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Amirtha Kidambi, composer and singer
“Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace” by Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln
Vocalists are woefully underrated in the “avant-garde” or “free jazz” idiom, which favors shredding instrumentals in a not-so-subtly patriarchal way. Abbey Lincoln’s extremely powerful voice and artistry is ultra-marginalized, rarely mentioned except with Max Roach due to their romantic entanglement. Lincoln, who passed away in 2010, is to me the definition of avant-garde, light years ahead of her time in her abstract, expressive, and wordless vocalizations on the seminal civil rights era suite “We Insist! Freedom now” (1964), with Roach, Coleman Hawkins and Olatunji, among other proto-free jazz instrumentalists.
What I love about Lincoln is that she’s not afraid to get dirty and ugly, to make the listener uncomfortable in a visceral way. She employs what is academically termed “extensive technique” in her growls, screams, and harsh vocalizations, a term I abhor because of its normative Eurocentric bias. Rather than “expanding” the vocal instrument, I see Lincoln extracting its absolutely essential and maximum emotional range, something only approached in imitation by horns and other instruments. She’s especially powerful and effective on “Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace,” talking to Roach’s drums, screaming, screaming, and screaming in pain, in a real-time response to those turbulent years of American racist violence and strife. Lincoln was not a singer in a supper club, not interested in light entertainment and more concerned with raising awareness of an audience. We could also use Lincoln’s voice and message right now.
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Marcus J. Moore, jazz writer
“Steps” by Cecil Taylor
When we talk about the beginnings of free and avant-garde jazz, we often go to Ornette Coleman and start there. It makes sense, given the courage it took to call his 1959 album “The Shape of Jazz To Come,” then pepper it with challenging structures that were hard to grapple with. But for me, I’ve always looked to Cecil Taylor as the main purveyor of the avant-garde, his rolling piano chords tucked amid tidal waves of unrelenting drums and saxophone. Perhaps no song typifies this better than “Steps,” the opening track of his 1966 album, “Unit Structures.” I’ve always loved how precarious it feels, organized and chaotic at the same time. A complex tune with bright colors and powerful sonic arrangements, “Steps” also confronts my sensibilities, making me feel a little uncomfortable. But that’s why I appreciate it the most. It’s a reminder that jazz can soothe and irritate, that just because something is easy and relaxed doesn’t mean it’s better.
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VCR, artist, violinist and composer
“The creator has a master plan” by Pharoah Sanders
Growing up as a preacher’s kid in Memphis, my world was filled with cognitive dissonance. At home school, my father taught me the basics of music theory and songwriting. During this time I was only allowed to study two genres: gospel and classical. Even though this felt like a huge drawback, I now see how that rigid upbringing formed the foundation for my music career today.
Fast forward to 2016 and I’m sitting in my bedroom in Dallas. At that time I only experimented with writing my own songs. I wanted to make music that was audiovisual and soul edifying. My art would be healing and tangible. During my search I came across “The Creator Has a Master Plan” by Pharoah Sanders. From the first second I was captured by the roaring trumpet. Very different from my classical background; you could feel the musicians breathing together and freely channeling the ‘holy spirit’ as they say. Suddenly the song turns into a trance-like chant, but no words are uttered. The melody is repetitive, just like the prayer services I grew up in. Then a subtle solo vocal splits the sea of sound, with “The Creator has a working plan…”
Warm tears rolled down my cheeks and I knew my search was over. This was the blueprint and Pharoah was my guru. I knew from that moment on that my music should flow from the same channel and carry its message. I am eternally grateful to Pharoah Sanders for my personal paradigm shift and pray that everyone may experience that level of bliss.
