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| 1. | Political Blues
produced by Jahi Sundance Lake
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| 2. | Hal's Blues
For Hal " Cornbread" Singer
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| 3. | Mannish Boy
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| 4. | Let's Have Some Fun Blues
produced by Jahi Sundance Lake
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| 5. | Amazin' Disgrace
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| 6. | Bluocracy, Part 1
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| 7. | Bluocracy, Part 2
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| 8. | Bluocracy, Part 3
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| 9. | Blue Diamond
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| 10. | Harlem
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| 11. | Spy on Me Blues
produced by Jahi Sundance Lake
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Jazz
Bruce Williams - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Jaleel Shaw - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Bass (Electric), Producer
James Blood Ulmer - Guitar, Vocals
Jeremy Pelt - Trumpet
Oliver Lake - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Vocals
For their ninth Justin Time recording, the musicians of the World Saxophone Quartet one of the world's most acclaimed jazz ensembles, and one of its most durable have chosen to address the current political climate of the United States the way they know best. Bold original compositions are embellished with no-holds-barred lyrics, provocative arrangements and superlative performances. Not content to rest on its laurels, the WSQ, described by the New York Times' Jon Pareles as "the most original and important group to emerge since Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane redefined group improvisation in the late 1950s" has produced a recording that is seething in its disdain for the current Administration ("Spy On Me Blues") and immediate in its relevance (the Katrina-inspired "Amazin' Disgrace").
A group not lacking in charisma, the ample personality of the WSQ, enjoying its fourth decade and now consisting of the triumvirate of founding members Oliver Lake, Bluiett (formerly Hamiett Bluiett) and David Murray, ensures that guests are not necessarily required in order for interesting music to be made. However, guests abound. Electric bass legend Jamaaladeen Tacuma, trombonist/arranger extraordinaire Craig Harris, legendary American music iconoclast James "Blood" Ulmer and powerhouse drummer Lee Pearson all contribute immeasurably, and there are additional guests in saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Bruce Williams, vocalist Carol Amba and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.
Destined to become a landmark recording, alongside such classic albums as Archie Shepp's Attica Blues and Charles Mingus' Fables Of Faubus, the WSQ's Political Blues succeeds in being both a rallying cry against half-truths and injustices and a compelling musical statement. Recorded earlier this year in New York, the World Saxophone Quartet's Political Blues have created a statement that's both timely and timeless, and never less than utterly compelling.
* Billy Szawlowski - Mastering
* Jim West - Executive Producer
* Jonathan Townes - Mixing
* Peter Karl - Engineer, Photography
World Saxophone Quartet has built a large, impressive and diverse catalog that ranges from the extreme to the relatively accessible. Political Blues falls into the relatively accessible category, but for WSQ's 2006 lineup (Oliver Lake on alto and soprano sax, Bruce Williams on alto and soprano sax, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone sax and David Murray on tenor sax and bass clarinet), relatively accessible doesn't mean unchallenging. In fact, the songs that have lyrics pack a strong sociopolitical punch. The title track (which features Murray on lead vocals) expresses the group's disdain for the administration of President George W. Bush, and "Spy on Me Blues" (with Lake on vocals) is a biting yet humorous commentary on Bush's embarrassing performance during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans in 2005. But Political Blues isn't strictly an album of protest lyrics; many of the tracks are instrumentals, including Lake's funky "Let's Have Some Fun," Murray's somewhat Ellingtonian "Hal's Blues" and Craig Harris' dusky "Harlem." While some WSQ recordings have favored a saxophone-only policy -- no bass, no drums, no guitar, no brass instruments -- this January 2006 session features several non-sax playing guests. Among them: trombonist Harris, electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, drummer Lee Pearson, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and guitarist James Blood Ulmer (who is featured as a singer on a spirited performance of Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy"). Political Blues' mixture of jazz, blues and funk is mildly avant-garde, but it isn't radically avant-garde -- and those who have admired WSQ's spirit of adventure will be happy to know that the saxophonists are still taking chances even at their most accessible.
--- Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
World Saxophone Quartet
Active Decades: '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: 1977
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Modern Free, Post-Bop, Free Funk, Avant-Garde Jazz, African Jazz
Probably the first of several saxophone-only ensembles who proliferated in jazz after 1975, the WSQ is unquestionably the most commercially (and, arguably, the most creatively) successful. Of course, commercial success is a relative thing in jazz, especially when one is speaking of an avant-garde group. But unlike most free jazz artists, the WSQ managed to attract an audience of significant size; large enough to have garnered a major-label record deal in the '80s, an almost unheard-of occurrence in that retro-jazz decade. The band did it on merit, too, with only a hint of compromise (manifested mainly by albums of R&B and Duke Ellington covers). By the time their first record on Elektra/Musician came out in 1986, the band had evolved from their fire-breathing, free-improvising, ad-hoc beginnings into a smooth-playing, compositionally minded, well-rehearsed band. At their creative peak, the group melded jazz-based, harmonically adventurous improvisation with sophisticated composition. All of the group's original members (Julius Hemphill, alto; Oliver Lake, alto; David Murray, tenor; and Hamiet Bluiett, baritone) were estimable composers as well as improvisers. Each complimented the whole, making them even greater than the considerable sum of their parts. As a composer, Hemphill drew on European techniques (though his tunes were not without an unalloyed jazz component), while Bluiett was steeped in blues and funk. Lake and Murray fell somewhere in between. As soloists and writers, the early WSQ covered all the bases.
The WSQ were founded in 1976 after the four original members (all of them well-established solo artists) accepted an offer by Ed Jordan, the chairman of the music department at Southern University in New Orleans, to conduct a series of clinics and performances with and without a local rhythm section. The enthusiastic audience response to the unaccompanied saxophones convinced the musicians to develop the concept. They played a gig at the (now defunct) Tin Palace in New York, calling the group the Real New York Saxophone Quartet. They were later forced to change the name after reportedly being threatened with a lawsuit by the preexisting New York Saxophone Quartet; hence, the World Saxophone Quartet. In 1977, the band recorded their first album, an almost completely improvised effort called Point of No Return, for the Moers Music label. Later releases on Black Saint document the band's increasing interest in composition. The membership stayed constant until Hemphill's departure in 1989. Arthur Blythe was the first of Hemphill's several replacements. Blythe was with the band from 1990-1992, and from 1994-1995. James Spaulding joined briefly in 1993, and was quickly replaced by Eric Person. In 1996, after Blythe's second tenure, John Purcell took and held the chair.
Although they're a sax-oriented group, the WSQ's members have been multi-instrumentalists. The band always incorporated a wide variety of woodwinds into their sound. After Rhythm & Blues (1986, Elektra/Musician), the WSQ began using other musicians in their recordings and performances. Metamorphosis (1990, Elektra/Musician) added African drummers and electric bassist Melvin Gibbs. Later records utilized pianists, vocalists, bassists, and drummers. In adding other musicians, the band sacrificed part of their distinctiveness. The novelty of the band's original approach, and their ability to swing so hard sans rhythm, set them apart. By the end of the '90s, the WSQ had lost their major-label deal and much of their identity.
---Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide |
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