Bassist William Parker recorded “Uncle Joe’s Spirit House” for his aunt and uncle’s 65th wedding anniversary last summer. If anyone’s ever given a finer present, I haven’t heard of it.
In the liner notes, Parker calls the title track a head-bobbing shuffle that shifts like a boxer in training. It’s an apt description, but, really, the boxing analogy works for the whole album. Parker, saxophonist Darryl Foster, organist Cooper-Moore and drummer Gerald Cleveland weave around gorgeous melodies, both sparring lightly and throwing haymaker grooves at listeners.
When Parker wrote “Jacques’ Groove,” for example, he recalled an afternoon spent listening to Thelonious Monk as he and a friend drove around Paris. You can hear Monk’s echoes, perhaps, but I’m reminded more of the Rumble in the Jungle with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. It sounds almost as if the band members are exchanging blows as they work their way through the frenzied funk melody. “Ennio’s Tag” is lively, too. But the bossa nova, written for Parker’s son, who got part of his name from composer Ennio Morricone, sounds sweeter, more affectionate. Even so, Foster’s tenor saxophone riffs come in flurries at times.
My favorite tune, though, is “Buddha’s Joy, a 3/4 time piece dedicated to violinist Billy Bang, Parker’s long-time collaborator. Listening now, just a couple of months after Bang died, the song sounds even more poignant, a spiritual celebration of a master musician’s life. Then again, the whole album’s a celebration and you’d be missing out if you didn’t join in.
The limited-edition CD — only 2,000 were made — is still available from Amazon. A digital version is also available from Amazon and iTunes.
