Free Funk

Cassandra Wilson has steadfastly refused to be pigeonholed or confined to any stylistic formula. Her highly anticipated Blue Note debut may stir renewed controversy, as she is once again all over the place. She begins the set with her intriguing version of

If Eternal Rhythm was Don Cherry's world fusion masterpiece of the '60s, then Brown Rice is its equivalent for the '70s. But where Eternal Rhythm set global influences in a free jazz framework, Brown Rice's core sound is substantially different, wedding Indian, African, and...

Saxophonist Gary Thomas' records have been nothing if not provocative. This set, a collection of jazz and pop standards radically reharmonized and annotated rhythmically, is no exception. Thomas assembles a stellar cast on this outing, including guitarist Pat Metheny, pianist Tim Murphy,...

Singer Cassandra Wilson, who has had a rather diverse career that has ranged from the free funk of M-Base to standards à la Betty Carter, has in recent times adopted a folk-oriented style a little reminiscent of Nina Simone. On New Moon Daughter her repertoire ranges from U2 to Son House,...

In one of the most unlikely groupings in music history, avant-skronk guitar godfather Derek Bailey teams up with the harmolodic, free funk rhythm section of Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston. Weston and Tacuma have been the anchor for Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer, and James...

With John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, and Jack DeJohnette, this group rivaled the best fusion bands of the day. It must have been an intimidating challenge for a young Czech bassist to lead such a group on his debut album as a frontman, especially since he composed five of the six...

While his alto saxophone playing has drawn comparisons to Charlie Parker and his soprano sax style to the great John Coltrane, Kenny Garrett's actual musical voice has been described as intense, straight-ahead swing- and funk-flavored hard bop and free jazz. On Standard of Language, the...

For those who believed Bright Moments was "it" when it came to Rahsaan Roland Kirk live recordings -- meaning that Joel Dorn's various live Kirk packages have been substandard in comparison, though not without considerable interest -- Christmas came early in 2003. Compliments of...

Following the symphonic explorations of 1972's Skies of America, Ornette Coleman became fascinated with the music of Morocco. Dancing in Your Head is the chaotic result of that experimental period with the formation of Prime Time. "Theme From a Symphony" (Variation One and Two) is...

Love it or hate it, trumpeter Eddie Gale's second Blue Note outing as a leader is one of the most adventurous recordings to come out of the 1960s. Black Rhythm Happening picks up where Ghetto Music left off, in that it takes the soul and free jazz elements of his debut and adds to them the...

In Detroit, 1971, trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxophonist Wendell Harrison started a band, a recording company, and a magazine, and called them the Tribe. Though the three organizations lasted until 1978, Ranelin's Vibes From the Tribe, issued in 1976, was the last of eight records issued...

Bassist Melvin Jackson has exactly one album in his catalog as a leader (he spent most of his time playing with Eddie Harris). But man, that's all he needed. Pumping his upright through a Maestro G-2 filter box, a Boomerang, an Echoplex, and an Am peg amp, he made that thing sound like...

Tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee has been a cult figure in the jazz world despite a string of releases on the visible Hat Art label and vocal support from the likes of Ken Vandermark. Nation Time is good evidence why. Its three tracks were recorded live in December 1970 and released the following...

Trinity is the second installment of Joe McPhee's early work that's been re-released in Atavistic's wonderful #Unheard Music series of extremely worthy yet rarely noted music originally recorded on LP. The first was the widely acclaimed Nation Time. This trio date from 1971...

Inner Crisis by Larry Willis is one of the very finest examples of electric jazz-funk from the mid-'70s. With sidemen who included guitarist Roland Prince, drummer Al Foster, tenor saxophonist Harold Vick, and trombonist Dave Bargeron, as well as bassists Eddie Gomez (acoustic) and Roderick...

Cassandra Wilson's debut as a leader features the chance-taking singer in a funky M-Base setting. The overcrowded ensembles (played by altoist Steve Coleman, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Mark Johnson) did not leave much...

For almost a decade, guitarist James Blood Ulmer has been courting the lues as a deeper shade of black with his trademark harmolodic jazz-funk expressionism. In addition, Ulmer's music has come to rely increasingly as much on riffing as it does on improvisation. The results have been...

Over three days in April 2001, James "Blood" Ulmer and producer/guitarist Vernon Reid (yes, of Living Colour fame) went into the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis and kicked out some of the greasiest, knottiest, most surreal lues music ever. The lues have always been part of...