Taking its title from the classic
jazz book by
Valerie Wilmer,
As Serious as Your Life is a solo recording wherein multi-instrumentalist
Joe McPhee deeply explores various facets and territories in the music. He begins with a sad, heartfelt tribute on pocket cornet to the late
Miles Davis and includes homages to musicians from
Sun Ra to
Coltrane to
Conlon Nancarrow.
McPhee freely uses overdubbing, either accompanying himself on various wind instruments or, as on the fascinating version of
Gershwin's
"The Man I Love," with percolating
electronics reminiscent of South African
mbira music. His
blues-drenched tenor playing on this piece takes it to realms undreamt of by its creator. This foundation in the
blues is one of the things separating
McPhee from many contemporaries plumbing the freer areas of
jazz, and it serves him very well. Few of his peers could pull off the devastating rendition of
Coltrane's
"After the Rain" that
McPhee, on soprano, does here.
As Serious as Your Life offers a fairly wide picture of the range of his talents and creative genius, and is arguably the finest of his solo recordings. Highly recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick
![Pharoah [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0680899800822_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Pharoah [Expanded Edition]")
