Cast
Charles Tolliver — Bandleader, trumpeter, bugle
John Hicks — Pianist
Clint Houston — Double bassist
Clifford Barbaro — Drummer
Program notes
Alongside Stanley Cowell, Charles Tolliver is the co-founder of the legendary Strata-East Records, an outfit that emerged at the end of the Civil Rights Movement, recording the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Gil Scott-Heron and Cecil McBee. Indeed, it was within this setting that his place within the jazz milieu of the 70s was firmly establised and his music, as well as his business sense, drove the genre to new levels of expression in post-bop, Afro-jazz and Spiritual jazz subgenres.
But he was also a prolific trumpeter in his own right, and here performs a set in 1973 at the ORTF studios in Paris, just two years after the start of his Strata-East journey. As both a sideman and a leader, Tolliver was highly sought-after and in his career he played with Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner and many more iconic musicians.
For this performance he is joined by John Hicks on piano, Clint Houston on double bass and Clifford Barbaro on drums. Together, they pay tribute to the Strata-East co-founder by interpreting his own composition on the opener, "Prayer For Peace," and make for a muscular and energetic quartet from start to finish.