ECM 1878/9
Billy Higgins came on the scene in the late '50s
as the drummer in Ornette Coleman's quartet, and moved
on after a few years to become one of the most
ubiquitous of mainstream players. Charles Lloyd
became famous as one of the first saxophonists to take
jazz to a hippie rock audience in the late '60s,
retreated into obscurity for the next two decades, and
finally regained something close to his old level of
prominence and critical esteem in the late '90s. In
that last phase, Lloyd and Higgins formed a firm
alliance; I had the privilege of seeing Higgins's
smile and sagacity as he backed Lloyd at Chicago's
Jazz Showcase in 1999.
Which Way is East is a unique document. Higgins,
battling health troubles and a few months away from
death, is captured with Lloyd in two discs of intimate
recordings. About half of this set consists of
sax/drum duos, and listening to this is a testament to
how much two instrumentalists can say to each other
without words. There are echoes of Coltrane, Ornette,
Parker and the like in Lloyd's playing, and nods to
the bebop and New Orleans masters in Higgins' work,
and yet it's thoroughly contemporary at the same time.
Listen to how Lloyd shifts course each time Higgins
finds the precise right moment to vary his settled,
unobtrusive swing patterns, and you'll know how
sometimes improvisation captures something that
composition never could.
The two players also duet on ethnic instruments, and
Lloyd has a few solo cuts on piano, displaying ideas
similar to his onetime accompanist Keith Jarrett,
although Lloyd's technique is much humbler. We also
get rare glimpses of Higgins on stringed instruments,
guitar, and voice. Although unpolished, these cuts
are an unnerving glimpse at a musical seeker's most
intimate side.
ECM is known for its tendency to indulge its artists,
but this is definitely one case that deserves special
treatment. Which Way is East is one of those discs
that you might pull out when it's time for a reminder
of how deep music can go.
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