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Lorraine Baker: Eden
ByThe album is opened and closed by Baker performing to short solos which from the start of the intro grab the listener's attention as she rotates her sticks around the toms. But once the first number begins things fall rapidly into place. With an almost military start to Karl Berger's "Dakar Dance," the infectious melody played by Binker Golding and Liam Noble has a near-Brotherhood Of Breath vibe to it. "Thumbs Up," penned by bassist Mark Helias, starts as the title suggests with Paul Michael thumbing a chordal groove on his bass guitar but there are also frequent and exciting handbrake-turn tempo changes here too. "Pentahouve," also by Helias, and serving as a reminder that the bassist had a seventeen year association with Blackwell, is embellished with Baker's carefully constructed solo at the track's conclusion, which contrary to most drum solos, corroborates Williams's words quotes above.
In terms of track selection there's a running thread that reflects Blackwell's association with the composers of all the numbers featured here, such as the typically staccato-edged "Blues Connotation" by Ornette Coleman, with Golding playing superbly dexterous tenor. Or there's "Mopti," by another Blackwell long-time confrère, Don Cherry, and heard on the Old And New Dreams album Playing (ECM, 1981) where a rumbling bass precedes the coruscatingly vibrant number. Relentless ostinato bass underpins "Chairman Mao," written by another member of the old team Charlie Haden, and the piece provides a perfect vehicle by which to showcase Baker's mesmeric drumming.
Track Listing
Solo Intro; Dakar Dance; Thumbs Up; Pentahouve; Chairman Mao; Blues Connotation; Mopti; Solo Outro.
Personnel
Binker Golding: tenor saxophone; Liam Noble: piano; Paul Michael: electric bass; Lorraine Baker: drums, percussion.
Album information
Title: Eden | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Spark Label
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Lorraine Baker
CD/LP/Track Review
Roger Farbey
Eden
Spark Label
Jeff Williams
Ed Blackwell
Mark Helias
Ornette Coleman
Don Cherry
Charlie Haden