MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS – Things To Come From Those Now Gone (LP-1975)

Label: Delmark Records – DS-430

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1975

Style: Free Jazz

Recorded October 10 & 11, 1972 at P.S. Studios, Chicago.

Artwork By [Cover] – Graphica Studios, Chicago

Design [Cover], Photography By [Cover] – Earl McGhee

Producer, Supervised By – Robert G. Koester

Recorded By – Paul Serrano

A1 - Ballad For New Souls ................................................................ 4:32

A2 - Things To Come From Those Now Gone ................................. 4:03

A3 - How Are You? ........................................................................... 4:33

A4 - In Retrospect ............................................................................. 3:41

A5 - Ballad For Lost Souls ................................................................ 5:50

B1 - 1 And 4 Plus 2 And 7 ................................................................. 9:58

B2 - March Of The Transients ........................................................... 6:09

Muhal Richard Abrams – piano, composed

Edwin Daugherty – alto/tenor saxophone (tracks: A2, B2)

Richard Brown – tenor saxophone (track: A4)

Wallace McMillan – flute, alto saxophone (tracks: A1, A2, B2)

Emanuel Cranshaw – vibraphone (tracks: A3, A5)

Reggie Willis – bass (tracks: A2, B2)

Rufus Reid – bass (tracks: A3, A4, A5)

Steve McCall – drums, percussion (tracks: A2, B1)

Wilbur Campbell – drums, percussion (tracks: A2, B2)

Ella Jackson – vocal (track: A3)

I have often found the work of Muhal Richard Abrams uneven. The best of it floors me and some of it goes right by, but it is almost always engaging and the musical intelligence and integrity involved are impeccable. Things to Come From Those Now Gone has a lot of variety, from the opening duo between Abrams' piano and Edwin Daugherty's flute to a couple of high-energy quintet killers. Abrams' impressionistic side is in evidence on a few tracks, and it's this aspect of his music I have grown to appreciate over the years. The differing styles and approaches balance each other convincingly, but overall, this one ranks with Abrams' best.

Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams will forever be remembered as a cofounder of Chicago's venerated Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). While his leadership in the organization is admirable (he was president almost continuously from 1965 to 1977), Abrams was a musical innovator as well. Things to Come from Those Now Gone was his third album for Delmark.  It’s the last to be reissued by the label and remains one of Abrams most eclectic offerings. As if in deference to his position as educator the gathering of players on hand for the date is largely made up of AACM students. Abrams makes use of the musicians’ blossoming talents in a broad variety of harmonic and melodic ways. Featuring the talents of reedist Richard Brown, bassist Rufus Reid, drummer Steve McCall, and others, the album is extremely varied, featuring different combinations of instruments on each of the seven tracks. Abrams and company often dwell on elegiac musings rooted in the blues, early jazz, and gospel, but there is also some ferocious free jazz interplay at times. The pianist's playing is often contemplative, filled with open spaces and spare chords; when he does pick up the pace, though, Abrams produces material that fits nicely into the great bop-colored traditions in much the same way the Art Ensemble of Chicago's music does. Undoubtedly a sign of how fresh this album sounded when it was originally released, the music here is timeless. 

_ by Tad Hendrickson

50 Years of AACM - Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

If you find it, buy this album!