''Freebop Now!'' (subtitled ') is an album by the American jazz trumpeter

Malachi Thompson Malachi Richard Thompson (August 21, 1949, Princeton, Kentucky — July 16, 2006), was an American avant-garde jazz trumpet player. In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Thompson was known for his work in the brass ensemble led by fellow tr ...

recorded and released by the Delmark label in 1998.Jazzlists: Delmark Records discography: 500 series
accessed October 28, 2019

Reception

Allmusic reviewer Don Snowden stated "''Freebop Now!'' is designed both as a manifesto for Malachi Thompson's aesthetic principles and a 20th anniversary celebration of his Freebop Band concept. But it's a rather disjointed disc jamming together two sextet sessions with different goals ... while that doesn't derail ''Freebop Now!'', it's not the strongest disc in Thompson's consistently interesting catalog". On All About Jazz Jack Bowers said "Thompson states in his liner notes that Free-bop "takes the most exciting elements of bop and combines hemwith the exploratory aspects of avant-garde jazz," which seems a more accurate description of his band's purpose. Thus Free-bop strives to broaden the parameters of Jazz without abandoning the music's customary precepts of order and discipline. It is "free" only in the sense that Thompson and his colleagues seek to rearrange the basic building blocks of bop and upraise them to a new and more exciting plane. In fact, the Free-bop Band sounds for the most part much like many other bop-based groups who try as best they can to communicate within the vernacular ... Except for a few minor bumps in the road, this is high-caliber bop, Free or otherwise".Bowers, J
All About Jazz Review
accessed October 28, 2019

Track listing

All compositions by Malachi Thompson except where noted # "Black Nile" ( Wayne Shorter) – 6:13 # "Goree Island" – 5:21 # "Flight to Senegal" – 5:55 # "Freebop Now!" – 5:31 # "Just a Look" – 3:54 # " 'Round Midnight" ( Thelonious Monk) – 4:39 # "Cancerian Moon" – 6:36 # "Jammin' at the Point" – 8:02 # "Worm Hole" – 8:19 # "Ancient African Horns" – 1:02 # "Black Hole" – 2:57 # "Heathens and Space/Time Projection" – 3:41 # "Jammin' at the Point (Reprise)" – 2:25

Personnel

– trumpet, recitation *Steve Berry – trombone * Oliver Lake – alto saxophone (tracks 5, 8, 9 & 11–13) * Joe Ford – soprano saxophone (track 7) * Billy Harper (tracks 1–4, 6 & 10),

Carter Jefferson Carter Jefferson (1946 – 9 December 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Jefferson played clarinet and alto saxophone early in his career, playing in the backing bands for The Temptations, The Supremes, and Little Richard in the 1960s. ...

(track 7), Sonny Seals (track 3) – tenor saxophone *Kirk Brown – piano *

Harrison Bankhead Harrison Bankhead is an American jazz double-bassist. Career Bankhead became associated with the Chicago jazz scene in the early-1980s. Early in his career, he performed with Fred Anderson on tour and at Anderson's Chicago club, the Velvet Lo ...

(tracks 5, 8, 9 & 11–13),

James Cammack James Alfred Conrad Cammack Jr. (born April 15, 1956) is an American jazz bassist from Cornwall, New York. Career For nearly thirty years, he played bass for Ahmad Jamal. His debut solo album, ''Both Sides of the Coin'', was released in 2012. Be ...

(tracks 1–4, 6 & 10), John Whitfield (track 7) – bass *Nasar Abedey (track 7),

Dana Hall Dana Eric Hall (born July 8, 1969) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft. A 6'2", 206-lb. safety from the University of Washington, Hal ...

(tracks 1-6 & 8–13), Richard "Drahseer" Smith (track 6) – drums *

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...

(tracks 8 & 13), Tony Carpenter – percussion (track 7) *

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

(track 12), Sharese Locke (track 11) – recitation *Mae Koen (track 3), Larry Smith (track 12) – voice

References

{{Authority control Delmark Records albums 1998 albums Malachi Thompson albums Albums produced by Bob Koester