Bridge Into The New Age

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Liner Note Author: Dean Rudland. The title of this terrific BGP compilation is taken from Azar Lawrence's debut album for Milestone Records (all of these cuts were licensed from Milestone and Prestige). These nine tracks capture some of the very best spiritual jazz the late '60s and the '70s had to offer. This is reflected not only in the concept behind the music, but in its open embrace of electricity, soul, and Afro-centric folk forms, as well as the various modes of expression that post-Coltrane jazz had brought to the world. The title of this terrific BGP compilation is taken from Azar Lawrence's debut album for Milestone Records (all of these cuts were licensed from Milestone and Prestige). These nine tracks capture some of the very best spiritual jazz the late '60s and the '70s had to offer. This is reflected not only in the concept behind the music, but in its open embrace of electricity, soul, and Afro-centric folk forms, as well as the various modes of expression that post-Coltrane jazz had brought to the world. Included here are two selections by Joe Henderson, the killer chant-like piece "Tress-Cun-De-O-La," with a rhythm section that included Larry Willis, James Blood Ulmer, Dave Holland (on acoustic and electric bass), Jack DeJohnette, and Arthur Jenkins; and "Fire," taken from an album he recorded with Alice Coltrane, which includes violinist Michael White, Leon Ndugu Chancler, and Charlie Haden, among others. Lawrence's title track is here, of course, and there's a killer track by Bayete (Todd Cochrane) in "Free Angela," taken from his gorgeous Worlds Around the Sun, another album that has yet to be issued on CD anywhere as far as we know. Another killer is Idris Muhammad's modal "Peace," it's one of the most startling pieces of music here, and one of the most startling of his career; it appeared on his album Peace & Rhythm. McCoy Tyner is also included here, with "Ebony Queen" from his album Sahara. A welcome addition to this set is the gorgeous ballad "Brown, Warm, and Wintry" by the Jack DeJohnette Complex, a one-off quartet with Stanley Cowell Bennie Maupin,and Eddie Gomez. The classic "Mother of the Future," from drummer Norman Connors' 1975 album Slewfoot, is here -- it's a stone spiritual funk-jazz masterpiece -- the band included Miles Davis' present-and-former sidemen such as Reggie Lucas, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz, and Carlos Garnett, former Weather Report drummer Dom Um Romao, Eddie Henderson, Hubert Laws, Jean Carn, and Skip Drinkwater. The set closes with Gary Bartz's NTU Troop doing the title track to his 1975 album, I've Known Rivers, which was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with pianist Hubert Eaves -- who also doubled on Rhodes -- bassist Stafford James, and drummer Howard King. This set underscores the commitment of Milestone and Prestige to the changes in jazz in the late '60s and '70s, and reflected its creativity during an era when jazz was considered dead. It adds historical depth and dimension to the truth: the music was not only alive and well, it was thriving creatively. In addition to the music, the booklet contains stellar track-by-track historical and musicological notes by Dean Rudland, and great remastered sound. This package is a must-have for anyone interested in the era when post-Coltrane spiritual jazz met soul and even funk, without once engaging fusion. Bridge into the New Age is all killer, no filler. ~ Thom Jurek

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