Archie Shepp - Mama Too Tight

Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone); Tommy Turrentine (trumpet); Grachan Moncur III, Roswell Rudd (trombone); Howard Johnson (tuba); Perry Robinson (clarinet); Charlie Haden (bass); Beaver Harris (drums).

Like many of Shepp's mid-late 60's releases, the album starts off with a furious free improvisation session, and then, to an extent, comes down to earth. Following the blow out is an almost schizophrenic display of different influences and reference points that Shepp had absorbed throughout his tenure as a jazz musician to that point. He references Ellington, Mingus, and even James Brown(an omen perhaps, considering that Shepp would adopt a Soul/R&B based sound in the mid 70's). Ellington and Mingus both would be proud of the lush nature of the horn arrangements on "Theme for Ernie." This recording is all over the place, yet somehow it manages to maintain a strong sense of coherence. One can only assume that such is the mark of true compositional genius.