The second volume of recordings done in 2005 from the
Rashied Ali quintet has the same personnel as the first, falls along similar lines in hard-to-post bop elements, repeats two selections from the previous CD, and adds a pair of well-known standards. A less intense extension of the prior album, the group does keep the home fires burning, while
Ali is the driving force that assures the music be placed squarely on the edge, only at times boiling over. Trumpeter
Jumaane Smith is a real find, a post-
Freddie Hubbard/
Woody Shaw stylist who clearly studied with
Charles Tolliver, displaying a sharp-tinged bite in his playing. Berklee College graduate
Lawrence Clarke takes up a post-
John Coltrane stance, but he's studied with fellow tenor
Bill Pierce, himself a foremost proponent of the progressive style removed from the
Michael Brecker school. Pianist
Greg Murphy's written contribution to this date, "Skane's Refrain," starts things off, similar to
Judgment Day, Vol. I's "Shied Indeed," a more forward-moving bopper with a great, inventive melody. There's a cover of "Thing for Joe,"
James Blood Ulmer's furious-fast hard bopper removed from the blues fusion the composer is well known for. A marvelous modal piano from
Murphy and a terse drum solo in the middle ground this track, a tribute to
Ulmer's former bandmate
Joe Henderson. Bassist
Joris Teepe leads on his bluesy swinger "Flight #643," sporting an under-the-surface, subtle melody, while "Yesterday (J-Man) Tomorrow" is as frantic a post-bop piece as you'll ever hear, with the band going for the jugular in a skittering, short melody, wasting absolutely no time blowing strong and long solos, especially
Clarke on tenor sax. There's a lengthy feature for
Clarke on the ten-minute "Lush Life" with
Murphy's cascading piano on the second third of the melody, and the third repeat line with both horns before speeding the ballad to half-time. "Judgment Day" is an alternate take from
Vol. I, as is "Multi-Culti," while a typical version of "'Round Midnight" is included featuring
Smith. While not as strong as the first recording,
Ali's quintet accounts well for itself as a fully realized modern and progressive jazz ensemble that should be known for its excellence and high-level musicianship.
Ali faced his judgment day in the summer of 2009, but left behind a pair of recordings that should be universally praised and roundly applauded.