The Leaders
Lester Bowie, of Art Ensemble of Chicago fame, kicks off this session with a Bronx cheer on trumpet guaranteed to offend jazz traditionalists. But the splat-and-splutter beginning turns out to be a playfully impertinent ruse. Though this all-star sextet is composed of rebellious spirits who delight in making musical mischief——Bowie, saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Chico Freeman, pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Cecil McBee and percussionist Don Moye—their goal here is to let the good times roll. On Bowie's "Cool T," a hard bop romp with a jivey backbeat, the ensemble collectively struts like street savants out for a sunny-day stroll.
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