Back in the 80s and 90s , there was a burgeoning of artists like Steve Coleman and Greg Osby that were trying to create a new sound and direction for jazz. Haven’t heard from Osby in awhile, but alto saxist Steve Coleman is still standing tall, and his Five Elements group is hanging in there as well. In fact, a couple of the original guys, Anthony Tidd/b and Sean Rickman/dr, have returned after a score and a half years of wandering in the desert, and along with Jonathan Finleyson/tp and Miles Okazaki/g, the band comes together with a album that goes over a topic possibly never ventured into before: the human circulatory systems!!
The fun thing about this release is that you’ve got 14 quick tunes that go in, state their theme, and don’t get too caught up in anything else. It’s reminiscent of the old days of 78s, when you said what you wanted to in a concise fashion. Most of the material, such as “Lymph Swag” or “Cerebrum Crossover” or (don’t you just wish someone like Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics to THESE?!?) have funky little percussive grooves, with the horns adding punctuation marks in a slightly staggered fashion. Coleman’s tone is clear as CSF on the loopy ballad “Chemical Intuition” while Okazaki’s lithe guitar fits in well on “Medulla Vagus.” Intriguing idea, maybe they can work on the muscular system next time and put some meat in the music.
Pi Recordings