's a balance between the avant impulses of the players and the collective action of the group – almost recalling the loft jazz years, but more contemporarily righteous too – and this second volume features titles that include "Wordwide", "Mask Production", "Da Rest Is Story", and "Blinking Down". CD

One of those records that just makes us say "wow" right from the very first note – a perfect showcase for all musicians involved, and a really mighty meeting of the creative minds! We've really loved the strong return to form that Matthew Shipp has given us on piano in recent years – and of course, the basswork of William Parker is always tremendous – but they both somehow rise even more to the top alongside the drums of Gerald Cleaver and reeds of Daniel Carter – in a session that's wonderfully spiritual, very rhythmic, and often quite straight at times! There's a balance between the avant impulses of the players and the collective action of the group – almost recalling the loft jazz years, but more contemporarily righteous too – and this second volume features titles that include "Wordwide", "Mask Production", "Da Rest Is Story", and "Blinking Down". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that just makes us say "wow" right from the very first note – a perfect showcase for all musicians involved, and a really mighty meeting of the creative minds! We've really loved the strong return to form that Matthew Shipp has given us on piano in recent years – and of course, the basswork of William Parker is always tremendous – but they both somehow rise even more to the top alongside the drums of Gerald Cleaver and reeds of Daniel Carter – in a session that's wonderfully spiritual, very rhythmic, and often quite straight at times! There's a balance between the avant impulses of the players and the collective action of the group – almost recalling the loft jazz years, but more contemporarily righteous too – and this second volume features titles that include "Wordwide", "Mask Production", "Da Rest Is Story", and "Blinking Down". CD

Jug's big and bad here in tone – and the style is nicely complicated at times – a bit more open-ended and electric than before, with a sound that's almost like the shift that Stanley Turrentine was making during his years at CTI! There's still a bit of the previous Prestige funk in the mix – thanks to drums from Billy Cobham, and organ from Sonny Phillips – but the group also includes up-and-comer Maynard Parker on guitar, who gets in some nicely snakey lines at times – slinking through the tunes with a warmly chromatic edge that's mighty nice, and which sets the tune for some of Ammons' more laidback solo moments. His tenor's still as strong as ever, though – blown with a beautiful sense of tone, on tracks that include "Lady Mama", "Big Bad Jug", "Lucille", "Fly Me", and "Fuzz" – plus a nice version of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" with a sweetly gentle break! LP, Vinyl record album