Amazon told me to buy "Firebirds," a 1967 Prince Lasha (alto sax, flute and alto clarinet) and Sonny Simmons (alto sax and English horn) session from Contemporary/OJC. Score one for the Amazon algorithms tracking my musical tastes.
"The Island Song" opens in conventional hard bop mode, hits an interlude where it sounds like it's going to be wildly free and ends up for most of its nearly nine minutes comparable to early Ornette Coleman, "The Shape of Jazz to Come," for instance, although with its own unique sound. "Psalms of Solomon" is closer to Albert Ayler, if somewhat more melodic and less harsh, with the jazz creatively built around something like a Middle Eastern chant. "Prelude to Bird" and "The Loved Ones" are both nicely improvised ballads and the title track is the extended free jazz burner of the bunch. Drummer Charles Moffett and bassist Buster Williams are really complimentary and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes fits right in. I like it enough that I downloaded the other disk Lasha and Simmons did together, "The Cry!," from emusic.
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