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raphe
malik quartet raphe
malik trumpet 1. lyon's
jump (13:24) recorded 25 may, 1998, orensanz art center, nyc recorded at the 1998 vision festival jimmy lyons memorial celebration, a powerful commemoration from four of lyons' oldest & closest comrades. malik (trumpet); "mad" paul murphy (drums); william parker (bass); glenn spearman (tenor saxophone). one of the best groups ever assembled under malik's leadership, with all the concentrated drive, tautness & ferocity characteristic of his strongest music. what a total joy! recorded live at the annual vision festival in new york in 1998, and billed as “the final malik-spearman concert,” the four pieces offer a solid sense of the excitement, synergy, and jubilance generated by this piano-less quartet. although the recording time is short (less than 42 minutes), the quality sound and exquisite musicianship easily compensate. both raphe malik and glenn spearman are in great form, with the venerable william parker and power drummer, paul murphy splendid in support. The four tunes, all penned by malik, might remind the listener of updated variations of the early acoustic experiments of ornette coleman. the melodies resonate with the excitement of the moment, and the enthusiastic applause of the sophisticated audience tells it all. the trumpeter boasts a distinct style, a rough-edged, fat sound, coupled with a concept that absorbs the innovations of don cherry and bobby bradford, yet retains its own originality. when joined with his musical blood brother, the late glenn spearman, the trumpeter creates harmonies that open the heavens. the modest horns eschew grandstanding, instead opting for simple melodies, emotionally direct improvisations, and tight harmonies. clipped phrases and raw, immediate musical statements make this one a classic performance. -- Steven Loewy, all music guide "the trio hurricane - glenn spearman on tenor, william parker on bass, paul murphy on drums - first blew in 1986 ("suite of winds", on black saint, "live at fire in the valley", mte-10). "companions" is effectively another trio hurricane + 1, the extra member this time being not marco eneidi (see wiretapper 6 compilation), but trumpeter raphe malik. recorded in may 1998, it is, unless someone taped their concert in toronto two months later, malik's last recording with spearman, who died in october that year (his final concert, with matthew goodheart and rashid bakr in July 98, was released on eremite as "first and last," mte-15). "lyon's jump" references ex-CT altoist jimmy lyons (in whose memory this concert took place at the vision festival), who invited murphy to join his group after hearing the drummer play in 1974. it's inspired stuff, and parker, who presumably ate a lion before taking to the stage, turns in a bowed solo of snarling ferocity, after which the tempo - but not the intensity - drops for "emblematic'. spearman and malik are accompanied to perfection by murphy's soft sticks. murphy, an unsung drummer who also studied with gene krupa and louie bellson, is outstanding throughout. "health food" starts out like the proverbial hurricane, but murphy keeps the storm moving through before it causes major structural damage. spearman, for once, seems a little hesitant, but blows himself out of his rut with some paint-stripping high register screaming, to the crowd's delight. "bend" is the calm after the storm, the horns hanging lazily off the theme while murphy and parker swing hard." dan warburton, the wire "posthumous albums are usually bittersweet affairs; chances to both celebrate the life and lament the passing of the dearly departed. while in strict terms this recent release doesn’t qualify since it’s issued under the mantle of raphé malik, its stature as one of saxophonist glenn spearman’s crowning concert sallies seems to supercede. spearman succumbed to illness in the summer of 1998, and his wan countenance on the disc cover offers sad corroboration as to his failing health. but the date taped at the ‘98 vision festival found him with stamina and strength largely intact, at least from a musical vantage. The festival that year was organized in honor of saxophonist jimmy lyons, a lasting influence on spearman and, for that matter, everyone in the quartet. lyons’ legendary lyricism shines through on the opening cut, a leaping improvisation that initiates mid-stomp on an angular head before parceling out solo space starting with malik. Blowing ferrous streams from his bell, the trumpeter lays down a choppy progression of phrases across a waxing and receding drum tide conjured by paul murphy’s magnetically attuned sticks. william parker wrestles down a bulbous anchoring pulse and spearman soon descends, spraying trenchant trills that coalesce into a statement of might mixed at various points with mirth and melancholia. parker moves from stout digits to drawn bow during his spate in the spotlight and his strings sing darkly within the well-rendered sonics of the disc. “emblematic” further explores the affinity spearman shared with the two ‘rhythm’ men. together they made music under the moniker trio hurricane and on the opening minutes of this track malik steps back to enjoy the show. After tiptoeing carefully through the piece’s morose theme parker veers off, his choicely freed notes sounding positively huge in the acoustics of the performance space. spearman uncorks his reed and blows with restraint before tapping a more ecstatic vein of discourse. malik’s initial entry is also subdued, matching moodily with murphy’s rolling mallets in a tour through his instrument’s tonal recesses. the drummer takes center stage shortly after, doling out doppler shifts and heady repetition in a full ranging trip across the surfaces of his kit. with “health food” the band hits another high water mark beginning with the cascading race of parker’s pizzicato strings. the horns rise and fall in tumultuous waves as murphy sets up a force field of snare-shaped press rolls and chirruping cymbals. spearman twirls his plangent lines like a dervish, all the while injecting beautiful melodic swatches into his solo dance that soothe the heat. parker picks up some microphone fuzz on his strings, but shakes it off through a flurry of throbbing figures while malik again shows his talent for economical elocution that sacrifices nothing in the way of profundity. I swear I can hear margaret davis’ cries of dizzying adoration at the track’s close. “bend” winds the performance round to a terminus on a loping groove and what would be one of spearman’s final bows in front of an audience ensues. spearman’s last concert appearance would come several months later at the 98’ fire in the valley festival (preserved on first and last, also available from eremite). although the man may be gone, his music lives on in recordings such as this – proof that his flame was burning brightly even on the eve of its extinguishing. --derek taylor, one final note |
