Featuring Tiziano Tononi on drums & percussion, William Parker on acoustic bass and Daniele Cavallanti on tenor & baritone saxes, ney & flute. This was recorded at the Vancouver Jazz Festival on June 28th of 1999 but has not been released until now when Mr. Tononi found it in the bottom of a chest full of rare recordings. It contains music from tow sets and it quite long (76 minutes). Those of you who read the DMG newsletter weekly certainly know who Tononi and Cavallanti are, as they have worked together over many years with more than a dozen discs from different groups: Nexus, Black Hole Quartet and most recently a superb tribute to Don Cherry on the Nubop label reviewed a couple of weeks ago (August, 2014).
The Udu Calls Trio is phenomenal, stripped down to three titans who are/were ready for action! Besides Don Cherry, Cavallanti and/or Tononi have done tributes to John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, each one a jazz legend and influence on hundreds of musicians worldwide. This trio embodies that same strong, searching spirit. Cavallanti plays tenor for the first section, blowing up a storm backed by a full throttle rhythm team. He eventually switches to bari sax and continues to blow up a storm. There is some earthy, groove-like magic going on about midway through the first set that makes me feel so good. The trio sound as if they have been playing together forever since they remain connected on several levels throughout. Building it up and then sailing down to calmer currents. A great way to start the day and help inspire us to new heights.
Downtown Music Gallery talks about The Vancouver Tapes
Bruce Lee Gallanter