Archie Shepp - Poem for Malcolm (CD)

All Music Guide

This LP from the English Affinity LP is a mixed bag. Best is "Rain Forrest" on which tenorsaxophonist Archie Shepp, in a collaboration with trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Vince Benedetti, bassist Malachi Favors, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, perform some stirring free jazz; the interplay between Shepp and Jones is particularly exciting. On a fourandahalf minute "Oleo," Shepp "battles" some bebop with fellow tenor Hank Mobley, but the other two tracks, a workout for the leader's erratic soprano on "Mamarose," and his emotional recitation on "Poem for Malcolm," are much less interesting, making this a less than essential release despite "Rain Forrest."

- Scott Yanow, All Music Guide