In the 20th century jazz discourse at it pertains to the West Coast of the USA, it’s the Cool sound that dominates. But what about the avant-garde? Freeform improvisational sparks did emanate from the Pacific Time Zone; a fine and occasionally overlooked example is The Cry! by the Prince Lasha Quintet featuring Sonny Simmons. Used copies aren’t frequent in the bins, so the fresh 180 gram edition due out September 6 is very welcome. It’s the latest entry in Craft Recordings Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series.
Although the label’s primary focus was on recordings from inside the bebop continuum, Lester Koenig’s Contemporary Records has a sturdy if not extensive association with the jazz avant-garde, the label having released the first two LPs by saxophonist Ornette Coleman (Something Else!!!! from 1958 and Tomorrow Is the Question! from the following year) and a major early statement from pianist Cecil Taylor (Looking Ahead! from ’59).
Recorded in November 1962 and released the next year, The Cry! by the quintet of William Prince Lasha (pronounced La-shay) is a less celebrated entry in the avant corner of Contemporary’s catalog, but that’s easily attributed to the modest name recognition of Lasha and Simmons. The record is a fine example of how avant-jazz was reacting to Coleman’s innovations in the moments prior to Fire Music (as exemplified by Taylor, late period John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, and Albert Ayler) fully taking hold.
Lasha was a childhood friend of Coleman’s, so the influence runs deep. And while the relationship isn’t difficult to detect, the music on The Cry! is still quite distinguishable from what’s heard on Coleman’s Atlantic albums. This is in part due to a unique instrumental configuration. Multi-instrumentalist Lasha is heard exclusively on flute here, Sonny Simmons handles the alto sax, Gary Peacock and Mark Proctor are a double bass tandem (Proctor does lay out for three of the set’s eight selections), and Gene Stone is on drums.
Given his longevity, Peacock might have the strongest name recognition of all the quintet’s participants. Stone is fairly obscure. He did play in the trio of pianist Don Randi for the 1960 LP Feelin’ Like Blues, was part of Don Ellis’ group for the ’62 set Essence and was in the trio of pianist Clare Fischer (alongside Peacock) for another ’62 release, First Time Out. For The Cry!, Proctor seems to have arrived from nowhere and then vanished from the scene, only resurfacing for recordings in 1977 and ’99.
Fitting for an excursion into the New Thing, all eight pieces on The Cry! are co-credited of Lasha and Simmons. Opener “Congo Call” surely ruffled the feathers of a few moldy figs on initial release, but the cut is accurately described as a groove as the rhythm section brings the heat. The weave established by Lasha and Simmons exudes edgy intensity without tipping over into skronk.
“Bojangles” dishes something of a free-bop feel. Getting the track to himself, Peacock makes the best of it with a strong solo; Stone is strikingly no-frills behind him. Much of the record’s sound is comparable to Eric Dolphy, with whom both Lasha and Simmons played during this period (more on that below); this is especially true of “Green and Gold” as Lasha steps out on the flute to a likeable result. In its fluttering sway, the head statement of “Ghost of the Past” is a bit Roland Kirk-like, and in his soloing Simmons is reminiscent of Coleman.
Side two opens with “Red’s Mood,” again Dolphy-esque but with a playfulness that’s indicative of the California climate. “Juanita” is another groover, the rhythm section huge but lithe, and with a Latin tinge. Everyone lays out for much of “Lost Generation” save for Simmons, whose spirited playing easily handle the increased scrutiny. “A.Y.” is a sturdy closing track that can suggest a West Coast equivalent to the New York Contemporary Five.
The Cry! kicked off a productive year for Prince Lasha and Sonny Simmons. They joined Dolphy in July of ’63 for sessions that shaped his Iron Man and Conversations albums (both posthumously released and recently collected on the 2018 Dolphy set Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions). The following month Lasha and Simmons joined the sextet of drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison (pianist McCoy Tyner and baritone saxophonist Charles Davis complete the group) for the appealing 1963 album Illumination! (those exclamation points were infectious).
Lasha and Simmons joined forces again in 1967 for Firebirds, also released by Contemporary. That record stands as the best of their joint efforts, but for vinyl loving avant-jazz fans, The Cry! is still a very necessary acquisition, holding up quite nicely as it represents one aspect of the movement’s growth ahead of the mid-’60s explosion of activity.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
