LESTER BOWIE: AN EXPERIENCE OF US BLACK CULTURE by Eric Myers _____________________________________________________________ Lester Bowie's From The Root To The Source Qantas International Jazz Festival, Capitol Theatre Sydney Morning Herald, January 17, 1981 ______________________________________________________________ ast night Sydney had a rare opportunity to hear the authentic classical music which reflects the experience of African-American culture in the L United States. The music was not so much ‘jazz’ - an inadequate term which Lester Bowie and his colleagues decidedly reject - but a sensitive exploration of many forms of black music which defy literal categorisation. Other than himself on trumpet and flugelhorn, Lester Bowie's group included Hamiet Bluiett (baritone saxophone), Amina Claudine Myers (piano), Reggie Workman (bass) and Phillip Wilson (drums). This quintet also included the gospel singers Martha Bass and David Peaston, with Johnny Barker on keyboards. Gospel singer Martha Bass… PHOTO COURTESY EASTSIDE RADIO 1 Gospel singer David Peaston: his magnificent singing, and that of Martha Bass, saturated with spiritual feeling, tended to dominate the evening… To sum up the concert, it was the magnificent gospel singing of Mr Easton and Miss Bass, saturated with spiritual feeling, which tended to dominate the evening and draw attention to the fact that, in black communities in the United States, the Church has long been the focal point for artistic and intellectual activity. The instrumental playing of the quintet showed many diverse influences, but the jazz idioms they represented were reasonably clear. I found some of the unstructured and freely improvised passages, more difficult to relate to, than the chord-based pieces. But I admit that, in this area, my consciousness may need raising. Lester Bowie's extraordinary vocabulary of smears, raspberries, squawks and half-valved mutterings were consistently delightful, and many of his awkward but beautifully placed phrases could not have been more apt. The music played by From The Root To The Source is not so much a new music, but a consolidation of past forms of African-American music. At the same time it seeks to explore and extend the musical ideas in those forms and, by testing the limits of the art form, points the way to the future. 2 Lester Bowie: an extraordinary vocabulary of smears, raspberries, squawks and half-valved mutterings…PHOTO CREDIT PETER SMETANA I have no hesitation in saying that last night’s music is amongst the most thrilling and inspired music I have ever heard. Lester Bowie is giving four more concerts, and he should not be missed. I have heard nothing like this music since the 1980 visit of the Chico Freeman Quartet. ____________________________________________________________ 3 .