Label: AUM Fidelity, 2024
Personnel - William Parker: doson ngoni, shakuhachi, bass dudek, Serbian flute, ney flute; Cooper-Moore: ashimba, hoe-handle harp; Hamid Drake: drums, frame drum.
Acclaimed bassist and multi-instrumentalist William Parker, recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Vision Festival, reunites with longtime collaborators and members of his quartet, Cooper-Moore and Hamid Drake, for a freely improvised trio session centered on world music Their effort, characterized by soothing and richly rhythmic spiritual vibes, aims to ease our troubled modern times.
Predominantly influenced by West African sounds, the trio also incorporates Balkan dances and other Eastern flavors. Parker switches between different flutes and the doson ngoni, Cooper-Moore toggles between instruments he built himself in the 1970s - the ashimba (an 11-tone xylophone) and hoe-handle harp - and Drake makes everything dance with his percussion expertise.
“Atman” bathes in an unspecified ceremony of flute and percussion, while “Five Angels By the Stream” is propelled by great skill, creating a trance-inducing straight-eight feel marked by pervasive harp, dynamic hi-hat accents, and groovy ngoni for a crisper definition.
“Mud Dance” features bass dudek over a palpable pulsation driven by ashimba and frame drum. The rhythm intensifies and accelerates on “Serbia”, where the flute spins wildly and instinctively over a magnetic flux. “Kondo” plays on perpetual movement with wonderful drumming and hearty harmonization woven by ngoni and harp. The threesome performs a few rhythmic variations along the way, reaching the form of an Eastern rumination on “For Rafael Garrett”, a tribute to the late Chicago multi-instrumentalist Donald Rafael Garrett that blurs the line between lament and exuberance. “Processional”, confidently paced in seven, denotes a strong sense of order without rigidity, while showcasing a balanced blend of ngoni, harp, and metallic percussion.
The music flows pristinely, filled with clarity and naturalness, and enriched with subtle expressive touches that highlight the well-ingrained telepathic interplay these musicians share.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Five Angels By the Stream ► 06 - For Rafael Garrett ► 07 - Processional