K. Curtis Lyle/George R. Sams/Ra Kalam Bob Moses Sextett - 29 Birds You Never Heard (Balance Point Acoustics, 2024) *****

By Nick Metzger

Balance Point Acoustics serves up another great release with this remarkable album that brings together some verifiable living legends of the music in addition to having strong ties to St. Louis’ Black Artist Group (BAG) collective. This Sextett is composed of poet K. Curtis Lyle, trumpeter George R. Sams, percussionists Ra Kalam Bob Moses and Henry Claude, and double bassists Damon Smith and Adi Bu Dharma Joshua Weinstein. Smith unpacked this for me a little bit, saying that Sams, Weinstein, and Claude had been doing some private playing when the prospect of recording with Ra Kalam Bob Moses materialized. K. Curtis Lyle, now based out of St. Louis, was close friends and recorded with BAG alumni Julius Hemphill. I remembered Lyle from disc five of the 2022 archival release The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony, and Smith reminded me that there is also his debut “The Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson”, which Hemphill also plays on. Lyle also performed on the Julius Hemphill Big Band which features his epic poem “Drunk on God”. As it turns out Hemphill was in a free funk band with Moses, so by extension they asked Curtis to join the recording. George Sams is also BAG alumni, having grown up with the collective in St. Louis, but he’s probably best known for his Bay Area quartet United Front, who recorded their final LP for FMP sub-label SÅJ, and for “Nomadic Wins” his excellent 1981 album on Hat. So this release is an important one that ties together deep seams of the multigenerational American free jazz scene and elevates some crucial voices back to the foreground.

The first track “Crown/Birds You Never Heard” starts with heavy bass grima and subtle, scattered percussion, setting a solemn atmosphere which Sams pierces with echoing peels of trumpet. Curtis recites his poetry in the confident, assertive tenor of a man who has spent a lifetime working his craft. On “The Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt” the percussion is even more varied and creative and the bassists color the background as Sams drives the cutting edge of the music. Curtis’ poetry is full of imagery and is never too direct. Rather, abstract passages and non-sequiturs dovetail into unforeseen statements of profound insight. “Damballah and Aida Weidho The Old Gods” dances on the back of handpans and mbira navigating groaning bass pulls along pizzicato pathways. On “Five Peacocks Ingest The Mandrake” the brambles of rhythm tighten in their thick coils, complemented by bass fiddles in stereo. Sam’s playing is excellent on this track, subtle and bright - every expression timed perfectly to complement the roiling colossus beneath. The last couple of minutes find the group going all-in on a sawing, droning texture before an abrupt about face. “The Gold Standard Andrew Hill Deconstructs James Booker” crackles with turbulent percussion and fingered bass lines that gradually secede into sections of regressive deconstruction which Lyle orates within. On the final piece titled “Harmonize My Black Mule Blues” Lyle recites in sung passages while Sams claps and whoops and the rhythm section gets granular in their sounds with the physical presence of a heavyweight fighter.

A fantastic album that’s sure to be on my year end list, as it hits all the right marks. For comparisons sake, Bill Dixon’s “Vade Mecum” albums as well as “Berlin Abbozzi” obviously come to mind, given the similar instrumentation. But here the percussion is on steroids and the addition of Lyle’s poetry really elevates this one and makes for a complex and surreal listening experience. This is also a great example of how some of the best music comes together in unforeseen ways, and I always wonder how much is intent and how much is happy accident? The packaging includes artwork from both Sams and Lyle as well as a chapbook of the latter’s poetry, so a physical copy of this one is definitely worth it. And finally, there is also (coincidentally) a highly anticipated archival release from BAG out now if you’re interested in some complimentary listening material. Don’t miss this one though, highly recommended!