Search - Leaders :: Slipping & Sliding

Absolute mastery of all elements

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 06/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When this incredible disc first came out nearly a decade ago, I remember it was rather poorly regarded by the jazz press. Maybe that's because when you call yourselves The Leaders and have a line-up that reads like a Who's Who of jazz, expectations are too high.Yet I've always loved this album. I did when it first came out, and I love it no less now. Why? These guys, individually and collectively, are just monster jazzmen, and this, I believe is by far the best of their handful of albums. It starts out with a way soulful blues, the title cut, featuring some very tasty and satisfying trumpet work by Lester Bowie, characterized by his trademark smears and growls. Then comes a wonderfully heartfelt solo by the great Kirk Lightsy, one of the more underrated pianists on the scene, who's feel for the blues is unmatched. Next comes "Everything Changed." Harmonically rich, stately in movement, it's a much different rendering than one finds on Lightsy's brilliant quartet album of the same name. With Arthur Blythe uncorking one of his finer solos, Famoudou Don Moye adding exotic coloration on drums, and Lightsy getting to the heart of the matter on his revelatory piano solo, it's the high point for me.The playful "Fukawe T" follows, amply demonstrating why these guys are called the leaders: they chew up impossibly difficult skittering lines as if they were cotton candy. "High Summer," a delightfully swinging Afro-Latin number follows with another great Blythe solo, who's sounding as authoritative here as I've ever heard him. Couple that with really fine ensemble playing and you've got another high point. The haunting "Louisa" comes next, featuring the seldom heard flute-playing of Kirk Lightsy. "Blues on the Bottom," doesn't sound like any blues I've ever heard, but that doesn't mean it's not a killer number. Clocking in at nearly eleven minutes, it's the longest cut on the album, and really gives these players a lot of room to stretch out. Lester Bowie leads off with a typically askew trumpet solo, nicely framed by Cecil McBee's great walking bass, Lightsy's tasty comping, and smart drum fills by Don Moye. Lightsy follows with one of his best solos on record, and the band, with the horns sitting out, really cranks things up. The horns come back and ratchet things up a level, punctuated by Bowie's blats and some killer interaction between Blythe and Chico Freeman, leading to a very satisfying wrap-up. "Mist," another Afro-Caribbean number, dances and sways to perfection, punctuated by a certain "Breeze and I" slightly melancholy sensibility that never fails to charm, especially since it's beautifully embroidered by tasty solos by Freeman and Lightsy. It finishes up with "Drums to Don," an easy-swinging blues that showcases the incredible percussion mastery Don Moye as he concludes matters with a stunning three-plus minutes of drum wizardry.Maybe it's all too easy-sounding--not enough Sturm und Drang--for the critics; I don't know. Nor do I care. I just keep coming back to this glorious disc reveling in the fine music this special band made at the height of its collective powers."