By Gary Chapin
If drummer Rashied Ali had only ever recorded one album—Interstellar Space, with John Coltrane—he would be worthy of his place in our esteem. But he did much more, including gigging, recording, teaching, and mentoring, and much of that was documented on his own Survival Records, which he founded in 1972. The label existed until Ali’s death in 2009, and was revived in 2019 by his family in order to reissue materials with “optimized” masters, and also to put out hitherto unheard archival materials.
Sidewalks in Motion features tenor great Frank Lowe, along with Jumaane Smith on trumpet, Andrew Bemkey on piano, and bassist Joris Teepe. This group debuted at the 2002 Vision Festival (NYC), and went into the studio shortly before Lowe’s passing. The album hits that sweet spot that lies between mid-60s Wayne Shorter and Cecil Taylor’s Conquistador. It’s post-bop with heads and solos, but spends far more time away from the straight and narrow.
The band is extraordinary. The notes describe them as “also the young musicians,” but each have gone on to extraordinary success. Trumpeter Jumane Smith stands out not only for his formidable playing, but for compositions, as well. Three of the tunes on here are his. Joris Teepe , a Dutch bassist, and Andrew Bemkey , based in New York, work with Ali to create a rippling foundation. Bemkey’s solos, in particular are janky and playful. A surprise cut is Eric Dolphy’s “Gazzeloni,” from Out to Lunch, and that Dolphy shoutout implies the space this music lives in very well.
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