What do Neil Peart and Milford Graves have in common? Not much, but there is the shared and seemingly unquenchable propensity for populating their kits with a panoply of pieces. In the years since this early ESP effort, dubiously dubbed the Percussion Ensemble though more accurately a duo, Graves’ kit has continued to grow to epic proportions encompassing implements indigenous to nearly every corner of the globe. For better and worse, the date has an informal jam session feel about it, akin to the kind of drum clinics Graves was officiating up in Harlem around the same time and after. Sunny Morgan serves as a competent if sometimes undistinguished foil in the effort, the two drummers having served in the percussion section of populist-minded Montego Joe’s band a year prior. These pieces are decidedly more abstract in intent and structure. Numbered and each carrying the Zen-like signifier “Nothing”, the logic behind their sequencing isn’t readily apparent.
Rhythms overlap in near continuous frequency with both men switching up between what sounds like a sizeable collection of percussive devices. Cowbells, batas, congas, shakers, scrapers, and Graves’ signature gong bombs are all audible within the recording space alongside the core kits. The duo’s interplay isn’t always on point and several of the tracks have a tendency to meander into ideational cul de sacs, but these minor foibles are part of the charm of the date. The effect is that of eavesdropping on a pair of colleagues in the process of woodshedding. The album has engendered a number of negative reviews over the years with the consistently terse Scott Yanow concluding that “the songs largely live up to their titles”. Clever, but a clear case of missing the point in my opinion. There are moments where the presence of Morgan feels more like an obfuscating element than an advantage, but considering the context of the conversations and when they were recorded, the resulting music has more to offer than mere historical interest.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on June 24, 2008 11:10 AMDid Sunny Morgan do anything besides this?
Posted by: damon Smith at June 24, 2008 3:50 PMAs intimated above, a sideman gig on a Montego Joe record for Prestige, it's a fun date though not really in line w/ the work here.
Posted by: derek at June 25, 2008 10:26 AMI've always enjoyed Milford's work on the Paul Bley quintet ESP record, BARRAGE, to throw out a seldom-mentioned title.
Milford Graves is a national treasure. If this were an enlightened country, he'd be a household name with no need to scuffle for a living.
Posted by: djll at June 25, 2008 4:04 PMI've always enjoyed Milford's work on the Paul Bley quintet ESP record, BARRAGE, to throw out a seldom-mentioned title.
other ESP/graves mentions - with Guiseppe Logan (love "Dance of Satan"), totally lopsided crashing something, NY Art Quartet (plus the more recent one where he and Tchicai both getting into their singing thing).
Speaking of Barrage, does anyone known exactly what's going on with that last track (there is some kind of weird tape-loopy thing on there). That era of Carla Bley tunes are gold.
Posted by: Jacob Lindsay at June 25, 2008 5:00 PMSunny Morgan was also on Kenny Barron's "Peruvian Blue," on Muse. It's a good date.
Posted by: clifford at June 26, 2008 4:30 PMNice review, I think your spot on. The point of an "ensemble" here has nothing to do with personnel, but the artist are referring to their ensemble of percussion instruments.
Posted by: Justice Limoges at June 28, 2008 1:50 AMI tell you two good stories about this album that I found twice , once in the Brussel's Caroline shop which imported everything free music in the seventies.....twice during my 40th birthday : a friend played it on the turntable which was installated in our garden surrounded by trees , flowers, and birds singing : an organic and natural music which sounds like a african village percussion orchestra ( yes sir ! I have examples on Ocora lp's at home !)
Second , in an old 1968 Jazz Magazine , a famous french critic and novel writer , gave a 0/10 to this album . Reason : unjazz.... It is totally true and the most incredible thing is that this same jazz Magazine supported mostly free jazz and also euro free music afterwards and that this writer (a very talented and very known in the contemporary litterature in France selling novels by tens of thousands and even very very astute novels on jazz greats) became drummer in a sort of maoïst - spontaneist ideologically inspired free jazz group....
If anyone interested having a photocopy of the review
Posted by: jean michel vs at July 31, 2008 12:37 PMHi Jean-Michel,
You are true.
I remember that perfectly. At that time I was very fond of free jazz and when I read this review, I was very puzzled. I immediatly thought that the music should be amazing!
After that, my only purpose was to find and buy this album .... :-)
BTW, the name of this "journalist" : Alain Gerber.
I should have kept this magazine issue, so send me a PM...
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