Steve Tintweiss and the Purple Why: Live at Tompkins Square Park

Bassist Steve Tintweiss forged a career as a sideman to such avant-garde luminaries as tenor saxophonists Albert Ayler and Frank Wright and pianist Burton Greene.  During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he also led a few bands of rotating memberships.  Several of these were recorded live at various venues.  In the 2020s, Tintweiss started releasing these sessions on vinyl and CD on his own Inky Dot imprint. The captivating Live in Tompkins Square Park documents a 1967 set from New York with Tintweiss' group The Purple Way.

The opening "Water" sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The trumpeter Jacques Coursil and clarinetists Perry Robinson and Joel Peskin engage in a free, fluid conversation within the framework of dual thundering drum kits and percussive bass.  As the collective sound evolves, the track seamlessly transitions to "Land," where rumbling rhythms take center stage while the individual brass and reed exchanges shimmer in the backdrop.  March-like refrains, with the exuberance of a New Orleans parade, mark "N.E.S.W. Up/Down" that follows.  

The music is continuous and transforms with vibrant spontaneity.  It is a remarkably cohesive ensemble play, yet there are occasional, expressive solos.  For instance, "Are You Lonely" starts off with drummer Randy Kaye's expectant beats to which Tintweiss' bowed strings add a layer of melancholy. "Waltz Of Eternity," which follows, features a passionate and lyrical three-way conversation among the frontline members, with each musician taking a brief, fiery solo.  Driving this stimulating repartee are the delightfully riotous polyrhythms of Kaye and fellow drummer Laurence Cook.  

Kaye switches to piano for his own composition, the tender yet all-too-short "To Angel with Love."  His wistful cascade of notes underscores Peskin's warm and yearning saxophone.  All the while, Tintweiss and Cook support their bandmates with subtlety and passion.

There are mellifluous and introspective passages throughout the recording as well.  Peskin on tenor sax opens "Ramona I Love You" with yearning phrases.  The cinematic piece brims with a poetic sensibility.  Robinson lets loose an agile and provocative extemporization as Tintweiss and the drummers lay down a dynamic groove. Following Robinson, Coursil takes center stage with burnished tones and rapid statcatto lines.  Then Peskn builds a captivating improvisation with his reverberating, brassy tenor saxophone.  

The concert closes with "The Purple Way," a relatively serene tune that, in addition to the dual clarinets of Robinson and Peskin, features guest trumpeter James DuBoise.  DuBoise brings his own unique sound to the mix. It is, however, quite synergistic with the rest of the ensemble.  Tintweiss contributes an eloquent performance before the album concludes on a high note.

It is very fortunate that Tintweiss has decided to release these lost tapes.  The music here is as fresh and innovative as it must have been back in 1967.  Hopefully, there are many more gems in his vault that will soon come to light.