Sonny Sharrock - Dance With Me, Montana (1982)

Review by Brian Olewnick

The main point of interest of this album is its session date. Recorded in 1982, this is one of the very few documents of the late Sonny Sharrock's playing between his classic work with Pharoah Sanders and Don Cherry as well as on his own and his re-emergence with Last Exit in 1985. Bill Laswell had already utilized his talents on Material's Memory Serves release from the prior year, but here is Sharrock in a simple trio, playing several of the pieces that would become part of his stock repertoire for the remainder of his career. Unfortunately, his bandmates aren't very inspiring and the entire affair is thinly recorded, making this a less-than-rewarding pickup. One can attempt to mentally divorce Sharrock's sound from his surroundings, but even so, he's more workmanlike than ecstatic here and the listener can only scrape together the faintest clues of just how great a guitarist he could be. Even his "Dick Dogs," normally a guaranteed roof-raiser, is dragged down here by some astonishingly leaden drumming, though it also provides some of the leader's best work on the date. Serious students of Sharrock's style will probably want to have this if only to provide a link between his earlier and later playing, but there are many better places to hear his unique genius. Additional warning: This album also contains, arguably, one of the very worst covers in the history of recordings. Be afraid.

01.Dick Dogs
02.Dance with Me Montana
03.Slow Drag
04.Marpasa Down/Song to Chester
05.74-75
06.She's Only Fourteen
07.Purple, Blue, Green and Yellow [#]
08.74-75 [#] 2:48
09.Marpasa Down/Song to Chester [#]
10.Slow Drag [#]
11.Dance with Me Montana [#]
12.Dick Dogs [#].

Sonny Sharrock Band - Seize The Rainbow (1987)

1.Dick Dogs
2.My Song
3.Fourteen
4.J.D. Shaa
5.Seize the Rainbow
6.The Past Adventures of Zydeco Honeycup
7.Sheraserhead's High-Top Sneakers.

Bass - Melvin Gibbs
Co-producer - Bill Laswell
Drums - Abe Speller , Pheeroan Aklaff
Guitar - Sonny Sharrock
Mixed By - Robert Musso

Notes:Recorded at Electric Lady Studio, New York City, May 1987.
Produced by Sonny Sharrock.
Bill Laswell is also playing bass on track 7.

Sonny Sharrock - Highlife (1990)

1.No More Tears
2.All My Trials
3.Chumpy
4.Highlife
5.Kate (Variations on a Theme by Kate Bush)
6.Venus: Upper Egypt
7.Your Eyes
8.Giant Steps.

Charles Baldwin - Bass
Lance Carter - Drums
Sonny Sharrock - Guitar, Arranger, Producer
Dave Snider - Korg Synthesizer, Korg M1
Abe Speller - Drums.

Review by Steve Huey

Highlife was Sonny Sharrock's first studio album in three years, and it bore witness to several slight modifications in the guitarist's approach. Gone were bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer Pheeroan akLaff, who had moved on to other projects; they were replaced by Charles Baldwin and Lance Carter, respectively, who joined additional drummer Abe Speller. Dave Snider's Korg synthesizer also makes its studio debut (he had appeared on the Live in New York set), which immediately makes the overall ensemble sound simultaneously brighter and tinnier. Even past the added timbre of the keyboards, Sharrock seems to be searching for ways to push his music forward, as he begins going farther afield for material and revisiting his past in the process. In addition to three full-fledged originals, he covers two traditional folk songs, the West African standard "Highlife" (learned in one of his earliest gigs with drummer Babatunde Olatunji) and the Harry Belafonte-associated "All My Trials"; he adapts several themes from Kate Bush's prog pop hit "Wuthering Heights" into "Kate"; and he returns to his legendary appearance on Pharoah Sanders' Tauhid album with a medley of two Sanders themes, "Venus/Upper Egypt." It's fascinatingly eclectic, but the results are undercut to a degree by all the keyboard polish, which tends to rob Sharrock's most furious licks of a certain element of danger (even if it does occasionally bring out his more playful and spiritual sides). In the end, Highlife is something of a transitional album, catching Sharrock in the midst of figuring out where to take his music next, yet that searching quality makes it a compelling listen for fans.

