Music Inc. [Charles Tolliver] – Live at Slugs', Vol. 1 (Strata-East, 1972) and Live at Slugs', Vol. 2 (Strata-East, 1973)

Charles Tolliver (tr); Stanley Cowell (p); Cecil McBee (b); Jimmy Hopps (d)

Recorded on May 1, 1970

Both LPs reissued on a single CD under the title Live at Historic Slugs' (less one track, "Drought"); all of the music (plus bonus tracks) reissued as part of Charles Tolliver: Mosaic Select 20

In 1969, trumpeter Charles Tolliver formed his band, Music, Inc., an ensemble that could morph in size from a quartet (as on these two LPs) to a full-blown big band.  Since Tolliver couldn’t find any labels that were interested in releasing his music, he partnered with pianist Stanley Cowell to create the Strata-East label.  Strata-East took its inspiration from the Strata organization, an artist-run collective and label based in Detroit.  Despite sharing a similar name and philosophical approach, the two companies were not related financially.

Over time, Strata-East would release more than fifty albums, establishing a reputation for uncompromising, enduring music.  The two LPs from Slugs' were the second and third issued by the label.

What does the music sound like?  Critic Richard Brody describes the describes the music that Tolliver and his band recorded at Slugs' Saloon as: 

"fervent, intimate classics of live jazz; they convey the spirit of the cramped bandstand and the rapt crowd as keenly as Charles Mingus’s Debut recordings from the Cafe Bohemia, Eric Dolphy’s Five Spot dates, and John Coltrane’s sets from the Village Vanguard.  Tolliver’s interplay with Cowell and the drummer Jimmy Hopps seems telepathic; he blends the vehemence of Coltrane, the modal intricacy of Miles Davis, [and] the blues-based lyricism of Lee Morgan..."

I would also say that composition plays an integral role in Tolliver's music.  Like Andrew Hill or Jackie McLean or Charles Mingus, Tolliver is interested in exploring the tension between composition and improvisation. 

Pianist Stanley Cowell also deserves special mention. Tolliver described him as "my musical alter ego," and his powerful soloing helps make this music special.

More Charles Tolliver
If you would like to hear the big band music that Tolliver was making at that time, check out the very first Strata-East release, simply titled Music Inc. (1971). The music was recorded just six months after the engagement at Slugs' Saloon, and the core of the band is the same four musicians.