Katalyst Ent.Phil Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble (US,1968??,re.200?)****
Phil Cohran and the Artistic Artistic Heritage Ensemble is in a journalistic way of speaking the missing link between Sun Ra and Earth Wind and Fire. Phil Cohran had played with Sun Ra during his Chicago years between 1959 and 1961, appearing on 4 albums of the time. It was the place where he introduced his own instrument called the Frankiphone, which Sun Ra called (or where he must have called this) the 'space harp', an electrified mbira/kalimba/thumb piano, one of Phil Cohran's specific instruments besides trumpet. When Sun Ra moved, Phil Cohran stayed. From Sun Ra Phil was taught total commitment and that's how he found his own voice, and all the people cooperating with him. At first, in 1965 he participated in the formation of the AACM with Muhal Richard Abrams and others, a project which from his early days knew many important jazz names, including the Art Ensemble of Chicago. They were a centre of black arts and eduction programs, adventures in a mixture of new jazz, classical, and world music elements. According to his own opinion they took over the open 'out' factor of Sun Ra very literally at first, by moving 'inwards' it became very composed music. Cohran in his turn formed the Artistic Heritage Ensemble with future members of the Earth, Wind and Fire horn section, and Motown house percussionist Henry Gibson amongst others. Phil Cohran wanted something inbetween, where the content of the music counts, and the form follows this freely, and even when it slips out the content remains strong, something I already experienced in “The Spanish Suite.” Four albums are re-released now of this short period where the band had a huge local impact and flourished with a good hanging together creativity. We should also not forget how this also was the birth place of “black consciousness” through music and education, for the moment I can't tell very well which were the other influences on this magical birth place.
On the first track Phil Cohran redefines the idea of the minstrel. A minstrel plays from town to town, in this case with a mbira, where he stays for several days and with a final jam session to end with where people exchange musical information. The female vocals show a desire to flee from town (“Chicago?). The jam is very percussive, driven forcefully by the electric mbira (also called sanza). A sax solo then is blown over it. The music sounds very happy, joyful and celebrative. In a way it has something of an African feast, with several percussionists, thumb piano and sax.
"Unity" must be said is a track which returned on one of Sun Ra's sessions. It contains a beautiful arranged brass swing in several layers. This includes a repetition drone-effect in the background, an eastern clarinet arrangement of the tune, rhythmic paired brass instruments accents and, firstly, some sax solos, while congas and subtle drums create a smooth rhythm. From the other solos I can't hear very well from which instruments they are played, but the effect sounds pretty psychedelic if you ask me. Just listen to the combinations of these poly-rhythms with droned strings and these distorted string solos.
“On the Beach” starts with a thumb piano solo and a slow brass arrangement. Some returning brass notes are an odd accent. It sounds like a sad piece through its slow walking rhythm. But just notice the occurrence of very beautiful harmony arrangements. The piece remains rather meditative. On most of the track a sax improvises a solo with a rhythmical minimal jazz accompanying band including a few small handbells accents somewhere in the first half, sounding like a spiritual accent. And just when you don't expect it any more a longer a bass swing adds one extra man of life, only to return to the beautiful intro tune.
This is followed by an 40s styled female singer jazz song, with a certain spiritual jazz association with smooth and nice arrangements. The singing is a bit over certain edges falling off tonaly, I can imagine this is again about the power of the content which succeeds in remaining intact when always succeeding in returning to stronger harmony accents and despite some of the odd elements involved.
“Frankiphone blues” is an improvisation led on the electrified thumb piano starting like another slow blues jazz improvisation, then continuing into a somewhat funky swinging turn.
A different, 14 minute version of the Unity track, “Unity 68” is added as a bonus too. It is from a less good sonic quality, but has something very hypnotic too, like a psychedelic jam, including a very long and wild in fact over-the-top mind-distorting electric guitar improvisation.
There has been more recordings done in a very short time. When after a few sudden misunderstandings Phil Cohran left the band they mutated into another interesting and worth to discover spiritual/outside jazz band called The Pharoahs, also worth checking out (-three albums were re-released on LP on Ikef, I will check them out-). Like already mentioned a few other members merged into the Earth Wind & Fire.
