Louis Moholo-Moholo and friends at Sant ' Anna Arresi, Sardinia, 2007

I promised some more Kidd Jordan a while back, so here he is in another setting, matched with three other senior gentlemen and one aspiring senior gentleman, captured at a festival on Sardinia in 2007.

Louis Moholo- Moholo is the leader of this combo, but on hearing, it's very much a collaborative venture. Two longish pieces are played, lasting well over an hour in total.


Basic facts:

Louis Moholo and Friends, 2007.08.29,
Sant'Anna Arresi(Italy), Festival 'Ai confini tra Sardegna e Jazz 2007',
Piazza del Nuraghe, Sant'Anna Arresi, Sardinia, Italy

Recorded from RAI Radio3, Italy

Louis Moholo and Friends - CONCERT FOR AFRICA

Kidd Jordan - ts
Dave Burrell - p
William Parker - b, shenai
Louis Moholo - dr

1.- 25:48
2.- 38:30

total time 64:18

The first piece is a frenetic tour de force with Jordan kicking off with characteristic short, staccato phrases, often reaching into the high registers. Dave Burrell butts in at the six-minute mark with what might be called a pointillistic solo, accompanied by Moholo-Moholo's rolling along with the rhythm. Considering the many records Moholo-Moholo has done with pianists, the latest with Marilyn Crispell, it would have been interesting to hear him in a duo setting with Burrell. To me, the Burrell solo is quite possibly the high point of the entire concert. Jordan returns with a short burst and Burrell is back with Moholo-Moholo chugging along in the background. Parker peeks in briefly, but sounds a bit muffled there in the back. Jordan returns for a longer section, with longer, more drawn-out phrases in post-Coltrane style, not unlike Pharaoh Sanders and other spiritual jazz masters.

The second piece does not quite keep the momentum of the first one; everyone takes it down a bit and more room is given to Burrell to nudge things along. Parker gets in to do a bit of Middle-East snakecharmer magic on the shenai towards the end and Jordan digs out the heavy Aylerian vibrato with Burrell tinkling right behind. At one point, Louis ditches the sticks and plays with his bare hands behind a Parker solo or so it sounds. Louis rounds off the proceedings by saying "You don't have to love us, we love you!" We do love you, Louis, and your senior friends. Age is no impediment against kicking up a real ruckus.

Beautifully recorded by Italian radio, so do try to grab the flacs for that extra bit of high fidelity. Photo courtesy of richardkaby at Flickr.