Archie Shepp ‎/ THE TRADITION

“Alternative Fox present a reissue of Archie Shepp’s The Tradition, originally released in 1978. Avant-garde giant Archie Shepp made an indelible contribution to experimental jazz. Double-LP The Tradition was recorded in Rome in 1977 for Horo Records with drummer Clifford Jarvis and bassist Cameron Brown; the raucous Hooray For Mal has shades of be-bop, while Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady is largely tackled by Shepp on upright piano (with gorgeous soloing by Brown); Things Have Got To Change hearkens to Shepp’s experience of the Pan-African Cultural Festival of Algiers of 1969 and Ellington’s I Didn’t Know About You is relayed as a soft tenor ballad with rough edges.”