An Afternoon in Harlem

Amazon.com
A lively outing from trumpeter Hugh Ragin in what is his first album as a leader in 14 years. In the interim he's been teaching at Oberlin College, and it shows: An Afternoon in Harlem flirts with an academic's sense of precision, even as it frequently drifts over into free-style territory. Credit this somewhat to the accompanists Ragin has assembled around him, the core of which consists of Jaribu Shahid on bass, Bruce Cox on drums, and Craig Taborn, piano. A fine example of the band's capabilities occurs on "The Moors of Spain." This complex piece in three sections begins with a lyrical theme before splitting off into a series of stuttering outbursts by Ragin, finally setting sail on a sea of Freddie Hubbard-esque tranquility. "Braxton's Dues," as its name suggests, pays tribute to the advanced-theory composition of Anthony Braxton, with an interesting series of tempo changes and typically disruptive soloing. Guest instrumentalists David Murray and Andrew Cyrille appear on "The Light at the End of the Underground Railroad," which echoes Coltrane's "Spiritual" in its somber, smoldering ebullience. The multi-instrumentalist Murray contributes bass clarinet this time (no doubt in honor of Eric Dolphy) while Cyrille, one of the original free drummers, adds some steady rolling thunder underneath. Murray shows up again on "When Sun Ra Gets Blue," which also features the poet Amiri Baraka. --Joe S. Harrington

From Jazziz
Many a concept album, designed with the intent of creating a song cycle built around a particular theme, amount to little more than catchy titles and sets of marginally interconnected compositions. Not so with Hugh Ragin's An Afternoon in Harlem, a series of strikingly vivid aural portraits of the Colorado-bred trumpeter's environs in his adopted home. It's an impressionistic project, evocative of the neighborhood's cultural legacy.

Ragin, a valuable sideman for David Murray, Fred Wesley, and Roscoe Mitchell, opens his third recording as a leader with the title track, which according to the liner notes, was inspired by a walk through New York City College Park. He applies his beefy horn sound to a jaunty melody, anchored to a bluesy, grinding rhythm section that shifts to steady-grooving swing for the solos. The leader, as elsewhere, injects his improvisation with the kind of funky phrasing and brash attack that might remind some of Lee Morgan, and with a casual virtuosity.

"Not a Moment too Soon," the aural equivalent of a zippy, late-night ride on the "A" Train from Harlem to Midtown, gets its kicks and sprinting tempo from the leader's leapfrogging unison line with pianist Craig Taborn, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and drummer Bruce Cox, while "The Moors of Spain" shuttles between a Latin-tinged ballad and a dissonant, thundering free-for-all. "Wisdom and Understanding," which weaves together avant-leaning and free sections, is dedicated to Harlem's unsung artists, intellectuals, and historians. Murray, on bass clarinet, makes his presence known on "The Light at the End of the Underground Railroad," a slowly building meditation on slaves' flight to freedom, and on the sprawling, wide-open closer, "When Sun Ra Gets Blue."

The latter, written after Ragin's two-night stint with the late space invader in 1987, is livened by Amiri Baraka's reading of his poem "Message From Sun Ra." Baraka, sometimes urgent, sometimes sing-song, declares, "Translation was necessary 'cause Sun Ra speak in tongues, Jupiter language," as the instrumentalists respond conversationally. Ragin, by the sound of it, makes a worthy translator of that message.

An Afternoon in Harlem,Hugh Ragin,Justin Time Records,Avant-Garde,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Post-Bop

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