Customer Reviews

Black Revolutionary Jazz - By: BrotherJames, 26 Nov 2005
This is a very heavy hard bop album & is well worth a listen. It is a concious offering & is very darkin places. There are several sections where Max & Abbey Lincoln get to stretch out on their own & the dynamics & interaction between the two musicians is sublime. The opening track (driva' Man) sets the scene with Abbey Lincoln singing from the perspective of a slave & her relationship with the slave driver. Colman Hawkins is on fire, playing a solo full of soul & lyricism. Freedom Day is a hectic hard bop offering deliveredin triple time & again shows Mr Roach's melodic style. Triptych is a piece that is on the more experimental tip where Abbey Lincoln expresses the feeling of a generation dealing with the struggle & oppression of a race of people for no reason other than the colour of their skin. All Africa is a gem. It is charactarised by the poly-rhythmic richness of Mr Roach & African percussionist Michael Olantunji. Tears for Johannesburg is a piecein 5/4 where the soloists get a chance to shine. All of the horns are on form but it is Julian Priestner who stands out. He blows a sweet solo & manages to make the sometimes bulky & sluggish trombone flow with a fluid deliveryin an odd time signature. Once again Roach fires up the piece with a blistering solo that is full of all those Max Roach signature licks & lyricism that made him one of innovators of his instrument. This album has something for everybody & is a modern classic. -BrotherJames