Recorded in April & May 1980
Arthur Blythe's third album for Columbia featured two different groups. One group was his distinctively-textured harmolodic band with guitarist "Blood" Ulmer and tubist Bob Stewart. This band played on Blythe's major-label debut, the award-winning Lenox Avenue Breakdown. Blythe's second Columbia album, In the Tradition, employeed a conventional piano-bass-drum rhythm section with John Hicks, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall. This latter group took their name from the album's title, with Blythe referring to them as his "In the Tradition" band.
On Illusions, Blythe alternates the two groups. According to the liner notes, Blythe "decided that both groups could work musically side by side on one album. Through the music of each group, [he] hoped to create an illusion -- making the listener aurally unaware that the two groups are alternating cuts." From this listener's perspective, Blythe definitely achieves his goal of a coherent album, despite the differences in the two group's sounds. The element that binds the album together is Blythe himself.
Blythe's sound is so ear-catching, one can't help but focus on it. It's a cutting, bluesy sound that slices right through the music, no matter how dense the textures. Also, Blythe often employs a distinctive, rapid vibrato that sounds very contemporary. So, regardless of the setting, Blythe's powerful voice is the focus of the music. Plus, Blythe wrote all of the compositions, some of which had been featured on earlier albums released by Adelphi and India Navigation.
I think Illusions is Blythe's finest Columbia release, even better than the more well-known Lenox Avenue Breakdown. It may even be the finest album he ever made.
More Arthur Blythe
Listeners wanting to hear more of Blythe's 1980s discography are encouraged to investigate the following albums, all originally released on Columbia:
- Blythe Spirit (1981)
- Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk (1983)
- Da-Da (1986)
That's a mighty big call with regard to 'Illusions' and 'Lennox Avenue Breakdown'. I need to revisit the former the success of which I always thought was compromised by the two bands. Time for a re-evaluation perhaps.
ReplyDeleteGive it a (re)listen and see what you think. I can see how listeners might find the unity of the album problematic since there are two different bands. But, somehow, it works for me. ;-)
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