Cecil Taylor {Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Jazz}

A couple of unrelated avant-garde dates are combined on this single CD from 1998. There are three selections from Cecil Taylor's 1961 Quintet (featuring pianist Taylor, bassist Henry Grimes, drummer Sunny Murray, altoist Jimmy Lyons and tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp) with trumpeter Ted Curson and trombonist Roswell Rudd added on the third cut, "Mixed." "Bulbs," which includes some hints of R&B, is particularly intriguing. This date as a whole was one of Cecil Taylor's last ones on which he still had a connection (if loose) to more traditional straight-ahead jazz. Normally, the Taylor set is combined with a few unrelated selections headed by trumpeter Johnny Carisi (and issued under Gil Evans' name even though the arranger had nothing to do with either session). In this case, the Taylor date is matched with trombonist Roswell Rudd's Everywhere, a 1966 Impulse album that also features altoist Robin Kenyatta (who comes across as the date's strongest soloist), Giuseppi Logan on flute and bass clarinet, both Charlie Haden and Lewis Worrell on basses and drummer Beaver Harris. Of their four selections there are tributes to Eric Dolphy (Logan's contribution to the set) and Herbie Nichols, an odd revival of Bill Harris' "Everywhere" and the best performance, a spirited "Yankee No-How." Although not Roswell Rudd's greatest album, there are enough fascinating ensembles on this set for it to nearly hold its own with Cecil Taylor's more essential session.