Ronald Shannon Jackson & The Decoding Society – Street Priest (CD3002)

Free jazz meets funk and rock at full power. Ronald Shannon Jackson, one of the great drummers of the jazz avant-garde, recorded Street Priest with his Decoding Society on June 13–16, 1981 at Studio Nord in Bremen. The line-up includes a young Vernon Reid on electric guitar, later world-famous with Living Colour, two electric bassists, Melvin Gibbs and Reverend Bruce Johnson, and saxophonists Zane Massey and Lee Rozie.

This is free funk at its best: Jackson’s thundering drums, the double bass attack and Reid’s explosive guitar create grooves that are heavy, complex and danceable at the same time, while the saxophones solo with free-jazz intensity. Pieces like the title track, “Sperm Walk”, “City Witch” and “Chudo Be” show Jackson’s mix of composition and wild improvisation. “Sandflower” and “Hemlock for Cordials” add contrast, and Jackson also plays flute here. Many critics consider Street Priest the album where the Decoding Society perfected its hybrid of free jazz and fusion.

This is a must for fans of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time, James Blood Ulmer, Living Colour and Last Exit. Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

Ronald Shannon Jackson (1940–2013) came from Fort Worth, Texas, the same city as Ornette Coleman and John Carter. In the late 1970s he played on three groundbreaking sessions: Ornette Coleman’s Dancing in Your Head, Cecil Taylor’s Unit and James Blood Ulmer’s Are You Glad to Be in America? These experiences inspired him to found the Decoding Society in 1979. Critic Rafi Zabor later called him the most stately free-jazz drummer in the history of the idiom.

The Decoding Society was also a school. Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs both started their careers there. Reid went on to found Living Colour, and Gibbs played with the Rollins Band, among others. Jackson himself later played in Last Exitwith Peter Brötzmann and Bill Laswell, and in Bill Frisell’s Power Tools.

There’s an important link in the Moers catalogue: Jackson is the drummer on James Blood Ulmer’s Music Revelation Ensemble debut No Wave (CD1072). Saxophonist Lee Rozie had already played on the previous Decoding Society album Nasty (Moers, 1981).

Tracklist

1. Street Priest – 6:17

2. Sperm Walk – 8:07

3. City Witch – 5:51

4. Sandflower – 4:41

5. Hemlock for Cordials – 7:05

6. Chudo Be – 8:06

Total running time: approx. 40 minutes

Personnel

• Ronald Shannon Jackson – drums, flute

• Vernon Reid – electric guitar

• Zane Massey – saxophone, flute

• Lee Rozie – saxophone

• Reverend Bruce Johnson – electric bass

• Melvin Gibbs – electric bass

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD3002 (originally released on LP as Moers 01096)

• Recorded: June 13–16, 1981, Studio Nord, Bremen, Germany

• Price: €14.00