Bill Laswell - Improvised Music New York (1981)

Recorded live at the Kitchen, September 18, 1981
Recorded by Martin Bisi
Derek Bailey : guitar; Fred Frith : guitar; Sonny Sharrock : guitar; John Zorn : horns; Bill Laswell : bass; Charles K. Noyes : percussion.


Note : This album was intended to be released as a Material album, but couldn't due to contractual obligations.

This is a live recording of a performance by the New York avant-garde group Material. Due to legal complications, the name "Material" was not allowed to be used on this release, as well as there being no song titles. It's an early performance (Sep. 18, 1981) only for the most open-minded listeners, for the group sticks to aggressive experimental noise which follows no musical conventions at all. Sometimes the group creates some fascinating moments (especially on track 2), but otherwise this is largely enerving, though occasionally amusing (Noyes' percussion intro on track 7). This features interesting abstract cover art by Thi-Linh Le.

Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages (1991)

1.Promises Kept
2.Who Does She Hope to Be?
3.Little Rock
4.As We Used to Sing
5.Many Mansions
6.Once upon a Time.



Elvin Jones - Drums, Drums (Snare)
Charnett Moffett - Bass, Bass (Acoustic)
Pharoah Sanders - Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Sonny Sharrock - Guitar (Electric), Producer.

Review by Steve Huey

Ask the Ages is Sonny Sharrock's masterpiece, and sadly it was also the last album he would record before his premature death in 1994. It's the most challenging jazz work he recorded as a leader, and it's the clearest expression of his roots as a jazz player, drawing heavily on Coltrane's modal post-bop and concepts of freedom. To that end, Sharrock reunites with Coltrane's old cohort, Pharoah Sanders, who featured Sharrock on his wild Tauhid and Izipho Zam LPs; what's more, Coltrane Quartet drummer Elvin Jones is on hand, as is young bassist Charnett Moffett. It's far and away the best, most adventurous, and most jazz-oriented backing group Sharrock recorded with during his comeback, and the results are breathtaking. The compositions are all Sharrock originals, and all six have utterly memorable themes that often recall the sweeping lyricism of Sanders' most spiritual '60s works. For his part, Sanders responds with some of his most ferocious playing in years, and Sharrock sounds vitally energized by the tenor's screeching passion. There isn't a wasted moment on the album, but particular highlights include the fiery, majestic opener, "Promises Kept," the searching ballad "Who Does She Hope to Be?," and the awe-inspiring blast-fest "Many Mansions," where Sharrock and Sanders both reach a blistering pinnacle. Listeners coming to Sharrock from rock & roll or his Space Ghost Coast to Coast soundtrack might find that Ask the Ages isn't the nonstop skronk-fest they expected; it's his overall musicality that's on display, but there's still plenty that will scare the bejeezus out of timid jazzbos. It's a tragedy that Sharrock didn't get much of a chance to expand on this achievement, but thankfully it exists in the first place.

Brute Force - Brute Force (1970)

1.Do It Right Now
2.Some Kind Of Approval
3.The Deacon
4.Right Direction
5.Monster
6.Ye-Le-Wa
7.Doubt.


 

Bass - Russel I. Ingles , Thomas Lee Williams
Congas - Robert A. Jones
Drums - Sidney Smart
Guitar - Sonny Sharrock
Piano [Electric] - Richard Daniel
Producer - Herbie Mann
Saxophone [Tenor], Flute - Stanley Strickland
Trumpet - Arthur Ray Brooks , Teddy Daniels, Jr.

Review by Sean Westergaard

Brute Force was a soul-jazz band (slanted toward the soul end) that released a single self-titled album in 1970, produced by Herbie Mann. The band had a solid soul sound, which could head into slightly more out territory, as well. The band and Mann had a stroke of genius when they decided to recruit the band's childhood friend and Mann bandmate Sonny Sharrock (who had also played with Pharoah Sanders at that point) to add some extra spice to the sessions. The results are so righteous and groovy, you'll wonder where this album has been for the last 30 years. Imagine the Black Panthers recording Memphis Underground and you're somewhere in the ballpark. Strong vocals on about half the tunes, great horn playing, dirty electric piano, killer two-bass grooves, and Sharrock's ultra-aggressive soul playing make this album a solid winner. Sharrock fans will flip at this forgotten session, and DJs and crate-diggers everywhere would be well-served by picking this up. Right on, Brother!