Andy Timmons Electric Truth

Andy Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy was a top-notch Kansas City swing band that, by 1939, featured the pop vocals of Pha Terrell, the more blues-oriented singing of June Richmond, creative arrangements by Mary Lou Williams, and some excellent soloing from pianist Williams and Dick Wilson on tenor. Most memorable in this entry in Classics' "complete" Andy Kirk CD series are "Floyd's Guitar Blues" (an odd but pioneering electric guitar feature for Floyd Smith), "Wham" and "Scratching In the Gravel."

Protocol II arrives fourteen years after drummer Simon Phillips' last leader date—the hard bop and post-bop based Vantage Point (Jazzline Records, 2000). And it comes approximately a quarter century after the original Protocol (Music for Nations, 1988)—a true solo date that had Phillips covering all the instruments, filling in the space around his calling-card drumming.

Naked Truth fuses the polyrhythmic electro-acoustic beats of King Crimson and Stickmen drummer Pat Mastelotto, the fuzz-inflected lines of electric bassist and producer Lorenzo Feliciati, and the jazz-informed textures of Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 organ, piano and synthesizer player Roy Powell, and finally the unique voice of avant-jazz cornetist Graham Haynes. On Ouroboros, their second release, the members of Naked Truth push the envelope of contemporary electric instrumental music, an edgy blend of jazz, prog-rock, ambient music and electronica. The opener, “Dust” pits aggressively driving rhythms from Feliciati and Mastelotto against the relaxed, ambient textures of Powell’s spacious piano and Haynes’ lyrical cornet work floating over the top in half-time.

This 1993 recording is a follow-up to an earlier duo session by Andy LaVerne and John Abercrombie, although they add bassist George Mraz and drummer Adam Nussbaum for this date. Following a rather upbeat, introspective arrangement of the standard "Beautiful Love," they stick to originals by either the pianist or the guitarist. LaVerne's "Mother of Pearl" is a shimmering post-bop work that is full of surprises, while "Opal" is a treasure of a different sort, prominently featuring Abercrombie's brittle-sounding electric guitar. Abercrombie's "Monk Like" has a quirky line much like its namesake might employ, and the unpredictable ballad "Farewell" serves as an appropriate conclusion to this enjoyable CD.