Steve Grossman: "Some Shapes To Come"

Moody underground jazz from a group of musicians that would eventually form the band Stone Alliance, led here by saxophonist Steve Grossman.  This is a very cerebral record; Grossman was an alumni of Miles Davis’ electric-era incarnations, and the Miles influence is heavy, especially on tracks like “WBAI,” “Haresah” and “The Sixth Sense.”  Grossman has an expansive, wild tone to his sax playing that is a mix of John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, incorporating both the fearlessness of the former and the lyricism of the latter, while the musicians that back him on this set are all legends in their own right—Jan Hammer on keys and synths, Gene Perla on bass, Don Alias on drums and percussion.  The small quartet format of the unit prevents some of the more over-wrought leanings of the fusion sound from rearing their head, and instead these guys simmer menacingly and with purpose.  What makes this album stand out from the seemingly infinite amount of mid-‘70’s fusion releases is the bottom-heavy funk groove that underpins the best tracks, heard to greatest effect on the aptly titled break-beat favorite “Zulu Stomp.”  To be sure, this is heady stuff, and if fusion jazz isn’t your thing you may not be feeling this, but I personally love the searing, surrealistic soundscape that Grossman and company develop.  Inventive and intense.