Search - Lester Bowie :: All the Magic

These two CDs offer the trumpeter in very different settings. The first disc presents Bowie with a band to invoke the breadth of Black musical traditions, from the trumpeter's long "Trans Traditional Suite" to exultant versions of "Let the Good Times Roll" and Albert Ayler's "Ghosts," the last with a calypso beat. "For Louie" is a loving invocation of Louis Armstrong, with Bowie's brash and vocal trumpet the perfect instrument for the homage, an assertive declaration of his solidarity with a great tradition, as well as his independence. The second disc is all solo, a continuous demonstration of Bowie's musical invention and sheer resourcefulness, ranging from the comic play of "Miles Davis Meets Donald Duck" to the subtle sounds of "Organic Echo," with the trumpet played into a piano's interior. --Stuart Broomer