Dennis González New Dallas Quartet - Stefan (Silkheart, 1987)

This post is by Dan

Dennis González (tr); John Purcell (bcl, fl, enhn, syn, vo); Henry Franklin (b, vo); W.A. Richardson (d)

Recorded April 4 and 5, 1986

One does not usually associate the state of Texas with the jazz avant garde, but that was Dennis González's vision as an activist and trumpet player. His Dallas Association for Avant-Garde and Neo Impressionistic Music (daagnim) was both a group of musicians patterned after Chicago's AACM and a record label. 

Stefan, named after González's son, was the first of several albums that he led and produced for the Swedish Silkheart label. González also appeared on albums by Charles Brackeen, whom he lured out of retirement. Brackeen's Bannar album will be covered in a later post. Many of Silkheart's releases were recorded in Dallas at Omega Audio and distributed by the Danish Storyville label. Multinational, to be sure.

I consider Stefan to be González's best record and performed by his best band. For starters, he's got John Purcell, who not only brings his array of reeds (especially bass clarinet) but also arranges the first three tracks and composes the closing track, "Deacon John Ray." He appears on several other albums reviewed in our blog, in groups led by Jack DeJohnette, Chico Freeman, and others. 

Purcell's magic touch graces all of Stefan, but two short tracks stand out as exquisite gems: "Fortuity" and "Boi Fubá." It's impossible to classify such extraordinary music, and as González explains, the 2:15 minute "Fortuity" "makes you want more, but leaves you satisfied that the statement is complete." "Boi Fubá" at 3:00, features González playing six different Brazilian instruments with Purcell on bass flute. Extraordinary!

All four musicians contribute vocals to the title track. These brief voice-overs capture the street scene in New Orleans and add context to the longer piece. As explained by Russ Summers in the liner notes: 

"Here, Purcell is a fruits and flesh merchant, W.A. Richardson is a hard-nosed preacher, and Henry Franklin is a civil rights activist. Gonzalez represents the much ignored Spanish flavor of New Orleans while he ponders the mysteries of life [in Spanish]."

The recording is digital and both CD and LP versions were released. The CD version adds a track, "Doxy," that was recorded 10 months later. The vinyl pressing is DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) and is very good. No quibbles about the recording or the mastering.

González died of health complications on March 15, 2022, at age 67.