Jackson, Michael Gregory - Gift - Used LP
VG/VG
1979. Avant-garde jazz fusion with focus on Jackson's electric guitar and the work of the various horn players, rhythm and reflection, voices and textures, explorations and conversations. Coming out of the fusion of the early 70s (Miles Davis, Weather Report), this clearly has its own sound and feel, stepping back to pick up subtle hints of Africa, and stepping forward into explorations of space age outer spaces. The rhythm section holds down the fort, but also lets the conversations move into their own modes of transportation. For me, I would have wanted the rhythm to completely pull it down back to earth and into a groove and have everything else moving around that, but unlike some of the other black fusion players from this era, this has other concerns than the funk, and who am I to question these talented musicians and their visions and conversations. This is still keenly aware of R&B and the importance the bass at the bottom, but this focuses on the explorations of the voices, coming from vocal cords, and especially horns and Jackson's electric instruments. While late 1970s fusion just ain't bag, this clearly sails above most of competition. -- winch