(Avant-Garde / Free Jazz) Charles Gayle Trio - Consider the Lilies - 2006, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

From the streets of New York to the hotels of the world, what changed in the life of Charles Gayle since his hobo days? Some more money, for sure, but considering the earnings made by jazz musicians today not much; a wider recognition of his work, with people stopping their businesses for some moments to listen to him in concert or in record, instead of passing by in a hurry in some subway station; and a project of life, another way of saying a “career”, started in 1988 after 20 years of street performances for a coin. But that’s it, because the essential is the same: Gayle is still a musician in the move, and if he travels today by plane and train, he’s the same nomad he was before, a man with a horn, a message and some needs playing wherever there are people. When he performs in Europe with the red nose of a clown he isn’t only joking or making fun of himself, he’s protesting.
A protest doesn’t need to be political, even considering he’s a heir of the New Thing of the Sixties with all its Black Power bravado, and that’s not what we think when listening to his music. Including the new “Consider the Lilies”, again a collection of hymns directed to God, with titles like “Sanctify”, “Jesus… Amen” and “Giving”. Gayle’s entire life is a protest, and he sees life itself as a protest, a manifestation of vigour, of commitment, of joy and of hanger, not against the Creator or the other men and their institutions, but against humanity’s inner miseries, his own and ours collectively. To understand this is to understand the sounds and songs of this extraordinary saxophonist (this time using the alto sax, except in one track, in which he seats at the piano, an instrument he learned in church at a young age) living a second chance, but never forgetting what came first –he doesn’t mention it and tells absolutely no stories about his past as a homeless, but we sense that all the memories are there. Is he a bit candid, as a musician and a person? Maybe, but that’s good. As he put it in an interview, “I am a kid. There is a kid in me, and I want him to stay in me for a while. ~ Clean Feed

Best known for his ferocious tenor solos, Charles Gayle instead plays alto and piano on this trio outing with bassist Hillard Greene and drummer Jay Rosen. His improvisations on alto are typically blood-curdling although they have their own logic and are slightly more accessible than his usual flights on tenor. Gayle switches to piano for much of "Sanctify," sounding thunderous like Cecil Taylor but also hinting at stride piano. On the final of four selections (although six are listed on the back cover, the last three seem to be a medley), he starts out playing both piano and alto (unless there is some overdubbing) before creating a lengthy improvisation on alto. Since there are only 40 minutes of music on this live set, which features stimulating and alert playing from Greene and Rosen, the date falls short of being essential for Charles Gayle collectors, but it certainly contains its share of fire. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009
EAC extraction logfile from 6. March 2010, 0:19
Charles Gayle Trio / Consider the Lilies
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TOC of the extracted CD
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Range status and errors
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AccurateRip summary
Track  1  accurately ripped (confidence 1)  [19271E0C]
Track  2  accurately ripped (confidence 1)  [EF89A30E]
Track  3  accurately ripped (confidence 1)  [29B2742E]
Track  4  accurately ripped (confidence 1)  [DAB4A836]
All tracks accurately ripped
End of status report