In 1974, drummer and composer
Horacee Arnold assembled a stellar cast of players for
Tales of the Exonerated Flea, his second
Columbia album. Following on the heels of 1973's acclaimed
Tribe,
Tales was recorded at the height of the
jazz-rock fusion era.
Arnold's vision was a wide-ranging one and he recruited players form all over the
jazz world, from stalwarts like bassist
George Mraz and flutist
Art Webb, to vanguardists like
Sonny Fortune, to hardcore
fusion players like
Weather Report's master percussionist
Dom Um Romao,
the Mahavishnu Orchestra's bassist
Rick Laird, and keyboardist
Jan Hammer. As if this weren't enough,
Arnold even reached into
ECM's roster and signed up their two iconoclastic guitarists
Ralph Towner and
John Abercrombie. The end result is one of the most fascinating, soulful and truly successful albums of the entire genre. What one hears in listening to
Tales of the Exonerated Flea is a cast of players who are seeking to open up both
rock and
jazz to new modes of expression. There are no sterile chops or elongated knotty passages that serve neither rhythm nor harmony. What's happening here is real
fusion, of style, language, color, rhythm, harmonic and melodic concepts as well as dynamics. An intense examples is
"Sing Nightjar" with its intricate melody and fine, provocative solos by
Towner on 12-string and
Hammer. The initial funky
Latin groove of
"Benzele Windows" that is introduced to fiery effect by
Romao is quickly underscored by
Webb's brilliant flute work and added to by
Abercormbie and
Fortune playing in tandem. When
Hammer's electric piano enters the fray, moving in counterpoint with
Arnold's lightning rhythmnatism, the piece becomes a startling orgy of rhythm and complexity before the shimmering dark
funk of
Laird,
Hammer, and
Arnold creates a dark funky groove for
Fortune's soprano solo. The title cut uses a striated, extended and tensely convoluted
bop line to introduce a burning
Latin flavored stomp undergirding a
modal line in the head. The chugging rhythmic invention at the heart of
"Chinnereth II" belies a rather delicate if involved melody line before the tune becomes a joyful song with many parts and choruses. In all,
Tales of the Exonerated Flea is a
fusion record of the very best kind, it's full of soul, restless adventure, high-wire soloing and dirty grooves. Reissued on CD by
Rock and Groove in 2004, it should be explored by everyone interested in the development of
jazz-rock.~ Thom Jurek
![The Best of Santana [Columbia]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0074646556122_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "The Best of Santana [Columbia]")
