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The Frank Lowe Orchestra
"Lowe & Behold"
Frank Lowe: tenor saxophone
Joseph Bowie: trombone
Lawrence "Butch" Morris: cornet
Arthur Williams: trumpet
John Zorn: alto saxophone
Peter Kuhn: clarinet, bass clarinet
Billy Bang: violin
Polly Bradfield: violin
Eugene Chadbourne: guitar
John Lindberg: double bass
Phillip Wilson: drums, percussion
1977 - In the beginning, there was vinyl
2011 - Deathbed, the mp3 ... I'm dying, in terms of acoustic sensations, to be clear.
Frank Lowe was born in '43 in Memphis and passed away in 2003, struck down by cancer.
Throughout his life, his figure was overshadowed by institutions like John Coltrane and Albert Ayler, perhaps less sophisticated and daring, with no intention to detract from the immensity of these two artists.
Lowe professed himself as a free-jazzer (and he was), making up a pulsating part of the jazz experimentation movement of the early '70s in the "Big Apple" with the blessing of the demigod Ornette Coleman.
In his last years, his music returned to the mainstream audience until at just 60 years old, he disappeared, some say at the peak of his career.
Excellent works can be noted in Lowe's life, such as the experience of his two-year spatial collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Among curiosities, some of his music serves as the soundtrack of "La montaña sagrada," a film by Jodorowsky (distributed in Italy as "La Montagna Sacra").
Frank Lowe is certainly a reference point for all jazz-free jazz-avant-garde and so forth.
What compelled me to review this performance-improvisation of '77? A gem, a somewhat adolescent John Zorn (24 years old) on alto saxophone (as if it were a novelty), it seems to be Zorn's first appearance on a record publication.
The performance-improvisation is structured on four tracks:
1a. Heart in Hand or (How Vain I Am)
2a. A Hipster's Dream
1b. Lowe-Commotion
2b. Heavy Drama
Unafraid of the defined and standard, the 11 musicians create everything that the unexpected and creativity can give birth to, taking turns chasing Lowe riding his saxophone.
Writing and fun with the vocabularies of jazz, improvisation, music.
Aggressiveness and elegance of a world that no longer exists.
Record for collectors ... maybe.
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