THE ESSENCE OF MYSTERY

The musician now known as the drummer for Wayne Shorter/Weather Report and Roy Ayers and McCoy Tyner has an abundance of energy and creative ideas needing expression. This is the first of many albums Al would produce as a composer and bandleader.

1. "The Essence Of Mystery" (4:55) a most excellent demonstration of Third Wave, "peak era" Jazz-Rock Fusion with understated yet-highly proficient and sophisticated performances from everybody involved; nobody tries to outshine or outdo the others, everybody seems in complete synchrony--which I love. A top three song. (9.5/10)

2. "Funky Finger" (3:40) straying into the territory of vocal funk à la Earth Wind & Fire, Al feels the need to do his Vernon White-Philip Bailey funk vocals over some great funk music. I can't remember Buster Williams' bass being made to sound this funky before (Buster like to remain loyal to his upright double bass) so it must be Wilbur Bascomb, Jr. (8.875/10)

3. "Crying Angels" (5:23) now straying fully into the swampy forest of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi territory, Fender Rhodes and heavily-reverbed soprano sax notes float above the grounding hits of timpani and bass for the first 80 seconds of this. Then the band shifts into a wonderfully seductive funk track over which Buddy Terry's sax continues to explore Wayne Shorter territory as Larry Willis' rich electric piano and Al's drums do their best job of channeling the funk of Billy C. I love Al's tabla and percussion work in the side tracks: as simple as they are, they add a lot to the rhythm track and hypnotic mood set by the song. (9/10)

4. "Why Can't We Make It" (3:27) here Al is trying to channel some of his 1960s pop influences, most notably, Sly And The Family Stone, as well as (formerly "Little") Stevie Wonder--coming across as quite similar to a sound that Narada Michael Walden would pick up and follow for the second half of the 1970s. (8.75/10)

5. "Macrobian" (5:14) on this song it feels as if Al is funneling in his influences and memories from recent work with pianist McCoy Tyner as well as some of the synthesizer and mood explorations of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Lonnie Liston Smith. Nice tune. (8.875/10)

6. "Spring Water" (6:27) taking the express avenue toward Smooth Jazz, here Al lets Larry and Buddy steer the music into what sounds more like the music of Jay Beckenstein's Spyro Gyra. Al's drum and percussion play is rather rudimentary and straightforward. The most enjoyable instruments for me are Larry Fender Rhodes and Wilbur's bass. (8.667/10)

7. "Sunflower" (4:27) steering the ship into a more Latin territory never seems to go wrong for any aspiring crossover or fusion artist, and it works here for Al and crew. Though Al's play on the percussion tracks is, once again, rather rudimentary, it works exceedingly well within the weave of the rhythm tracks. Wilbur's electric bass and Larry's "dirty" electric piano are both at their peak both expressively and for elevating the whole group sound. As a matter of fact, this might be the peak song on the album. Definitely a top three song for me. (9.5/10)

8. "Thank You Lord" (4:02) a fairly mellow, almost Smooth Jazz piece with simple vocal-like lead melody coming from Buddy's soprano sax over laid back and mellow funk-lite rhythm track. Not boring but nothing really new or special here, just conmemorative. (8.75/10)

9. "Antonia" (4:40) a high speed vamp over and within which Al and his compatriots take turns powering along some interesting lines at impressive speeds--especially Al--on multiple instruments. (9/10)

Total Time 42:15

Never one very impressed with Alphonse Mouzon's skill or compositional prowess, I do, in fact, like the overall feel of this album. The flamboyance is not all in his fashion/clothing sense.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic "Second Wave" Jazz-Rock Fusion.

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