Customer Reviews

Pariah's Pariah

5 star:		(3)
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This record has the intensity that is non-existent in 99% of all jazz played today. Thomas and Osby are both directly from the 'neo-cool' school of improvisation that Steve Coleman also belongs to, but what really turbocharges the proceedings is the rhythm section of Arnold and Formanek. They have a rock dynamic while maintaining jazz nuance. Their support lends a true fusion aesthetic (in the broader sense) to the floating, jagged improvisations of Thomas and Osby. The tune 'Pariah's Pariah' is one of coolest I've ever heard. Osby and Thomas trade off sax and flute lines while maintaining an intensity and atmosphere that stays masterfully understated to the very end. The rest of the record could've used the same tonal variety for extra effect and some more melody rather than straight modal improv., but as far as coolness goes very few tunes can come close to 'Who's in Control?' or 'Is Everthing Relative?.' I'd say, overall, this record is quite a few notches short of hard-edged, cool jazz classics like Dave Holland's 'Extensions' or John McLaughlin's 'Extrapolation,' but just having the goods to warrant comparison to those two records is high praise indeed.

Tenor sax virtuoso Gary Thomas (recently of John Mclaughlin's band) and his equally adept partner on alto, Greg Osby, blaze on with non-stop solos backed by the killer rhythm section of Formanek and Arnold. I love this record; it is dense as hell with no compromise in sight and at the same time supercool and great fun to listen to (it rocks). The first tune starts off in 15/8 and it doesn't get any simpler folks. Highly recommended.

This is my introduction to Gary Thomas, and a spritied effort it is! Some of this sounds a little like Ornette Coleman's work. But it has a little mroe melody. There is a lot of energy here. The quality of the production effort is unsurpassed - truly superb. This album is about the interplay between the drums and Sax for me, and it's a fiery combination. Very good indeed.