Decades ago David Murray played tenor sax like he was on the verge of combusting. Today, he’s a far more mainstream musician. It’s not that he’s lost his edge, but the ferocity has been driven inward. It lurks below the surface of every phrase and makes Murray’s muscular, skilled playing often sound like in the next measure it might explode.

On Sacred Ground, he draws on the shameful episode when dozens of U.S. counties expelled African Americans between the Civil War and the Great Depression. He enlists Andrew Cyrille on drums, Ray Drummond on bass, Lafayette Gilchrist on piano and the great Cassandra Wilson, who sings original lyrics by poet Ishmael Reed.

The strongest tracks are the two that include Wilson. On “Sacred Ground,” Wilson sings about “reclaiming our dearest legacy” with a restrained dignity. And then Murray enters, and the saxophonist and the singer trade phrases that expose the anger and hurt lurking behind the lyrics that Wilson just sung. On the final track, a sultry blues, Wilson assumes the role of the mythical Cassandra who refuses to let the god Apollo “seduce and pimp” her. Murray’s sax darts playfully between her vocal lines.

Without Wilson’s vocals as a counterweight, Murray too often fills up the space with an avalanche of ideas, as if his time were limited. It can be exhilarating, but also exhausting. Some of the strongest moments are when Murray steps back and yields more room to others. For example, Gilchrist’s off-kilter solos are a revelation and, along with the interplay between Murray and Wilson, some of Sacred Ground’s highlights.