Marionettes On A High Wire Baikida Carroll (OmniTone)
 
 
THE AUDIOPHILE VOICE
volume 7, issue 3
by Jack Skowron

            The featured artist on this disc, while far from a household name, has performed with famous artists, like David Murray, CarlaBley, Jay McShann, and many others, and written for stage and screen. This is a collection of his compositions played by a fine band.

          “Ebullient Secrets” is an upbeat, attractive tune, written over a piano vamp reminiscent of “A Love Supreme,” with pianist Adegoke Steve Colson doing a strong Tyner to tenor sax Erica Lindsay’s smoother, softer ‘Trane. Carroll takes the intensity up another notch, fluttering and spraying notes at a rapid clip, sounding like a cross between Miles Davis and Don Cherry, but with more chops. “Griots Last Dance,” dedicated to the aforementioned Cherry, has a knotty, circular melody, and features Lindsay in a Dewey Redman bag, with Colson playing in a post-Cecil Taylor / Myra Melford mode and an intense, piercing Carroll solo. A nervous, edgy march, Marionettes on a High Wire, has a delicate trumpet and drums duet and ventures gingerly into free jazz territory. Colson’s solo, while in free time, nicely explores the theme (with fine solos by the rest of the rhythm: Michael Formanek, bass, and Pheeroan akLaff, drums). Carroll is in an early Miles bag on the lovely ballad “Miss Julie” (feels like “My Funny Valentine,” though it’s musically distinct). Tyner again hovers over “Our Say,” though its muscular yet delicate and reserved multi-part theme is all Carroll. Woody Shaw and Ira Sullivan used to write up-tempo post-bop like “A Thrill A Minute.” Carroll’s trumpet races over the changes, streaking, and jabbing. Dedicated to Carroll’s grandmother, “Velma” is pretty, assured, and warm; it has interesting and unexpected twists and turns, as do most of the tunes. The tenor sax is reserved, circling and exploring, while Carroll is also in a reflective, probing mood. “Flamboye,” dedicated to Julius Hemphill, starts out as a free trumpet and sax duet, then the band slowly enters, creating a funny, off-kilter pulse under an Ornettish theme, while trumpet and sax continue their dance. “Down Under” has an attractive, circular theme, with an emphatic trumpet solo, introspective sax, and bouncy bass. The just-under-two minutes “Cab” is a fun jaunt through jazz history, traveling from stride (good rendition by Colson, though not quite as idiomatic as, say, Marcus Roberts), to early-swing sounds a-la Cab Calloway and John Kirby, through post-bop.

          Sonics on the CD are OK, with a wide stage, though instruments, particularly bass, seem to be slightly softened.

          This wasn’t one of those love-at-first-listen CDs for me; the complex nature of the tunes (not so much the structures, as the melody lines) necessitated quite a few listens for me to assimilate and appreciate well. Like a drive on a windy mountain road, however, the new vistas peering out on each turn are quite unexpected and beautiful. Take a few spins for yourself.