Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sonic Liberation Front: Meets Sunny Murray
Sonic Liberation Front: Meets Sunny Murray
The percussion-heavy band's previous release, Change Over Time (High Two, 2006), included some electronic flavors. Here, the sound is all acoustic, with free jazz drummer Murray providing the inspiration for the album's eight tracks. Best-known for his time in both Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler's band, Murray adds his distinctive playing to a setup that's already tailor-made for him.
With saxophonists Terry Lawson and Adam Jenkins, and cornetist Todd Margasak playing the studio date (trumpeter Kimbal Brown replaces him on the live session), the music proceeds with wandering notes, as if the purpose here is the pulse and consciousness-raising properties of the vibrations emitted. The band features various bata drums (the itotele and iya), congas, and other percussive tools, extending the free expression of the horns.
Perhaps we could call them a West African/Cuban/AACM jam band that's the child of Albert Ayler and Sun Ra.
FOLLOW Mark Corroto
and get notified whenever Mark has a new article published.
Mark misses his dogs Louie & Freddy, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.
Track Listing
Init; Knowledge Of The Sun; Meaningless Kisses; Cosa de Grupo; Ochun Libre; Some Other Times; Nomingo; Under The Wave Of Kanagawa.
Personnel
Sonic Liberation Front
band / ensemble / orchestraSunny Murray: drums; Kevin Diehl: drums, percussion, bata; Chuck Joseph: iya, conga, bata; Shawn Hennessy: bata; Mat Engle: bass; Okomfo Adwoa Tacheampong: bata; Nichola Rivera: itotele, conga; Joey Toledo: okonkolo, percussion; Terry Lawson: tenor saxophone; Adam Jenkins: alto saxophone; Todd Margasak: cornet; Kimbal Brown: trumpet; Fahir Kendall: bass.
Album information
Title: Meets Sunny Murray | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: High Two Recordings
About Sonic Liberation Front
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
