Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
Flea Finds His Jazz Thing
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
The first vinyl releases from the rejuvenated Strata-East Records are out, with more to come.
(Photo: Courtesy Mack Avenue Records)The first vinyl releases from the recently rejuvenated Strata-East Records remind us how persuasive and powerful jazz from the 1970s could be. The greatest challenge in revisiting these memorable discs is ranking them, but it’s a welcome task.
Founded in 1970 by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell, New York-based Strata-East was dedicated to inspiring both the artists it released and an audience eager for jazz of a spiritual bent. Early this year, Mack Avenue Music Group entered into an alliance with Strata-East. The first fruit of that pact is the release of four albums. The presentation and packaging are as heavy duty as the audiophile LPs themselves: This music is built to last. (Strata-East: The Legacy Begins, a sampler of the label, is digital only.)
Just how sturdy and daring Strata-East music is becomes clear from the start of Stanley Cowell’s remarkable 1974 solo album Musa: Ancestral Streams (Strata-East; ★★★★★ 57:24). A recording to get lost in, Musa spans the rubato boogie-woogie of “Abscretions” (not a musical oxymoron for Cowell), the restful and majestic “Maimoun” and “Departure No. 1,” an insanely fast work. Cowell enjoys puzzling out stunning lines so fast and furious there’s no time to dwell on them. A virtuoso at the level of Phineas Newborn or Oscar Peterson, Cowell channels the history of jazz when he plays.
Cowell also is key to Charles Tolliver’s Music Inc., Live At Slugs’ Volume I and II (Strata-East; ★★★★★ 1:35:41), recorded in 1970 at a legendary New York club. There’s no fat on this beautifully produced double album. Standout tracks include Tolliver’s blazing lines on his tune “Spanning” and Cowell’s ”Orientale,” which takes up one side of this double album. Tolliver launches it large, with full vibrato. He lays back as Cowell leans in, swirly and driving. Drummer Jimmy Hopps and bassist Cecil McBee are low-key, detonating when the tune calls for it. Tolliver takes “Orientale” out on trills and repeated notes, ascending only to return to Earth to worry it more. It finally subsides, the group’s passion spent. A stirring track — and the longest on all four sides. The set concludes with “Our Second Father,” Tolliver’s tribute to John Coltrane. After Tolliver’s brief introduction, Cowell builds a solo and McBee and Hopps heat up, opening the door to Tolliver, who plays with great bravado, scaling the heights of his horn in triumphant fashion.
The influence of Coltrane also looms over Pharoah Sanders’ Izipho Zam (My Gifts) (Strata-East; ★★★★ 50:13). Recorded in 1969 and released in 1973, this is sweeping and ceremonial. It starts with “Prince Of Peace,” a group chant with Leon Thomas on ululating, yodel-like vocals. A florid piano solo by Lonnie Liston Smith adds to the tune’s exultant mass. There is plenty of Sanders on “Balance,” the album’s most cohesive tune. This raucous plunge into funk finds Sanders in conversation with other disrupters, alto sax man Sonny Fortune and guitarist Sonny Sharrock. The intrusive, joyous track features middle-register Sanders at full strength and a shape-shifting rhythm section. A weird, pungent piece that keeps you off guard, it’s ultimately liberating — and healing, given the then-recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. A strong, pure expression, the piece doesn’t end so much as expire. Side B is dedicated to the title track, almost a half-hour of Sanders conjuring an atmosphere that chirps and rustles but also feels decidedly urban. It’s abstract jazz as played by a jam band, replete with dazzling percussion (there are at least three drummers), penetrating saxophones and power. This track doesn’t want to end, and we don’t want it to.
A less militant if no less absorbing musical expression comes from Charles Rouse’s 1974 Two Is One (Strata-East; ★★★★★ 40:19), an album long on funk and groove that confirmed Rouse as a leader after spending most of the 1960s as Thelonious Monk’s key sideman. Rouse takes charge immediately on guitarist George Davis’ “Bitchin’,” a sinuous foray that spotlights Rouse’s smooth, inviting style. Joe Chambers’ “Hopscotch” extends the tension as Rouse captains this taut, jittery tune. The catholicity of style and the warmth of the players distinguish Two Is One. The title is based on a concept Rouse borrowed from Monk. The idea is that people can get to know each other so well they’re of one mind. It’s said that Rouse and Monk used to finish each other’s sentences. It takes that kind of meld to play Rouse’s title track, with three different tempos going at once. DB
Ordering info: strata-east.bandcamp.com
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Cécile McLorin Salvant busts out Jelly Roll Morton’s “The Murder Ballad” at Big Ears, here with pianist Sullivan Fortner.
Apr 7, 2026 1:21 PM
There’s pluralism, then there’s PLURALISM! — and then there’s Big Ears. Thurston Moore, who participated in…
Each of the 25 JAMs has delivered a poster featuring a jazz legend that is sent out to schools across the nation. This year’s poster features Tony Bennett.
Mar 30, 2026 10:20 PM
Every April for the past quarter century, something remarkable has happened across the United States and far beyond.…
“We thought it’s important that Ronin has a new statement,” said Nik Bärtsch of his band’s latest album, Spin. “The sound is differently produced, so it reflects more of who we are.”
Apr 21, 2026 10:00 AM
Nik Bärtsch cuts an imposing figure on stage. He’s unmistakable with his soul patch, shaven head and black attire.…
Bollani demonstrates at the piano during a live Blindfold Test in Umbria, Italy, while writer Ashley Kahn, right, and translator Greg Burk look on.
Mar 24, 2026 11:42 AM
Raconteur, bon vivant and popular television host Stefano Bollani is also one of Italy’s best-known pianists, a rare…
