Search - Sonny Sharrock :: Black Woman

Classic oddity from Mr. Sharrock

Dave Lang | Coburg, VIC Australia | 06/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A record so rare it's almost mythical finally gets the reissue treatment... and of course it took the Japanese to do it (why no American release! ). Anyway, originally released in 1969 to utter befuddlement from the jazz community, the 31 minutes of screaming, wailing and general vocal/guitar torture on this disc have found a safe, loving home within the "out-rock" community over the last 30 years, mostly amongst those with a weakness for some no-wave/skronk/industrio/punk action, if you know where I'm coming from. Produced by none other than Herbie Mann, honky flute-player extraordinaire (Sharrock was playing guitar in his band at the time for "money reasons"), "Black Woman" is - musically speaking - a real tough disc to pin down. Featuring a stellar line-up that includes free-jazz legends Milford Graves and Dave Burrell on drums and piano, respectively, and Linda Sharrock (Sonny's wife) on "vocals", the music is a curious mix of free-jazz thump, psychotic gospel vocalese, flamenco/calypso guitar stylings and a serious dose of proto-No Wave screech. Most of all, it works, and works well. The two best tracks, the title song and the scorching "Portrait of Linda in Three Colours, All Black", reach thunderous ascensions in sound, where all the player whollop and wail in unison to various ecstatic peaks, leaving one drained yet craving more. Talking of more, what about a reissue of Sharrock's similarly classic "Monkey Pockie Boo" LP from '70? Imagine, if you a will, a mix between Hendrix, Yoko Ono and Cecil Taylor, and that's somewhere near "Black Woman"'s universe. Such beautiful noise..."

WOW

J. Matz | chi-town, USA | 04/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of free jazz, no matter what spiritual context the players were intending, dwells in the dark depths of human emotion, and the altissimo screams of saxophone and cacophonus piano pounding seem to burst forth with anguish and pain. Not so this album, which, while very challenging musically, appears to be an expression of pure love and joy-- even ectasy. "Black woman" is also incredibally soulful, something lost in a lot of "free music." Sharrock's playing casts him as the forefather of skronk-- but it's also surprising melodic. At one point during "portrait of linda in three colors, all black" i found myself moved to the point of vocalizing a loud "yeah!," with no one around to hear. a moving experience, and a must for fans of cecil taylor, ornette, shepp (especially, who's music seems to have a similar joyous tone to it) and heck, even modern noisemongers like sonic youth (who undoubtedly owe a debt to sonny.) Stunning and beautiful."

You should get this cd, it's dope

H. Nguyen | 05/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this was my first sonny sharrock album and i was very pleasently surprised. yes, it's supposed to be a challenging avant garde record, but i found it very easy to listen to (great background music). sonny's wife (on the vocals) adds a very soothing quality to the sometimes chaotic music (and vice versa, she can sound pretty crazy at times). i would highly recommended this one, even for those who don't like avant garde and free jazz (and it's well packaged, the cd booklet is made of plastic not paper! great linear notes too)"