Charlie Apicella & Iron City Meet The Griots Speak

Destiny Calling

OA2

Yes, this could be the longest band title ever but in essence the duality speaks to straight ahead jazz musicians combining forces with Improvisers in an effort to challenge the straight ahead plays to improvise. So, who’s who in this experimental foray?  Guitarist and, here for the first time, percussionist Charlie Apicella takes his NYC-based hard bop organ trio, Iron City, comprised of organist Brad Whitely and drummer Austin Walker into a collaborative session with The Griots, founders of NYC’s 1960s loft jazz scene. They are multi-instrumentalists William Parker and Daniel Carter along with percussionist Juma Sultan, who played with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Also, to be clear, Apicella has his feet firmly planted in both bands as he is a quartet member in the band formed by Sultan. According to Apicella, the record’s sound is a mix of early Santana and Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew. Yet, it’s lighter, fluid, calmer, and more meditative than what that statement conjures up. In the infamous words of John Coltrane – think of the sound as ‘both directions at once” because the elders are drawing from their past and by doing so, are pushing the hard boppers and the entire ensemble into the future.

The opener, “As the Sun Rises” finds Apicella using Tibetan singing bowls, and the Himalayan folk drum he received from his mentor Yusef Lateef. The fusion-like “Titan vs. Sphinx” features Carter on a Miles Davis-like trumpet to the bubbling percussion of Sultan and the sweeping undercurrent of Whiteley’s organ while Apicella weaves in his guitar lines to Parker’s sturdy bass and Walker’s beats. Squeals from Parker’s pocket trumpet add a bit of texture as the piece seamlessly segues into “Juma’s Song /Maliki Melasha.”  “We’re All Here In Spirit” begins with African tinged percussion, first joined by organist Whiteley as it picks up momentum with Parker adding his various African stringed instruments and Carter bursting in again on trumpet. Again, we have a seamless connection to the next piece as the percussion fades into “It’s Alright To Run,” imbued by the leader’s guitar and Carter’s tenor saxophone, it too is in a medium tempo groove around which Apicella and Carter improvise, casting a bit more edginess than the prior tracks.

Parker’s bass introduces the percussive heavy “I Heard in Passing,” which drives hard through trumpet, pocket trumpet, and thick organ and guitar chords surrounding Sultan and Walker. Parker also takes into “If You Know Where to Look,” which begins mysteriously with Carter’s echoing flute, tinkering piano, and disjointed rhythms. A steady groove then develops, intensified by Parker’s throbbing bass lines as he leads the rhythm section through a convivial conversation as various horns and organ peek through occasionally. By the time they reach “Where Do You Find These People” each sextet member is in full improvisation mode with Carter’s tenor the most prominent.  “Sparks” begins with soulful groove of a hard bop tune, led by the Iron City trio. Carter’s tenor then goes not in the direction of a Stanley Turrentine or Hank Mobley but into his customary free blowing mode. Apicella picks up on that but maintains a funky stance through his solo, and then engages in call and response with Carter – this track sounding the most Bitches Brew like of any.

As you may have guessed, this is a fully live session with no overdubs and only a few edits, where they separated some of the tracks. It’s fair to say the experiment was successful as all dig in, perhaps slightly tentatively at first but burning bright by the end.

• Jim Hynes

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