Lester Bowie
The 5th Power
Black Saint (Italy) 1978
BSR 0020 (LP) IREC.
sleeve : NM
media : EX+/EX+(some slightly noise)
A remarkable 1978 recording from Lester Bowie, best known as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Recorded that same year at a studio in Milan, Italy, the album features fellow AEOC bassist Malachi Favors alongside Arthur Blythe on alto saxophone, Phillip Wilson on drums, and Amina Myers on piano and vocals. A1 unfolds with soulful piano as trumpet and saxophone gently layer their melodic lines, while B1 opens with Myers’ voice and bright piano before gradually developing into free-form improvisation. Throughout the album, Bowie pays deep tribute to gospel, R&B, soul, and New Orleans jazz, while approaching these traditions through his own sharply original and avant-garde methodology. A superb work of avant-jazz that could only have come from Lester Bowie. It is no exaggeration to say that Amina Myers is the key presence here, her musicality forming the very heart of the album.
A1: Sardegna Amore (New is full of Lonely People)
B1: God has Smiled on Me (Traditional Gospel)