ARCHIE SHEPP

Derailleur

Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone), Roswell Rudd (trombone), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone), Arthur Harper (bass), Denis Charles (drums) Triple Point TPR 311 (LP). 2024. Joe Lizzi, Ben Young, prods.; Art Crist, Paul Gold, engs. PERFORMANCE

SONICS

It is hard to imagine, if you were not there, a now-legendary artist scuffling for work. After they’ve achieved it, it always seems like they were destined for greatness. Derailleur, an early recording by Archie Shepp, certainly makes it seem that way.

In spring 1964, when these tracks were laid down in Bell Sound Studios by early Savoy/ESP-Disk engineer Art Crist, Shepp was hardly unknown; he had already spent a couple of years with Cecil Taylor, had a shared Savoy date with Bill Dixon, and played with the seminal avant-garde ensemble the New York Contemporary Five. But he did not have that elusive record deal, and Impulse head Bob Thiele was not returning his calls. Thanks to an assist from John Coltrane, by that summer, Shepp was making the first of many albums for Impulse!.

Heard here with Shepp are trombonist Roswell Rudd, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, drummer Denis Charles, and bassist Arthur Harper. The music includes two Shepp pieces not heard elsewhere and “Sophisticated Lady,” the first of many times Shepp would record the Duke Ellington classic. Those tracks take up the A side; the flip is breakdowns and alternate takes. Included with the LP (mastered by Triple Point’s Joe Lizzi and Ben Young, lacquer cut by Paul Gold) is an insert with a fascinating historical survey by Young, one of the premier historians in jazz.

This is a demo, not intended for public airing, but it is professionally recorded (in mono), and Shepp sounds fully formed as a player and as a composer, especially on his “Viva Jomo.” Lacy’s playing is revelatory; somehow he makes his soprano sound like a flute. Furthermore, this sounds like a working band, listening to each other and playing together.