Percussionist Alvin Fiedler first appeared on record with a 1958 edition of the Sun Ra Arkestra. A charter member of Chicago’s AACM, he played with Roscoe Mitchell in the mid-Sixties, appearing on the seminal Sound album for Nessa. According to his Wikipedia entry, he returned home to Mississippi in 1969, and began working with saxophonist Kidd Jordan in 1975 in what became the Improvisational Arts band. A mainstay of the New Orleans avant-garde scene, Fielder had lengthy musical relationships with Jordan and pianist Joel Futterman, and getting as far as Dallas, Texas, with brassman Dennis Gonzalez. His final recording, issued by the Big Easy’s invaluable independent label Valid Records, is Masters Of Improvisation, featuring a quartet of Kidd Jordan, Alvin Fielder, Joel Futterman & Steve Swell from a live concert at the Old U.S. Mint in New Orleans in late January 2017. After a few tentative minutes to settle into the space, the second half of Expansion is a wild, no holds barred freely improvised onslaught, complete with a hip drum solo to end the piece. The exploratory 25 minutes of Residue start out with trombonist Swell and drummer Fielder in a low-key duet. Futterman joins the fray with darting piano chords as the intensity builds slowly and surely. Futterman and Fielder go at it for a spell in a busier frame of mind. Jordan then enters the scene, in a relaxed mood, and the music slows down again to give listeners a chance for some close listening. Overall, it’s quite an enjoyable exposition, with Fielder setting the pace and controlling the dynamics. The track flows directly into the finale, a cheerfully energetic conversation with plenty of interplay and direct communication, and ending the set with an unexpected sidelong glance at Doc Pomus’ Lonely Avenue! A fine night of music indeed.
Fielder passed away at the age of 83 in January 2019, and in June of that year, the quartet of Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Joel Futterman, William Parker, & Hamid Drake offered A Tribute to Alvin Fielder, Live at Vision Festival XXIV. It’s clear from the first seconds of the single 45-minute improvisation that spirits were high and the musicians totally engaged. Bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake form one of the most potent rhythm teams around. One of the great musical experiences of my life was witnessing a quartet of Parker and Drake with the twin-tenor threat of Edward “Kidd” Jordan and the late Fred Anderson, and so I had great expectations for this Vision Festival performance. I wish I could have been there, but I’m very happy to report that this Mahakala Music release is deeply satisfying from start to finish. As is usually the case with free improvisation, a blow-by-blow account is relatively pointless and unhelpful. But I will note Jordan’s playful evocation of eden ahbez’s Nature Boy, Futterman’s lush and deep concentration at the low end of the piano, and the uncanny empathy displayed at every moment by Parker and Drake as the music ebbs and flows. As Kidd Jordan (85 in May, 2020) tells the audience at the end, he’s “blessed to play with younger fellows” and, quoting the blues song Going Down Slow, he’s had his fun, “if I don’t get well no more.” He had a ball, he told them, and now it’s your turn to have a ball at home. Happily recommended.
Masters of Improvisation: Valid VR-1016; Steve Swell (tbn) Kidd Jordan (ts) Joel Futterman (p) Alvin Fielder (d); New Orleans, LA, January 24, 2017; Expansion/ Residue/ Sawdust on the Floor; 47:50. validrecords.com
Tribute To Alvin Fielder: Mahakala Music; Edward "Kidd" Jordan (ts) Joel Futterman (p) William Parker (b) Hamid Drake (d); Brooklyn, NY, June 12, 2019; A Tribute to Alvin Fiedler; 45:03. mahakalamusic.com
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