Label: Clean Feed, 2022
Personnel - Avram Fefer: alto and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Marc Ribot: guitar; Eric Revis: bass; Chad Taylor: drums.
Avram Fefer, a dazzling and eclectic saxophonist with a supple sense of phrasing, returns with his powerful quartet. Juba Lee is the follow up to their debut recording, Testament (Clean Feed, 2019), and an equally strong statement.
The stirring opener, “Showtime”, swings freely, coming up with a motivic theme expressed in parallel by Fefer and drummer Chad Taylor. The saxophonist blows in and out, and yet his improvisation is so cohesive as he mixes boppish lines and avant-garde audacity. He’s followed by the great guitarist Marc Ribot, who sounds nearly muted in tone while getting loose in the posture. He can be offbeat at times in the interest of the music, being all the more participative in the disconcerting finale.
“Bedouin Dream” follows a 13-beat cycle with sax and guitar playing close to each other through well-placed notes. This piece has the same spirit of those African-inspired themes that have been frequent in Fefer’s albums. Fluttering along with odd-meter as well, “Sky Lake” is expeditious in the flow and modal in the formula. It’s dispatched with stimulating solos full of energy, from which Ribot stands out.
Just like the other cuts on the album, the sinewy and stark “Juba Lee” is an original by Fefer. Even sharing the same title as the tune (and album) by free jazz saxist Marion Brown, its primary influence was Ornette Coleman. There’s a deconstructed contemporary rhythm underneath formed by haunting, buzzing and droning accompaniment, after which it takes the form of a fusion piece that simultaneously swings and pedals during the main theme.
“Brother Ibrahim” firstly appeared on the 2003 album Shades of the Muse (tackled with a completely different quartet), and, intentionally or coincidentally, reminds me the sensitive touch of African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Another Ornette-inspired tune, “Gemini Time”, is synonym of fun time, with Taylor and bassist Eric Revis swinging beautifully. The latter concludes the time set for impromptu demonstration, following Fefer, who starts off with an intoxicating ascendant move, and Ribot, who throws in a legato of sumptuously designed notes.
Immediately before “Sweet Fifteen” - a duet of bass clarinet and acoustic guitar that, maintaining an Eastern flavor and quintuple meter, pays tribute to the late American writer, musician, and producer Greg Tate - we have a tinge of Americana and blues with “Say You’re Sorry”.
Propelled and colored by this wonderful quartet, Juba Lee is a refreshing album that glistens with adventurous harmonies and rich melody. Fefer puts a liberating emotional focus in everything he does.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bedouin Dream ► 03 - Sky Lake ► 09 - Sweet Fifteen