JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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When I posted about Steve Grossman’s previous album Some Shapes To Come, I wrote something to the effect that, given the astounding proficiency of the musicians, I wished that they had written songs that were a little bit meatier to improvise on. This criticism is doubly true for Terra Firma, which has exactly the same personnel and was recorded four years after Some Shapes To Come.
The first tune, Katonah, is about as simple as it comes. The melody itself is only two notes. Harmonically, it’s a modified blues, heavily syncopated. But with the caliber of musicianship on hand, it hardly matters. Bassist Gene Perla and drummer/percussionist Don Alias generate a monster groove, and saxophonist Steve Grossman and keyboardist Jan Hammer contribute blazing improvisations.
In It is more of a funk tune, and the same observations apply. For that matter, the same can be said of the entire album.
The real reason to own Terra Firma is to hear four master musicians set fire to the recording studio. This is about the most aggressive, energetic fusion you are likely to hear, and I include the Mahavishnu Orchestra in that assessment.
Unbelievably, Terra Firma is only available from bassist Gene Perla’s PM Records label website. Click on the link to go hear samples of this ridiculously intense music.
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Related posts:
- Merry-Go-Round - Elvin Jones
- Some Shapes to Come - Steve Grossman
- Mr. Jones - Elvin Jones
- At This Point In Time - Elvin Jones
- Something Else - Jeremy Steig