Coral Rock features an
absolutely monster free jazz lineup. Fans of other releases on America or the
BYG Actuel series should be familiar with a number of these sidemen: Bobby Few,
Clifford Thornton, Muhammad Ali, Joseph Jarman. Particularly of interest,
though, might be the under-recorded Alan Shorter, who contributed the title
track. This piece is especially reminiscent of "Mephistopheles," a
tune that appeared (in different capacities) on his brother Wayne's similarly
great Blue Note LP The All Seeing Eye and certain reissue pressings of the
self-titled Marion Brown record on ESP. Like "Mephistopheles,"
"Coral Rock" features a lumbering, march-like bassline and incredibly
dissonant head. "Coral Rock," however, is much looser and, for this
reason, it would be difficult to imagine it on a Blue Note release of any kind.
This is free jazz straight out of the late-'60s/early-'70s Paris scene. Very
serious stuff. That having been said, the inclusion of the standard "I
Should Care" may come as a surprise, but one should keep in mind that no
matter how far out Archie Shepp got, his roots have always been firmly planted
in the past. It is seemingly presented here more as a vehicle for pianist Bobby
Few than anything else and, within Shepp's catalog, might be compared to the
free blues of "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)" from his 1968 Impulse
LP, The Way Ahead. This session was reissued in the States by Prestige. ~ by
Brandon Burke, AMG.
America Records, 30 AM 6103,
1970
Prestige Records, PRST 10066,
1973
Recorded 23rd July,
1970 At Studio Decca, Paris, France
Musicians:
Archie Shepp - Tenor
Saxophone, Piano
Lester Bowie - Trumpet
Al Shorter - Flugelhorn
Clifford Thornton - Valve
Trombone
Bobby Few - Piano
Bob Reid - Bass
Mohamed Ali - Drums
Ostaine Blue Warner -
Percussion
Djibrill - Conga Drums
Tracks:
A. Coral Rock {Alan Shorter}
(22:09)
B. I Should Care {Axel
Stordahl, Paul Weston, Sammy Cahn} (14:05)
Total Time: 36:14
Credits:
Producer - Pierre Berjot
Photography - Gilbert Moreau
Sleeve Notes - Valerie Wilmer
