Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Joe McPhee Po Music: Oleo
Joe McPhee Po Music: Oleo
Oleo was recorded in 1982, and at the time McPhee was dabbling in the theory of "lateral thinking" put forth by Dr. Edward De Bono and built on "PO" as a word prefix that provokes thought and leads to the discovery of new ideas: positive, possible, poetry. McPhee then applied this notion to his creative improvisations, hence Po Music. What this has to do with what you hear on Oleo 's first half I'm not sure. Without a drummer, the rhythmic load falls on bassist Francois Mechali, who performs admirably throughout and especially on "Future Retrospective," where his wonderfully upfront tone dominates this slab of sound in a locked-in groove reminiscent of Miles' "Agharta." Reedist Andre Jaume offers tongue slaps and pops on bass clarinet and Boni sends out repeatedly echoed effects as if he were bouncing sound off the walls of a cave.
That piece is bracketed by the beautiful "Pablo" (dedicated to Picasso, Casals and Neruda), on which McPhee blows tenor with an Albert Ayler-esque vibrational tone and profound emotionalism, and "Astral Spirits" (explicitly Ayler-esque in its dedication), a funereal dirge that veers from mournful spirituality to ecstatic overblowing. Nothing abstract or theoretical in these performances, nor in the sweet, straight-ahead rendering of "I Remember Clifford."
This reissue pairs the original recording with a previously unreleased concert featuring McPhee, Jaume and Boni that probably gives a better indication of the ethereal, elusive precepts behind Po Music. Taken as a whole, these two sides of McPhee demonstrate that depth of feeling and intellectualism are not mutually exclusive in making music.
Track Listing
Oleo (take 1) - Pablo - Future Retrospective - Astral Spirits - Oleo (take 2) - I Remember Clifford - Ann Kahle - When You Hear Music - After It's Over - It's Gone in the Air - You Can Never Capture it Again
Personnel
Joe McPhee
woodwindsJoe McPhee (cnt, ts) Andre Jaume (cl, bcl, as) Raymond Boni (el-g, synth-g) Francois Mechali (b 1-7 only)
Album information
Title: Oleo | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Hat Hut Records
About Joe McPhee
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Joe McPhee Concerts
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.
