Fresh Frank Lowe Freedom FLP41015
The wonderful Frank Lowe.
In this instance on the Freedom label.
Im not sure how this record is assessed by the critics - I took a while to find it, then loved it as soon as I heard it.
Its sort of all over the place in a sloppy-sharp kind of way. As a unified artifact I suppose it doesnt really hang together as an album - but damn all that - in the end it works gloriously. It contains 2 of my favourite Monk covers (none of your a-one-atwo-athree-afour polite jazz quartet zooming through Little Rootie Tootie at the Budokan Hall here..)
Lester Bowie crackles and slaps on the opening track, Lowe himself is hypnotic on Fresh, Play Some Blues is WAY more than the 12 or 16 bar stroll over changes that one might expect from the title. If the last tracks an oddity, well what the hell - great groove -though if anyone knows anything about The Memphis Four, please do tell - they sound like a soul groove band recorded in what is perhaps a rehearsal studio...
This was re-issued on CD on Black Lion, but even that has gone out-of-print. Having heard the CD and the LP, I prefer the vinyl. And thus Id recommend the FLACs. Any which way, hope someone digs this.
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