The loft scene in NYC in the 1970s gave birth to several fascinating and monumental musical collaborations, not the least of which is this one uniting the talents of trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr., bassist William Parker and percussionist Zen Matsuura, collectively known as The Pyramid Trio.
Captured in a live performance at Brandeis University on February 21, 1985, the trio is in great form, playing their first-rate brand of improvised music which draws from the jazz tradition as well as ideas of their own, inspired by other traditions and by the evolving avant-garde aesthetic of the time. The loft scene on the lower east side of NYC has been getting lots of after-the-fact attention in the last few years, as in the 2017 study by Michael C. Heller, Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s, to cite just one example. This release, while not the best example of sound capture, is a welcome document of the results of some of the creativity of the scene. Noteworthy, as well, is the inclusiveness and diversity of the community that included musicians of varied ethnic origins, like Zen Matsuura, who started his career in Japan, but soon found himself in NYC, an active member of the coterie of musicians performing in the lofts where the creative experiments were taking place and which gave impetus to a whole new wave of jazz artists whose influence is still being felt. This CD release allows one to revisit some of that seminal creative adventure.
Sadly, both Campbell and Matsuura have passed away, but William Parker is still alive and well and as active as he's ever been. The album title "Visitation of Spirits" suggests something of the nature of the trio, which exists more in spirit rather than in actual fact. The five tracks here that clock in at over an hour take the listener through many moods, from the spare and urbanity of "Charmaine," the opening track, where Matsuura's drum textures and Campbell's low-register flugelhorn and Parker's searching bass blossom into a kind of a steady regal march. "Imhotep" has the drive and melodic character of South African jazz. The trio performance comes to an ecstatic climax in "Vigilance," while "Brother Yusef" dips into neo-swing as it evokes the spirit of Yusef Lateef, one of Campbell's teachers, and "Unidentified Title," a harmonious and vigorous three-way conversation, brings the set to a satisfying close.
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