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Posted

Yeah, Moholo is listed on the reissue as "percussion", but there are scarce few sounds on that album that would require more than one percussionist (I'll listen again--there may be lots of assorted hand percussion in places--but there are certainly castanets in there, which someone may have thought to put Moholo to work on(!)).

Listening now to Archie Shepp's Coral Rock (Prestige), which isn't for me the most interesting of Archie's "blowout" dates. The "pluses" for me here are the killer groove on the title track--a typical Alan Shorter joint (but I do miss the apeshit mania of a Gato Barbieri or Gary Windo, who could've built a little more steam)--and some very eloquent rhythm section playing (Bob Reid, Bobby Few, and Mohamad/Mohammad/Muhammad Ali).

Posted

Coral Rock is rad. Strangely, one of the first Archie LP's I bought, on an original America in Lawrence, KS. Those were the days...

I can vouch for Gascogne being present (on marimba and possibly organ), according to Sel himself. He said Moholo was in the studio, but didn't recall much of a contribution from him other than crashing a cymbal here and there.

Now spinning:

Archie Shepp - The Magic of Ju-Ju - (Impulse red/black stereo orig)

Posted

Ju-Ju is one of my favorite Shepp blowout dates, maybe my favorite. I think the regularity and density of the rhythm reigns Shepp in a bit, whereas performances with looser conglomerates (the BYG sides, Three for A Quarter...) tend to develop a little more haphazardly, and with substantially less dynamic flexibility or internal cogency. For all the talk about Shepp going all neo-traditionalist on us, I think he really does work best in ordered contexts (although by ordered I'll always favor Four for Trane or Fire Music to stuff like Splashes--which is probably as good as it gets for that vintage, anyhow).

Posted

I'd agree. That's why some of his earlier work - with the NYCF, his own ensembles, and that wild one-off with Lars Gullin and the Tete Montoliu trio - is such an interesting extension of real traditional tenor playing into a more open context.

But then again, I still hold onto and enjoy most of the blow-outs!

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