Ted Daniel Quintet - Tapestry (Porter Records, 2008) ****

It is good to see that record companies keep looking for great LP material to re-issue, as with this beautiful album by the Ted Daniel Quintet, which consists of the leader on flugelhorn and trumpet, Tim Ingles on electric bass, Jerome Cooper on drums, Richard Daniel on Fender Rhodes and Khan Jamal on vibes. The music was originally recorded in 1974 in Ornette Coleman's loft and released on the French Sun label. The music is "free", and consists of three long tracks, but the electric influences of Miles Davis are clearly present, even though it sounds nothing like Miles. The music is rather free-floating, light and very atmospheric, with a great expansive openness, with slow to mid-tempo very repetitive rhythms. The vibes, the fretless bass guitar and the Fender Rhodes form a unique early seventies sound, without sounding dated, though. The re-issue has one additional track "Asafego", which starts the album and is a little more wild, offering an excellent symmetry with the last track "Mozambique". The absolute highlight is the title track, on which the whole band is really great, each musician getting ample solo space, but Daniel is excellent, with a great warm tone, moaning and singing at the same time. Ted Daniel did not release many albums as a leader, but when listening to this album, we can only say that it's a pity. It's a great thing that it's been made available again. Record labels, keep digging up more of this stuff!

Listen to
Tapestry
Mozambique

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