This Feb 2011 session was the last record that violinist Billy Bang did before finally succumbing to cancer, and if you permit, he definitely went out with a bang. He was usually associated with the avant garde, but each time I saw him he was always swinging and in the pocket. This session with Dick Griffin/tb, Andrew Bemkey/p, Hilliard Greene/b and Newman Taylor-Baker is a fitting summary of Bang’s musical vision. The rhythm team delivers exciting beats and grooves on “Da Bang” with Bang’s violin and Griffin’s horn sounding inspired by the driving undercurrent. Another deep rivulet of rhythm permeates “Guinea” in which Bang’s strings sound almost West African; there is an exotic fragility to his tone that sounds like it came from the Sahel desert, while Ornette Coleman’s “Law Years” get a bit jaggetd. A take of “All Blues” flows like a stream for ten glorious minutes while the disc closes with a celebratory take of “St. Thomas” that will renew your faith of the joy of outside music looking in.
Tum Records