Charles Mingus alumnus Charles McPherson successfully combines swinging bop with movements for ballet on this fascinating release with a flexible team of Terell Stafford/tp, Jeb Patton-Randy Porter/p, Billy Drummond/b, David Wong/b, Yotam Silberstein/g and Lorraine Castellanos/voc. McPherson’s daughter is a soloist for the San Diego Ballet, causing the inspiration that works well on a variety of levels.
There are three main pieces involved on the album. The first is a 29 minute “Song Of Songs”, followed by a 6 minute “Reflection on an Election” and closing with a 33 minute “Sweet Synergy Suite”.
“SOS” includes Castellanos delivering some gorgeous Hebrew lyrics with a mix of Middle Eastern feel and bluesy alto by McPherson for “Love Dance”, and Silberstein getting lyrical on “Heart’s Desire”. The melding of voice and alto sax on ”Hear My Plea” is a passionate oasis, with Silberstein’s nylon strings giving a dash of flamenco for Castellanos on the bossa’d “Praise”. “The Reflection On AN Election” carries on Mingus’ tradition of protest, with some gorgeous work by McPherson and rich piano work by Patton.
The ballet “Sweet Synergy Suite” features rich interplay between Stafford and McPherson conversing to an Afro-Cuban groove, sleekly interweaving on “Delight” and swaying to the gentle “Nightfall”. Drummond provides some snappy work on “Marionette” while McPherson lurks over the rhythm team on “Song of the Sphinx” and closes things out on the hard bopper “Tropic of Capricorn”. McPherson shows that music that is “new” doesn’t have to equate with cacophony. This is beautiful, organic and original. Check it out!