If you’re a fan of Charles Mingus’ musical vision, this album by Paul Dunmall/ts, Mark Sanders/dr, Chris Mapp/b and Jim Dvorak/tp is going to put a big smile on your face. They mix deeply swinging and bluesy originals with a healthy dose of freedom reigning. Pieces such as “E.D.’s Muse” and “If I’m Gonna Have to Chose” have a throbbing groove that aren’t afraid to be stretched and bent here and there by penetratingly searching solos by a Booker Ervin-inspired Dunmall and a Johnny Coles-imbibed Dvorak. A nineteen minute “As Above, So Below” mixes experimentation with rich bop tradition, but the real treat on this disc is a must-hear take of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in the form of “Getty’s Mother Burg” in which Dvorak delivers a hilarious hipster interpretation of the classic speech in a jive talk that has got to be heard to be believed. What a hoot! This band has moxie!
Slam Records