I got a fine CD last week from
master drummer Jeff Cosgrove. Jeff is a
fearless explorer of those regions of avant garde hyperspace opened up by the
elder captains. I have previously
reviewed his amazing tribute to the music of Paul Motian: Motian Sickness.
Alternating
Current is another voyage for which you will want to be on
board. Cosgrove leads a trio including
Matthew Shipp on piano and William Parker on bass. Anyone who has followed this blog or listened
to JazzNoteNSU knows that I am devoted to the music of William Parker. I think that he might be the greatest living
composer of jazz. I have also featured
Matthew Shipp frequently, as I think his word is fundamental. I will take the liberty of including a bit
from one of Jeff’s emails: “Playing/meeting Matt and William was definitely
life changing. The best part is they are some of the kindest people as
well.” I can only imagine, but I am
grateful to Jeff for including me in the outreach part of the project.
Finally, I note that the album
is dedicated to Andrew Cyrille who, according to the liner notes, “helped
connect the musicians for this recording and has long been an inspiration in
improvisation”. Cyrille is another
master whom I have pushed with all the power of my meagre resources.
The disc has three cuts: ‘Bridges
of Tomorrow’ is 38 minutes long. It is
textbook free jazz: a weaving of three great minds with thick rope here and
stringy sinews there. The second and
third cuts are shorter and sweeter, if more impressionistic.
If you love jazz, you will want
to get this disc.
