Center Of The World / Muhammad Ali Duo Frank Wright - 1974 - Adieu Little Man. Volume 4

Here's a reed/drum duo, in the tradition of John Coltrane and Rashied Ali (Muhammad's brother), tearing the roof off the sucka! If you like energy music, and loved Interstellar Space, you'll love this. Muhammad Ali didn't get a lot of recording opportunities during his career; his brother, who was also under-recorded, fared somewhat better. Those sessions on which Muhammad did appear quickly went out of print, with few being revived on CD (perhaps among the more noteworthy of those reissues was his appearance on three of the tracks on Alan Shorter's debut as a leader, Orgasm).

Loose, exploratory, with an unfinished quality (is it live? There seems to be a crowd near the start of side two). Ali--not such a technician as his brother Rashied, perhaps, but plenty interesting enough--holds centre stage. In fact, it feels more like a solo drum record with Wright's tenor (and smidge of bass clarinet) joining in when the music needs it. I assume it's also Muhammad with the off-mic shouts which hint at a ritualistic or oddly gospelly quality (same thing, I know). Long stretches with few notes and lots of space, but when it picks things up it can get pretty fierce (half way through side two is maybe the best example).