"Somalia" is an excellent display of Billy Harper's prowess, which I think is on par with, say, an Eric Dolphy or Sam Rivers. On the title track of the Evidence CD, the tenor saxophonist improvises rather amazingly off the elemental base of an African chant that introduces the song.
The other big draw is the Coltrane-esque "Thy Will Be Done," which pushes boundaries for nearly 22 minutes. With "Somalia" at more than 13 and "Quest" at nearly that, there's lots of room to be inventive and Harper and crew, including dual drummers, take advantage. This is the Billy Harper disk to have. Trumpeter Eddie Henderson, a favorite sideman of mine, also gets a chance to show he can do more than play straight ahead flawlessly.
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