| Mudfoot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | June 11 & 12, 1986 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Black Hawk | |||
| The Leaders chronology | ||||
| ||||
Mudfoot is the debut album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders released on the Black Hawk label in 1986. The album features performances by Lester Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Cecil McBee, Kirk Lightsey and Don Moye. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [4] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A− [5] |
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states "it is an excellent effort. Two songs are group compositions (including the ad-lib 'Midnite Train'); Freeman provided a tribute to Eric Dolphy ('Freedom Swing Song'); and the other selections include originals by Blythe and McBee, plus Sam Cooke's 'Cupid' (which has a Freeman vocal). Worth searching for". [3]
Robert Christgau wrote: "Opening with a glorious and playful 13-minute blues and closing with a sweet and crooked 'Cupid'... this all-star blowing unit gets arty in between and also gets away with it... Familiar gambits all by now, but this kind of execution is what everybody who begins with them is hoping to end up with." [4]
Mike Joyce of The Washington Post commented: "All-star sessions are a commonplace in jazz... every so often an album such as Mudfoot... comes along and makes the idea seem vital and exciting again... It's an impressive lineup, but the group's debut album succeeds primarily because the band is just that – a real band, not just a group of all-stars gathered for a hastily produced recording session." [6]
Pianist and composer Ethan Iverson praised Blythe's "Miss Nancy," writing: "damn, does Blythe take a great solo on this song... It's all there: the honk, the surreal, post-Coltrane pentatonics, even nailing the hard parallel changes when needed. Yeah!" [7]
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Cecil McBee is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of jazz albums.
Arthur Murray Blythe was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a fast, wide vibrato and an aggressive, precise manner of phrasing" and furthermore as straddling the avant garde and traditionalist jazz, often with bands featuring unusual instrumentation.
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with Morning Prayer, won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and earned the Stereo Review Record of the Year in 1981 for his album The Outside Within.
Donald Moye, Jr., known as Famoudou Don Moye, is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. He is most known for his involvement with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and is noted for his mastery of African and Caribbean percussion instruments and rhythmic techniques.
The Leaders is a jazz supergroup formed in 1983.
Out Here Like This is a jazz album released in 1987. It was the second album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders and the first to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. The album features performances by Lester Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Cecil McBee, Kirk Lightsey and Don Moye.
Unforeseen Blessings is a jazz album released in 1989. It was the third album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders and the second to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. The album features performances by Lester Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Cecil McBee, Kirk Lightsey and Don Moye.
Thelonious Sphere Monk: Dreaming of the Masters Series Vol. 2 is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Cecil Taylor released on the Japanese DIW label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut and Don Moye with Cecil Taylor guesting on piano, vocals and percussion.
Kings Of Mali is a post-bop/avant-garde jazz LP by Chico Freeman on India Navigation Records IN 1035 in September 1977 and released in 1978.
Spirit Sensitive is a jazz album by Chico Freeman, released in 1979 on India Navigation.
Chico is a post-bop jazz lp by Chico Freeman on India Navigation Records IN 1031 -on which Chico switches between tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and flute during long, explorative tracks.
Two Tenor Winner is an album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan's Quintet with Junior Cook which was recorded in the Netherlands in 1984 and released on the Dutch Criss Cross Jazz label.
Focus is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman, featuring Arthur Blythe, recorded in 1994 and released on the Contemporary label.
Alternate Spaces is an album led by bassist Cecil McBee recorded in 1979 and first released on the India Navigation label.
Compassion is a live album by bassist Cecil McBee's Sextet recorded at Sweet Basil in 1977 and released on the Enja label.
This is the discography for American jazz musician Chico Freeman.
Heaven Dance is an album by the Leaders Trio, pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Don Moye, that was recorded in 1988 and released by the Sunnyside label.
Spirits Alike is an album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders. It was recorded in August 2006 in New Jersey, and was released later that year by Double Moon Records. The album features performances by a reconstituted version of the band: original members Chico Freeman and Cecil McBee (bass) are joined by alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, pianist Fred Harris, and drummer Billy Hart.
Slipping and Sliding is an album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders. It was recorded in June 1993 and January 1994 in Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 1994 by the Japanese label Sound Hills Records. The album features performances by tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman, alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, trumpeter Lester Bowie, pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Don Moye.
