Shepp Cunningham

At various times in his long career, saxophonist, composer, playwright, and educator Archie Shepp has been regarded as a musical firebrand, cultural radical, soulful throwback to the jazz tradition, contemplative veteran explorer, and global jazz statesman. During the '60s, he was viewed as possibly the most articulate and intense member of the free jazz generation, issuing records such as Fire Music, The Way Ahead, and The Magic of Ju-Ju to speak hard truths about social injustice and the anger he felt. His tenor sax solos are searing, harsh, and unrelenting, played with a vivid intensity. During the mid-'70s, his work employed a fatback/swing-based R&B approach evoking Duke Ellington and Ben Webster (exemplified on Body and Soul and On Green Dolphin Street), while in the '80s, on recordings such as Mama Rose, he mixed straight bop, ballads, and blues that displayed little of the fury and fire of his earlier days…

Abbey Lincoln was in her late fifties at the time of this 1987 session in Paris, but she was showing little wear on her voice, aside for a slightly more pronounced vibrato. Joining her for this session is Archie Shepp on soprano and tenor saxophones, trumpeter Roy Burrowes, pianist Hilton Ruiz, bassist Jack Gregg, and drummer Freddie Waits. The sparse liner notes give no background as to how this session or choice of musicians came about, and at times there is such an informal air that one would think that this was a run-through prior to a record date or concert. The extended workout of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" lives up to its title, with Lincoln, Shepp (on soprano sax), Burrowes (on muted trumpet), and Ruiz shining in their respective solos…