Monday, November 30, 2020

Steve Lacy Five – The Way (hat Hut, 1980)

Steve Lacy (ss); Steve Potts (as, ss); Irene Aebi (vc, vn, vo); Kent Carter (b); Oliver Johnson (d)

Recorded on January 23, 1979


Fans of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy should make a point of reading the outstanding collection of interviews compiled and edited by Jason Weiss, Steve Lacy: Conversations (Duke University Press, 2006).  In the book, Lacy repeatedly points to his live recordings for hat Hut as the albums that please him the most. The Way is perhaps the most important of these, since it represents one of Lacy's large-scale compositions, a piece that returned to again and again that continued to evolve over time.

The band is also extraordinary.  It's a cliché to say that that a band appears to communicate telepathically, but that's exactly how this group sounds.  It's such a pleasure to hear them rip into this complex and visceral music with such confidence and abandon. And they swing so hard!  










More Steve Lacy

Lacy was incredibly prolific throughout his career.  Among the numerous discs that he made during the 1970s, here are some that I've particularly enjoyed:

- Clinkers (HatHut, 1977)
- Stamps (HatHut, 1977-78)
- The Owl (Saravah, 1977)
- Troubles (Black Saint, 1979)
- Capers (hat Hut, 1979); also released as N.Y. Capers and N.Y. Capers & Quirks



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