Guitarist Sonny Sharrock left earth and jazz all too soon over 20 years ago, dying of a heart attack under 3 score years of age. This 1994 session is essentially his last, and definitely his best. It still sounds modern, fresh and exciting, mixing late period Coltrane with heavy metal as he teams up with the more than impressive quartet of Elvin Jones/dr, Pharoah Sanders/ts-ss and Charnott Moffett/b on six originals.
The band comes across as a modal version of Metallica as Sharrock sears on the guitar and Elvin gits like a heavyweight on ”Promise Kept” as Sanders delivers solos with a love supreme. The band is also able to bop on a piece that sounds hauntingly like something from Africa Brass as Moffett and Jones are as crisp as ginger snaps on “Little Rock.” Sharrock himself is able to tap into his inner Hendrix as he locks horns with Sanders’ soprano on “We used to Sing” and gets fuzzy with the amps on “Once Upon A Time.” If you want to know how Coltrane would have sounded with the Hendrix Experience, Sharrock’s swan song gives a hint of what could have been, in more ways than one.
MOD Technologies