Half a century or so ago, AEC member Lester Bowie (1941-1999) cut the solo track Is Jazz As We Know It Dead? Responding to a fictionalised “Jizzum Magazine” reporter’s question “Is jazz, as we know it, dead?” Bowie produced all sorts of expressive phrasing and tonal magic before responding “Well, I guess that all depends on what you know…”
The current Jazz Is Dead series is the most recent fruit of an early initiative from the Detroit-based Tribe Records – an initiative roughly contemporary with Bowie’s riposte. In 1973 the community and artist oriented label issued Message From The Tribe. This featured Phillip Ranelin and Wendell Harrison, founding members of the Tribe Collective. Decades on they remain in strong voice here, on (respectively) trombone, and tenor sax and bass clarinet.
The Jazz Is Dead project aims, among other things, to profile improvisers who may have dropped out of the fashion-driven media spotlight. For example, the recent Jazz Is Dead 6 presented Gary Bartz (as, ss) in the company of, a.o, Adrian Younge (kyb) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (elb) – both of whom appear here. Eight short tracks, heavy on a textured range of diversely staggered trip-hop rhythm and electric atmosphere, captured the spirit of a number of Bartz’s wide-ranging achievements over the years.
Jazz Is Dead 16 also features the striking, rhythmically left-field drummer Greg Paul, who appeared on the Bartz item and features on other Jazz Is Dead projects. Ranelin and Harrison make a range of economic and telling contributions to the sort of richly atmospheric music which swings (hear Genesis) but which can also recall Miles Davis in his Bitches Brew and beyond mode (sample Running With The Tribe and Ursa Major).
Aiming to help generate “a new cultural awareness” (i.e., jazz is most certainly not dead) the diversely textured electro-retro-futurism on offer here consistently repays close attention.
Discography
Genesis; Open Eye; Running With The Tribe; Fire In Detroit; Ursa Major; Metropolitan Blues; Black Census (32.26)
Ranelin (tb); Harrison (ts, bcl); Younge (elp, elg, syn, marimba, as, ss, pc); Muhammad (elb); Greg Paul (d). Los Angeles, c. 2022
Jazz Is Dead CD 16
