Chico Freeman - The Pied Piper (Blackhawk, 1984)

This post is by Dan

Chico Freeman (ts, as, ss, bcl, fl); John Purcell (as, bs, sups, ob, fl, pic); Mark Thompson (p on "The Pied Piper" and "Monk 2000"); Kenny Kirkland (p on all others); Cecil McBee (b); Elvin Jones (d)

Recorded April 9, 1984

Earlier in this blog, we reviewed two other albums by Chico Freeman: Destiny's Dance and Peaceful Heart, Gentle Spirit. For The Pied Piper, Freeman and fellow reedist John Purcell brought 12 instruments to the session, including one that is called a "surpranino." I can find sopranino clarinets and saxophones on Google but not supranino. So, I consider it an alternate spelling for sopranino. 

Why is this important? It's not really. What matters is the sound conjured up by the reeds and accompanying players. We know that Freeman loves to create interesting textures in his music, and the array of instruments allows this. Also, Purcell is absolutely the best partner for such creations. His contributions to Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition are duly noted elsewhere in this blog. 

The Pied Piper is an adventurous album that does not settle for the normal theme/solos/ theme arrangements. While the soloing is excellent throughout, it's the material and arrangements that place this record above most others. The title tune, for example, has a 7/4 rhythm but the melody is in 4/4, according to Herb Wong's liner notes. A film track piece, "The Rose Tattoo," follows and features Freeman's impressive tenor solo. It nicely counterbalances the complex meter of the opening track. Pianist Mark Thompson's "Monk 2000" is another interesting tune and features Purcell playing the aforementioned supranino. "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" follows a customary development featuring outstanding solos by Freeman on tenor and Kenny Kirkland on piano. Like most jazz renditions of this song, it's anything but soft. 

Sometimes albums that pursue originality come across as studied or pretentious, as though the motivation of the artists is to show off their versatility. It's a credit to Freeman that this effort avoids self-indulgence yet finds original ways to make valid artistic statements. Having Elvin Jones and Cecil McBee on the session probably had a lot to do with keeping things righteous.