Though he may be physically frail due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and osteoporosis,
Ginger Baker in his mid-seventies is still a drummer to be reckoned with.
Why?, his debut offering for
Motema Records -- and his first studio outing in 16 years -- features him in the company of his touring quartet of bassist
Alec Dankworth, saxophonist
Pee Wee Ellis, and percussionist
Abas Dodoo. The program is pure jazz. Two tunes here -- the modal "Ginger Spice" by
Ron Miles, and his own blues "Cyril Davies" -- are revisioned workouts from his
Coward of the County album, while his Algerian-tinged "Ain Temouchant" dates from his trio with
Charlie Haden and
Bill Frisell on
Goin' Back Home. "Aiko Biaye" is a Nigerian folk song that was originally adapted by
Ginger Baker's Air Force. Only the set's closing title track is "new." As is to be expected, drums are at the heart of every tune here. The interplay
Baker enjoys with his longstanding percussionist
Dodoo is down to the level of pure musical instinct. Circular rhythms go hand in hand with syncopation -- check the excellent reading of
Wayne Shorter's mysterious modal blues "Footprint" as well as "Aiko Baye." One has seldom heard
Ellis play it as straight as he does here. Despite his pedigree with
James Brown and
Van Morrison,
Ellis sticks to his love of
John Coltrane and
Sonny Rollins throughout. His playing is physical yet economic and imaginative; particularly effective is his solo atop the interlocking rhythmic grooves on "Ginger Spice" and his big-boned, songlike break on
Rollins' Caribbean-flavored stomp "St. Thomas."
Baker's playing is spot on throughout. He showcases imagination and swing rather than firepower on
Ellis' fine "Twelve and More Blues," where he first engages in fluid call-and-response with
Dankworth, and then in an elastic dialogue with
Dodoo. Likewise, his longer break on "St.Thomas" offers the spirit and creativity of his earliest work on the British jazz scene, albeit with a more seasoned textural flair. Closer "Why?" is the only place where heat and dynamic bubble over. Hinting at his work with
Fela Kuti, a chanted female vocal chorus brings elements of bubbling Afro-funk to the fore even as
Ellis quotes from "Wade in the Water" in the melody. It's a dramatic closer.
Why? signals a welcome, rootsy, and classy return for
Baker to recording, despite his notorious "Beware Mr. Baker" grimace in the cover photo. ~ Thom Jurek
![Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Recordings [3 CD]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0617270122860_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Recordings [3 CD]")