Dixon, who died last year at 84, is typically described as a force in the free jazz that emerged in the1960s. He was that, but
Intents and Purposes
defied labeling when Dixon recorded it more than four decades ago. This
long overdue reissue confirms that the album withstands categorization.
Its daring and forthright iconoclasm has substance that outlives much
music that was conceived in protest or defiance in the roiling
atmosphere of that era.
Dixon's trumpet and flugelhorn improvisations
flow, jab, dance, flutter, growl and brood through, around and over the
other musicians. In some cases, the other musicians are Dixon himself,
overdubbed. The first of the two brief
Nightfall Pieces has
multiples of Dixon and flutist George Marge creating a mesmerizing
soundscape. In the second, Dixon ruminates in call-and-response with
himself across the stereo channels. Favoring low notes on his own
instruments and those of others, he employs the ten-piece group in
Metamorphosis
to create rich substrata voicings. Bass trombone, bass clarinet, cello
and two double basses are among the instruments that provide oddly
reassuring contrast with Dixon, alto saxophonist Robin Kenyatta and bass
clarinetist Bayard Lancaster, whose solos search almost to the edge of
desperation.
Metamorphosis includes written passages of subtle complexity that it would be easy to overlook in the passion of the performance.
In
Voices,
whether he achieves it on paper or by contrivance in the studio, Dixon
manages to give his trumpet, Lancaster's bass clarinet, Jimmy Garrison's
bass, Catherine Norris's cello and Robert Frank Pozar's drums fullness
of sound one might expect from an ensemble half again bigger. Dixon's
choice of musicians was eclectic; avant gardists like Kenyatta,
Lancaster and Garrison alongside the mainstream trombonist Jimmy
Cheatham and Marge, a reliable reed specialist of the New York studio
scene.
To his credit, reissue producer Jonathan Horwich saw to it
that the Dixon album looks like the original RCA Victor LP, down to the
striking cover shot. It is a reminder that record packages were once a
pleasure to handle and the notes easy to read. The liner notes are
included as an insert that unfolds to nearly the size of an LP sleeve.
More important, the quality of the sound recorded in RCA's storied
studio B is flawlessly remastered. In a brief addendum to the notes,
Horwich writes of
Intents and Purposes, ''It stands as one of the most important and revolutionary musical expressions of the 20th century.''
That may be true.
''There was nothing like it before 1966/67 and there has been nothing like it since.''
That is true. --Doug Ramsey, Rifftides, 3/28/11 - via amazon (i know i'm lazy)
this is by far one of my favorite albums, right up there with mingus' black saint & the sinner lady. i could sum up the haunting beauty of this lp in two words: midnight jazz. it screams to be played in the dark dark hours of the night when yr spiritual quest is at it's most needed.
