snobb One of the early releases coming in a very beginning of a new year is a collaborative work, recorded by high class free improvisers quintet of seasoned tenor Joe McPhee and cohort of younger creative jazz stars.

Joe McPhee (probably in a pair with Charles Gayle) is one of the busiest veterans of loft jazz around playing with many today's sound names and recorded intensively. His new quintet contains such leaders of modern avant-garde jazz as sax payer Dave Rempis and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, rising star cellist Tomeka Reid (who toured Europe last year as Art Ensemble of Chicago's member) and relatively lesser known New Yorker bassist Brandon Lopez.

Just two compositions, recorded live at Chicagoan The Hungry Brain on December 16 2018. Each lasts less than 20 minutes.Quite surprisingly, there are only a few explosive moments on this album, slow to mid-tempo music predominates. Saxes often sound as bird calls communication with cello vibrations and lot of percussion on the back. Common mood is more philosophical than energizing, and excellent interplay between quintet members builds intellectual and rousing atmosphere. Without leaving a frames of the genre, this album belongs to a more successful examples of live recordings in prolific Joe McPhee discogs.

snobb Florida-born NY-based reeds player Joe McPhee initially was a trumpet player when (at 32) he switched to saxophone (self taught) and became a member of New York loft scene."Nation Time" is his second album as leader,recorded live in concert at The Urban Center for Black Studies at Vassar College,NYC(two of three album's compositions).

Quite obscure recordings (originally released on tiny CjRecord label)contain excellent and highly original mix of free jazz,r'n'b, jazz-rock and free funk. It's even more impressive that all this material was recorded in 1970,just few months after Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" arrived.

Just three compositions, each differs from two others by stylistic components and arrangements. Probably "Shakey Jake" is most intriguing one - differently from two other songs, it was recorded in studio the next day after concert with larger line-up adding to regular McPhee quintet (Mike Kull(electric piano),Tyrone Crabb(electric and acoustic bass),Bruce Thompson and Ernest Bostic(both - percussion)) an alto saxophonist, an organist, and an electric guitarist.

All album sounds more rock-heavier,r'n'b-groovier and funky-freer than more sophisticated "Bitches Brew". Masterpiece.

snobb Session, recorded on this album, was planned as trio of two bassists and sax player Whitecage concert, organised by CIMP label, but spontanically it grew up to long studio recording of label's leading experimenting musicians (released later on two separate albums).

Bassists Dominic Duval and Peter Kowald (two from very top of world's improvising bassists list, among Barry Guy and Barry Phillips)are still main driving force of all recording, but very unpredictably music here is not fast, heavy,screamy or noisy. Differently from many and many albums coming from free jazz improvisers, this album represents mid-tempo, even lazy in moments very aerial music with deep velvet bass sound, almost ascetic drumming and thin impressionist layers of reeds.Both sax players (Joe McPhee on soprano and Mark Whitecage on alto)build very fragile aerial constructions over rhythmic basement with only occasional sound licks coming from trumpeter Paul Smoker and violinist David Prentice.

This album is more about silence than about noise, but mystically it sounds quite energetic,full of sensual nuances,atmospheres and moods. Not angry scream but mature philosophical beauty radiates from that music - how often we use word "beauty" speaking about improvisational jazz?

Great recording, requiring repeating listening.

snobb Rotation is rare (never re-released on CD) Joe McPhee's live release from his Swiss concert series.First two album's compositions are just sax solos. Free-form, sometimes explosive, but more often - just speaking man-like short and very various in emotive colors, sad,nervous, funny... McPhee still has some Coleman's melodic influence there, but he is obviously in transition searching for new sounds and forms.

Four rest compositions are even more interesting: McPhee's free improvs partner there is synth player John Snyder. During last some decades synthesizers' use in jazz music has usually a really bad fame as a result of mindless and tasteless exploitation of their sound and possibilities. These four compositions are excellent example how artistic and innovative synthesizer can sound in a hand of real artist!

I can hardly remember similar examples when just sax and synth are equal partners in free jazz (!) improvs, where synthesizer's abilities are used not for cosmic sound-scape or electronic noises around soloing artist, but directly for free-form improvs!And even more - these compositions sound fresh and innovative even now, thirty-five years after they were released!Unfortunately, this period of synthesizers' progressive use was very short and finished very soon ( one can only imagine how different could be music history if show business wasn't discover synthesizer as fast and cheap way to produce money).

Really very interesting release, still more for fans of free jazz and Joe McPhee music though.