By Nick Ostrum
Ode To BC/LY… And Eye Know BO…. da Prezis the first release
from Booker T and the Plasmic Bleeds. Actually, it is one of just a handful
from leader Booker T. Williams, mostly on Silkheart and Cadence Jazz from
the late 1980s and a few limited release sideman efforts from the 1990s.
And now, after years of performing on and off, teaching, digital painting
(his artwork graces the cover), and who knows what else, in his mid-70s, he
decides to release just his second disc as leader? That takes some real
plasmic nerve, and a huge amount of resilience, as well.
The result is extraordinary, both in light of Williams’ relative obscurity
and regardless of it. The Plasmic Bleeds add much to this. Many of them
have appeared on Mahakala releases before, some for many recordings:
Christopher Parker (piano, and convener of the ensemble), Chad Fowler
(stritch), Chad Anderson (drums), Marc Franklin (trumpet), Christopher
Parker (piano), Kelley Hurt (vocals). In addition, the Bleeds include Luke
Stewart, who is fast becoming the go-to bassist of his generation, and
guest saxophonist Gary Hammon. Hammon seems kindred to Williams. He has
played widely, but mostly underground, and recorded only sparingly. He is a
hell of an addition, too.
The album begins with a snippet from an interview with Booker T that
presents the idea, “The more imperfect the better.” I do not hear much
imperfection, or obvious mistakes or mismatches on this. However, the idea
is sound. Experimentation produces mistakes as well as successes, and those
imperfections – the deviations from any collectively agreed intended
outcome – can make the moments of bliss.
Along those lines, this is jubilant and open music, with composed themes
and frameworks but big spaces for improvisation beyond predetermined scales
or charts, and generally with an underlining pulse of funk, soul, and New
Orleans, or at least southern, boil. The music is tight and can be tender,
as on Are You For Me, a sad ballad on which Hurt, who otherwise contributes
wordless, almost atavistic ululations (for instance, Mama Cries), shows off
her sweltery side and Parker centers his intricate, disorienting cascades.
However, what first really caught my ear was a stretch on the third
selection, Simontov, wherein one of the reedists soars into territory the
flutters between Charles Gayle’s rapidity and Arthur Doyle’s tortuous,
broken-reed screech. This was one of those moments of unanticipated (for
the me, at least) ecstasy, especially in the contrast to splayed free
grooves the rest of the band was laying. Last of the Tribesman, a Hammon
composition, is another standout, as it is a funkified free bop scorcher,
and features Franklin as well as the reedsmen unleashing a range of
techniques and fanfares. The final cut, Stay Alert, goes even further into
spirited stretches of free jazz a la Ornette Coleman’s grand double quartet
experiment.
A few of the shorter themes, or rather one that is reprised three times,
Ode To BC/LY… And Eye Know BO…. da Prez, reference Bill Clinton and
Barack Obama of the good old days. Stay Alert, as the Bandcamp notes state,
speaks to awareness, though as this was recorded in 2022, I hesitate to pull
this too far into our current recidivist moment. The message is opaque,
lying somewhere between wistful, ominous, and determined. The music,
however, is tight, wild, and some of the best soulful free jazz – to break
a tabu (see the Mahakala Music introductory video
here
) – I have heard in a long time. And, it begs the question why Booker T and
Hammond, in particular, have recorded so little, when this is what they can
do.
Ode To BC/LY… And Eye Know BO…. da Prez is available as a CD
and download via Bandcamp:
.
