Ed Cherry
June 2001
The Spirits Speak
Justin Time
2001
Reviewed By
Chris Hovan
Jim Santella
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Ed Cherry Explores Genre-Spanning Influences and Experiences with The Spirits Speak
Guitarist Ed Cherry has brought his superb artistry to the groups of such diverse heavyweights as Sam Rivers, Big John Patton, Henry
Threadgill, Brownie McGhee, Paquito D’Rivera, and most notably, fourteen years with Dizzy Gillespie. While his playing is rooted
in the edgy sound of Grant Green and the effortless swing of the legendary Wes Montgomery, the influences of other guitar heroes
like Jimi Hendrix and Sonny Sharrock are clearly present as well in his strongly personal synthesis of so many musical
traditions.
For his new CD, The Spirits Speak, Ed has assembled a brilliant cast, with Joe Ford, a veteran saxophonist with similarly diverse
groups like Jerry Gonzalez’ Fort Apache Band and the ensembles of McCoy Tyner, Lester Bowie and Sam Jones. Featured on soprano
here, Ford’s delicately intricate stylings are an ideal complement for Cherry’s guitar.
Organist extraordinaire Dr. Lonnie Smith, a veteran of the ‘60s soul jazz movement with some classic albums of funky hard bop for
Blue Note, provides the group’s midsection and Nasheet Waits, whose late father Freddie played drums with many top names in
progressive jazz, handles every twist and turn with ideal rhythmic dexterity and shows why he is one of the most in-demand
drummers on the current scene.
Vocalist Laird Jackson, who contributed the mood-shifting "Share a Life," shows her dynamic range and emotional palette on both
this and a beautifully rendered version of Horace Silver’s lovely "Peace."
While a first glance at the personnel might suggest a soul jazz excursion, there is considerably more territory covered here.
Not that Cherry fails to mine that rich vein, as the ostinato-driven groover "Top Hat," the smoking "Joe’s Thing," and his own
rocking "Lennox Ave. 1 AM," are drenched in that funky style.
But Cherry’s three other originals?-the delicately grooved "Little Girl, Big Girl," the loosely swinging title track, and the
highly adventurous dedication to the pioneer of free-style guitar Sonny Sharrock, "Woo!/Sharrock" ? show the truly wide-range of
his personal musical vision.
From the filigree sensitivity of his acoustic playing with Jackson to the flawless execution and swing in the straight-ahead mode
to the raw power and tasteful distortion on the Sharrock tribute, Ed Cherry’s The Spirits Speak shows why he’s one of the finest
guitarists on today’s scene.
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