By Nick Metzger
Balance Point Acoustics serves up another great release with this
remarkable album that brings together some verifiable living legends of the
music in addition to having strong ties to St. Louis’ Black Artist Group
(BAG) collective. This Sextett is composed of poet K. Curtis Lyle,
trumpeter George R. Sams, percussionists Ra Kalam Bob Moses and Henry
Claude, and double bassists Damon Smith and Adi Bu Dharma Joshua Weinstein.
Smith unpacked this for me a little bit, saying that Sams, Weinstein, and
Claude had been doing some private playing when the prospect of recording
with Ra Kalam Bob Moses materialized. K. Curtis Lyle, now based out of St.
Louis, was close friends and recorded with BAG alumni Julius Hemphill. I
remembered Lyle from disc five of the 2022 archival release
The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony, and Smith reminded me that there is also his debut
“The Collected
Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson”, which Hemphill also plays on. Lyle
also performed on the
Julius Hemphill Big Band
which features his epic poem “Drunk on God”. As it turns out Hemphill was
in a free funk band with Moses, so by extension they asked Curtis to join
the recording. George Sams is also BAG alumni, having grown up with the
collective in St. Louis, but he’s probably best known for his Bay Area
quartet United Front, who recorded their
final LP
for FMP sub-label SÅJ, and for
“Nomadic Wins”
his excellent 1981 album on Hat. So this release is an important one that
ties together deep seams of the multigenerational American free jazz scene
and elevates some crucial voices back to the foreground.
The first track “Crown/Birds You Never Heard” starts with heavy bass grima
and subtle, scattered percussion, setting a solemn atmosphere which Sams
pierces with echoing peels of trumpet. Curtis recites his poetry in the
confident, assertive tenor of a man who has spent a lifetime working his
craft. On “The Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt” the percussion is even
more varied and creative and the bassists color the background as Sams
drives the cutting edge of the music. Curtis’ poetry is full of imagery and
is never too direct. Rather, abstract passages and non-sequiturs dovetail
into unforeseen statements of profound insight. “Damballah and Aida Weidho
The Old Gods” dances on the back of handpans and mbira navigating groaning
bass pulls along pizzicato pathways. On “Five Peacocks Ingest The Mandrake”
the brambles of rhythm tighten in their thick coils, complemented by bass
fiddles in stereo. Sam’s playing is excellent on this track, subtle and
bright – every expression timed perfectly to complement the roiling
colossus beneath. The last couple of minutes find the group going all-in on
a sawing, droning texture before an abrupt about face. “The Gold Standard
Andrew Hill Deconstructs James Booker” crackles with turbulent percussion
and fingered bass lines that gradually secede into sections of regressive
deconstruction which Lyle orates within. On the final piece titled
“Harmonize My Black Mule Blues” Lyle recites in sung passages while Sams
claps and whoops and the rhythm section gets granular in their sounds with
the physical presence of a heavyweight fighter.
A fantastic album that’s sure to be on my year end list, as it hits all
the right marks. For comparisons sake, Bill Dixon’s “Vade Mecum” albums as
well as “Berlin Abbozzi” obviously come to mind, given the similar
instrumentation. But here the percussion is on steroids and the addition of
Lyle’s poetry really elevates this one and makes for a complex and surreal
listening experience. This is also a great example of how some of the best
music comes together in unforeseen ways, and I always wonder how much is
intent and how much is happy accident? The packaging includes artwork from
both Sams and Lyle as well as a chapbook of the latter’s poetry, so a
physical copy of this one is definitely worth it. And finally, there is
also (coincidentally) a highly anticipated archival release from
BAG out now if you’re interested in some complimentary listening material.
Don’t miss this one though, highly recommended!