Following a string of stunning releases, The Cookers have again served up a batch of supreme hard-hitting jazz on Look Out! These are the cats that make it sizzle: bassist Cecil McBee,(trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter), trumpeter Eddie Henderson (lessons from Louis Armstrong, pianist Herbie Hancock), drummer Billy Hart (trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock), tenor saxophonist Billy Harper (pianist Randy Weston, drummers Art Blakey, Elvin Jones and Max Roach), pianist George Cables (saxophonist Sonny Rollins and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard) and the newest Cooker, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. (Art Blakey, Terence Blanchard). Trumpeter and primary arranger David Weiss, the youngest of the group who also boasts impressive creds, was the genius who 10 years ago rounded up these super-talented veterans.
Most of the guys, each a leader in their own right, take up a pen to contribute tunes on these all-original compositions with Cables offering much of the material. While there is generous solo space for each musician to take off with enthusiastic support from the group, the ensemble work is magnificently impressive.
Perhaps the most unusual cut is Billy Harper’s “Somalia,” that, as the title suggests, offers an African flavor and includes chant-like vocals. It rises from the incredible drumming of Hart and is elevated by Harper’s horn. Wow.
On a quieter note, Cables’ “AKA Reggie” is simply a beauty of a tune wonderfully interpreted by Harrison who shows both his old school sensibilities and his forward-thinking.
There is a sense of triumph on the album’s closer, McBee’s “Multima.” Henderson’s trumpet just shines atop Hart’s fiery drumming. Harper takes the tune further out followed by pianist Cables’ imaginative solo. Again, the oh-so-compatible ensemble comes together with one mind, one musical soul.
The legendary musicians here were some of the creators of the new sound that followed the bebop era of jazz. Their improvisational powers remain dangerously potent as warned by the album’s title, Look Out!
