Full Force begins in cool breath and ends in scalding heat, the inhalation and exhalation of its own mission. As one comes to expect from any AEC outing, tonal colors are on a mission to envelop us. Despite what the title would have you believe, this is an album of staggering subtlety and finesse. That being said, it is also an intense experience. The first such intimations appear early in “Magg Zelma,” which amid a delectable gamut of percussive signatures begins like an iteration of John Zorn’s Cobra—duck calls share the air with gongs, brass, and mysterious whistles—before the muddy bass of Malachi Favors is cross-hatched more regularly by cymbals and winds. Rhythmatist Don Moye keeps us in the loop as our reedmen crack a freedom egg. Big band horns carry us along through tight harmonies in “Care Free,” which lasts all of 51 seconds, prelude to the Mingus tribute “Charlie M.” Here, the mood and melody recall “A Sentimental Journey,” if through raunchier diction. An unhinged bass solo and some swanky sax from Roscoe Mitchell underline its narrative flow. “Old Time Southside Street Dance” christens itself with a bottle of fire. Laced with an incredible alto solo sustained by circular breathing and equally inexhaustible energy, this tune is perfectly programmed as the penultimate catharsis. A string of solos from trumpet, soprano, and bass skid into the finish line by the skin of their teeth.
These vagabond musicians prove their inventiveness at every turn, and nowhere more so than in via the Baroque chamber instruments woven into the prismatic title track. They hurtle forth with all the potential of a tornado compressed into a dot—a sweeping yet brief gesture, a calling out, a fluttering drum, a distorted voice, a bout of laughter, and a resolute twang running its fingernail around the edge of an enormous sonorous quarter.
Now occupying a well-earned place among ECM’s carefully chosen Touchstones series, this may just be the best entry point into the AEC’s fantastic ride.
Tracklist:
1 Magg Zelma 19:50
2 Care Free 0:46
3 Charlie M 9:17
4 Old Time Southside Street Dance 5:11
5 Full Force 7:24
Bass, Percussion, Melodica, Vocals [Vocal] – Malachi Favors Maghostus
Percussion [Sun Percussion], Drums, Bells, Cowbell [Cow Bells], Horns [Bikehorns], Congas, Timpani [Tympani], Bongos, Gong [Gongs], Conch [Conch Shell], Whistle [Whistles], Wood Block [Wood Blocks], Chimes – Famoudou Don Moye
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Bassoon, Piccolo Flute [Piccolo], Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet [Bb Clarinet], Conch [Conch Shell], Vibraphone [Vibraharp], Celesta [Celeste], Gong [Gongs], Congas, Whistle [Right Channel] – Joseph Jarman
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Piccolo Flute [Piccolo], Flute, Clarinet [Bb Clarinet], Gong [Gongs], Glockenspiel, Congas [Conga Left Channel] – Roscoe Mitchell
Trumpet – Lester Bowie
