A great set from Hamiet Bluiett – almost back to his roots in the St Louis underground scene, as the album's a live recording of long spiritual jazz tracks, arguably a lot more compelling than most of Bluiett's studio work from the time! The album was recorded at Sweet Basil in 1983 – with a group that features John Hicks on piano, Fred Hopkins on bass, Marvin Smitty Smith on drums, and Chief Bey playing some extra African percussion. Bluiett's tone is wonderful – deep and round, but also raspy, almost in the manner of Pharoah Sanders – and the group plays an incredible version of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", a nice take on Curtis Lundy's "Gumbo", and the cuts "Song Song", "Ebu", and "Headless Blues".
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Tracks
1. Footsprints (Wayne Shorter)
2. EBU (Hamiet Bluiett)
3. Song Song (Hamiet Bluiett)
4. Headless Blues (Hamiet Bluiett)
5. I''ll Close My Eyes (Kaye-Reid)
6. Gumbo (Vegetarian Style)
HAMIET BLUIETT baritone sax, clarinet, alto flute
JOHN HICKS piano
FRED HOPKINS bass
MARVIN SMITTY SMITH drums
CHIEF BEY African drums, percussion
Recorded live at Sweet Basil's July 25, 1983
Black Fire-BF19931