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Sonny Simmons: Live at the Cheshire Cat
Who knows how many people were in the Gnu Deli as Simmons stated the melody to "It's the Talk of the Town ? You can guess that by the end of it, after forty-three minutes (when the tape runs out) of a persistent drumbeat and Simmons' possessed soloing, not many.
Disc two is from the Cheshire Cat, roughly eight months after Olympia and finds Simmons fronting a rhythm section comprised of pianist Richard Clements, bassist Freddie Williams and drummer Larry Hancock, local heroes at the time but not much heard from since. "The Lost Village of Um'Tombey burns with a heavy Coltrane vibe, the rhythm circling around and spiraling out and Simmons rescues "Body and Soul from cliché with a personal commitment to emotional expression and honesty.
The horn-playing is always creatively intense and logically coherent, but it's the defiance that captivates the imagination. When Simmons faced the void, he responded the only way he knew how: by playing as long and as hard as he could.
It should be noted that this release is offered in a very limited quantity by the Sonny Simmons Archive Project and, having been mastered from cassette, it's a bit like listening to shortwave transmissions accidentally caught on an AM radio. But your ears will adjust. These recordings fill a crucial hole in the missing years of a jazz innovator.
Track Listing
It
Personnel
Sonny Simmons
saxophone, altoSonny Simmons: alto saxophone; Richard Clements: piano; Freddie Williams: bass; Larry Hancock: drums; Irvin Lovilette: drums; unknown percussion.
Album information
Title: Live at the Cheshire Cat | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Hello World
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