Charles Gayle Trio - Streets (2024) [Hi-Res]

The post-New Thing lineage is a sacred thing. In the fields sown by Ayler and Coltrane and Sanders and Shepp, the music free and flowing without ego but with purpose. It's a judgment call of course, but the proponents are arguably few. Without attaching too many words to it, it's a style of playing that s something spiritual, something other, a connectivity between the players and with the listener. And without overly delineating who's in and who's out, it's certain that Gayle is a master of the form. Deeply committed to free improvisation and the jazz tradition in all its manifestations, Gayle is a blazing saxophonist, a fluent pianist and, has been more recently playing the double bass. Here he is heard at his best, in classic form on the tenor horn with an exhilarating trio. The title and cover here evoke a character Gayle took to portraying onstage back in the 1990s, a bit of social commentary using the familiar face of a sad clown (read Emmett Kelly or even Charlie Chaplin), using a tragic face with no comedic angle to reflect on his own homeless days. But the music within is all new, recorded in the studio this year with Gayle heard on tenor exclusively joined by longtime timekeeper Michael TA Thompson on drums and Larry Roland on bass. To say that he recalls the pilgrims of free jazz is no small praise, but it s not to lock him in the past. At 72, Gayle remains a vital force. The Streets are paved some serious intentions.

"The sad clown image of Charles Gayle that adorns the cover of his latest album is something that jazz fans in his native New York have seen for years now, as the 72-year-old musician likes to paint himself up like this for live performances. As a commentary on his life as a performer who has seen the dark side of humanity, having spent 20 years without a home, it is a brilliant piece of social commentary. And considering the wintry economic climate, it's no wonder that he's put it front and center on Streets. The music spewed out by Gayle and his rhythm section (Michael T.A. Thompson on drums, Larry Roland on bass) doesn't carry a whiff of remorse. Instead, the trio is as fiery as ever, tearing through seven tracks of unhinged jazz instrumentals. Gayle's spiritual side comes out throughout this disc, not only via song titles like "Doxology" and "Glory & Jesus," but also from his impassioned tenor sax playing. It helps too that he is urged on to even more sky-scraping heights by his sidemen. Roland especially proves himself a more than capable foil for Gayle, particularly when he breaks out the bow to bend and whine his basslines on the title track and "Doxology." (Robert Ham, AMG)

Charles Gayle, tenor saxophone
Larry Roland,bass
Michael TA Thompson, drums