BOB MOSES & TISZIJI MUNOS
Love Everlasting
Amulet
AMT003

This session was performed and recorded on September 23rd, 1987: what would have been John Coltrane's 61st birthday. Though I am quite familiar with drummer / composer / keyboardist Moses' work (he participated in the first jazz recording I ever heard: Gary Burton's Lofty Fake Anagram, and I subsequently wore out the grooves of his recordings from the 1980s for the Gramavision label), I have only heard the music of guitarist / composer MuZos once before: on an LP he recorded for the India Navigation label in the late 1970s. If the music on Love Everlasting is any indication, it is high time that MuZos receives the attention he richly deserves. I was stunned that this boisterous, bustling and consistently engaging music remained unreleased for 13 years. The title track, penned by Moses, opens the CD on a joyful note. Though the music here is ostensibly a celebration of John Coltrane's spirit, the overall feel of the title track, and much of the CD, is more reminiscent of Ornette Coleman's work with Prime Time. The interaction of drummers Wittman and Moses brings to mind the tandem drumming of Denardo and G. Calvin Weston. The collective improvising of the two tenor saxophonists and electric guitar also suggests some of the work Ornette did with twin lead guitarists in the early '90s. The similarity is further reinforced by the presence of electronic keyboards, which play a largely supportive role here. John Medeski plays only acoustic piano on this date, and his approach brings to mind a bizarre hybrid of Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner. Medeski's improvisations on "The Lioness" and "Earth Changes" provide two of the CD's high points. The two saxophonists are not clearly identified (i.e., by stereo channel), though it is my guess that Bergonzi is the harder-blowing and more obviously Trane-influenced of the two, while Garzone's playing is a bit more subdued, thoughtful and perhaps even more abstract than Bergonzi's. Bergonzi is perfectly appropriate for a Coltrane tribute: to me, he fits right in with saxophonists such as Dave Leibman, Steve Grossman, Bob Berg, David Schnitter, and Micheal Brecker, each of whom have managed to carve an individual sound out of the Coltrane legacy. Garzone seems to draw from more diverse influences, and his warm, burnished tone is beautifully complementary to Bergonzi's bright, hard-edged tone. Both saxophonists heat to near-incandescence on Moses' "Elephant Song," where Medeski, Hatfield and MuZos sit out to let the drums and basses build a primal polyrhythmic surge over which Bergonzi and Garzone spin their tales. MuZos' compositions "Earth Changes" and "Fatherhood" follow more clearly the approach established by John Coltrane on recordings such as Sun Ship and A Love Supreme. MuZos' beautifully articulated, song-like improvisation on "Earth Changes" brings to mind both John McLaughlin's and Carlos Santana's work on their recently-reissued Love, Devotion and Surrender recording, shorn free of that session's rock star excesses. MuZos' interpretation of Coltrane's "Naima" closes out the CD on a meditative note (…though I could have done without the synthesizers on that one). Though nowhere near as abstract as, say, Interstellar Space, most fans of Coltrane's later recordings will enjoy Love Everlasting. If you're a guitarist: Tisziji MuZos is an artist whose work must be heard!

Dave Wayne

Track Listing: 1. Love Everlasting; 2. The Lioness; 3. Elephant Song; 4. Earth Changes; 5. Fatherhood; 6. Naima

Personnel: Bob Moses, drums, percussion; Tisziji Munos, electric guitar; Ben Wittman, drums, percussion; George Garzone, saxophones; Jerry Bergonzi, saxophones; John Medeski, acoustic piano; Brad Hatfield, keyboards; John Lockwood, bass; Wesley Wirth, bass