This post is by Scott
Recorded on October 21 - 22, 1980
In 1978, Andrew Cyrille and his band, Maono (meaning vision, visionary, or trance in Swahili), released an extraordinary LP, Metamusicians' Stomp. It's powerful statement, and the decision to include it in my 1970s survey of jazz favorites was easy.
The four musicians who made Metamusicians' Stomp only made one more LP together, and it's just as remarkable as the album that preceded it. I'm speaking of the appropriately-titled Special People, of course.
The absence of a piano helps ensure that the music has an airy spring and lightness. I think it also adds to the band's considerable rhythmic snap, bringing Cyrille's drums and DiGeronimo's bass to the fore, putting them on equal footing with Daniel and Ware. When I hear this music, I'm reminded of Joe Zawinul's description of Weather Report as a band in which "no one solos and everyone solos." Even though the sounds of the two groups are completely different, the description is apt.
I love the photo of the band that's featured on the back of the album cover, so I thought I'd include it here:
This is the only cut from Special People that I could find on YouTube:
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