Thursday, August 18, 2005

Chico is the man

"The Outside Within" from saxophonist Chico Freeman starts with the bluesy sounding "The Search," which made me think of Chico's dad Von Freeman, the venerable Chicago tenor player. That's about it for daddy. Three free jazz romps, including the 19-minute "Undercurrent," follow with the younger Freeman blowing more like Pharoah Sanders or Sam Rivers, in whose avant-garde big band Chico played. Drummer Jack DeJohnette, John Hicks on piano and Cecil McBee on bass, guys who seem to me to be able to play just about any style imaginable, may be the perfect rhythm crew for this and get in some good licks of their own. Nice disk from the India Navigation label.

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