This 1966 classic finds Archie Shepp fronting an all-star octet (which includes Tommy Turrentine, Roswell Rudd, Grachan Moncur III and Charlie Haden). The album’s first track – A Portrait of Robert Thompson (As a Young Man) – is split into three sections and took up all of Side 1 on the original LP release. While this album will always fall into the free jazz category, it is more focused than many other similar releases, and while Shepp keeps the bursts and blowing at the forefront, there is also a lot of lyricism and improvising that would become more and more absent from this genre of jazz as it evolved past its original roots.
Released 1966 : Impulse Records : Catalog # A 9134
Players:
Archie Shepp – Tenor Sax
Tommy Turrentine – Trumpet
Grachan Moncur III – Trombone
Roswell Rudd – Trombone
Howard Johnson – Tuba
Perry Robinson – Clarinet
Charlie Haden – Bass
Beaver Harris – Drums
Archie Shepp - A Portrait Of Robert Thompson from “Mama Too Tight”