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"As usual, we really weren't under pressure to do anything other than create, which is our modus operandi at LifeForcejazz," reveals leader and producer Dawan Muhammad. The idea of a serious jazz record label emerging from a community-based, nonprofit organization might seem a little far-fetched to those conditioned by current trends in the music industry. However, purer forms of jazz are usually more about cultural enrichment than entertainment, so preserving artistic integrity thru independent production puts the LifeForce catalog well within reach. "Consider the Source" certifies the power and purity of their approach to creativity. Dawan Muhammad has been a mainstay on the jazz scene for over thirty years and has managed to collaborate with some of the world's finest artists. In the late 1980s to mid '90s, Dawan relocated from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and immediately connected with drummer Billy Higgins and poet Kamau Da'ood, who were establishing a performance gallery for developing young musicians and writers, called World Stage. Dawan functioned as de facto manager helping to incubate such young talent as Black/Note and The B Sharp Quartet. Other young lions from the World Stage Posse included Pianist Greg Kirstin and bassist Jesse Murphy, who along with Muhammad and Drummer Harold Acey, were the nucleus of LifeForcejazz ensembles. From the rhythm section of Bobby Hutcherson to quite different realms of r&b, fusion, and acid jazz, Kirstin's versatile style keeps him in demand. Murphy has become an early call bassist for many musical situations in New York, including extended stints with Vincent Haring and John Scofield. Seasoned veterans, Kevin Tony and James Leary served as alternates in the ensemble and on these recordings. Like Kirstin, pianist Kevin Tony covers abroad range of musical styles. An original member of The Blackbyrds, (the popular group organized by Donald Byrd) Kevin has made quite a name for himself in the smooth jazz and r&b arenas. Bassist James Leary has been collaborating with Muhammad on music projects since the late sixties. "James is another unsung hero of this music," says Dawan, "he is a superb musician, and will always have a gig. His recordings as a leader and sideman are overshadowed by his long association with both the Sammy Davis Jr. and Count Basie Orchestras." Muhammad, Acey, the above-mentioned two rhythm battery sets and other artists were featured every weekend at the World Stage. Billy Higgins would invite jazz giants appearing at major venues in the Los Angeles area, to conduct workshops at the World Stage, and LifeForce would open the program. LifeForce also participated in recording workshops at LA's Sonora Studios, and in early August 1992, completed two four hour sessions in two days for the material featured on this CD. The workshops demonstrated approaches to live recording, so there was no mixing or overdubbing. "They just put mics in the room and turned on a two-track machine," recounts the leader. "Harold Acey and I were there both days, but one day Greg Kirstin and Jesse Murphy made it, the next day Kevin Tony and James Leary made it. It was an opportunity to try some things, so everybody just pulled out what they had and we experimented with whatever felt comfortable. In mastering, we alternated the tracks between the rhythm sections." As it turned out, Greg Kirstin had been recording in the same studio on one of the days with trumpeter Ron Stout and saxophonist James Mahone. So, Muhammad wisely recruited both Stout and Mahone for his session, transforming the quartet into a sextet for two of this album's tracks. If you consider the result, ten tracks of ingenuous, handsomely handled jazz, it might lead you to "Consider the Source", which seems to reside in an empathetic group consciousness, a unity of purpose and approach which every working musician seeks but doesn't always find. Consider also the sound of the leader, manifest through a virtuosic variety of instruments. On Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy," Muhammad's tenor lines are hip but spare, helping the music speak for itself. Harold Acey follows the leader in a similarly understated mode, as does bassist Jesse Murphy, and it's all in a Blue Noteish sense of fun. James Leary's melodically modest compositions ("Over and Over" and "Remember to Smile"), on which he also provides the bass pulse, are enhanced with lovely arrangements and with Muhammad's birdsong flute on the former and sweet soprano sax on the latter. The soprano also directs a good-natured reading of Monk's "Eronel", before pianist Kevin Tony ramps up the players for his "Chase," post-modern in style but as accessible as it is exciting. In the standard songbook on Matt Dennis's "Everything Happens to Me," Muhammad touches his tenor with a human voice, letting the unheard lyrics shine through, soulful and tender. Drummer Acey invokes an affecting incantational solo to introduce his "Ace in the Hole," and provides artful commentary on the fascinating interchange between Greg Kirstin's keyboard and Muhammad's flute on the latter's "Gumbo." (For extra credit, search within that track's simmer for homage to the rhythm changes of "Brownie Speaks", "Oleo", "Dexterity" and C.T.A., spontaneously added to the stew by the instrumentalists.) That same team spirit shines strong through the horn section on the title track and on Kirstin's "The Art of End," expanded to include Ron Stout on trumpet and James Mahone on alto alongside the leader's tenor. Don't be surprised if repeated listening to this album causes you to plumb the source of your own positive energy. That's what jazz should be doing. Liner notes by: Jeff Kaliss Jeff Kaliss writes about jazz, world music, and other human expression for Bay Area, national, international, and Internet publications and books. Check out the artist's website: http://www.lifeforcejazz.com Track List: 1. Gingerbread Boy 2. Over and Over 3. Eronel 4. Chase 5. Everything Happens to Me 6. Ace in the Whole 7. Gumbo 8. Consider the Source 9. Remember to Smile 10. The Art of End Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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