''Moon Flight'' is an album by drummer

Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009), was an American free jazz and Avant-garde jazz, avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Earl ...

on which he is featured in quartet and quintet settings. It was recorded on August 26, 1975, at Studio 77 in New York City, and was released on vinyl in 1976 by Ali's

Survival Records Survival Records is an independent record label that focuses on free jazz. It was founded in 1972 by American drummer Rashied Ali. History Ali co-founded Survival with saxophonist Frank Lowe in 1972, after experiencing frustration with being una ...

. In 1999, it was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. On the album, Ali is joined by saxophonists Marvin Blackman and James Vass, pianist Charles Eubanks, and bassist Benny Wilson.

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Al Campbell noted that the band "didn't have to struggle to keep up with" Ali's polyrhythmic approach, and stated that the "free jazz landscape" of four of the album's tracks is nicely balanced by the inclusion of

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

's "

Soul Eyes "Soul Eyes" is a composition, with lyrics, written by Mal Waldron.Ratliff, Ben (December 6, 2002"Mal Waldron, 77, Composer of the Jazz Ballad 'Soul Eyes'" ''The New York Times''. It is a 32-bar ballad that takes the song form ABAC, and is written ...

" and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

's "

Naima "Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album '' Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works. History Co ...

". The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' commented that, in relation to the other Survival releases, "this is probably the only one that stands up entirely on its own terms," and suggested that the two ballads are "a sign perhaps that this is a gentler, more reflective and lyrical Ali." Steve Koenig of ''Perfect Sound Forever'' called the album "solid jazz by a coherent group who'd played together a few years," and "a fine example of what they do," and described Ali's playing as "free and propulsive, yet delicate and intricate, using his whole kit."

Track listing

# "Blood on the Cross" (Rashied Ali) – 7:10 # "

" (

) – 9:20 # "Moon Flight" (Marvin Blackman) – 5:17 # "A Light" (James Vass) – 8:05 # "

" (

) – 7:38 # "Face of Forgotten Thought" (Zahir Batin) – 6:12

Personnel

– drums * Marvin Blackman – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6) * James Vass – alto saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 4) * Charles Eubanks – piano * Benny Wilson – bass

References

{{authority control 1976 albums Rashied Ali albums Survival Records albums Free jazz albums