John Coltrane's furious musical progress in his last years left a lot of territory unexplored. Azar Lawrence, an explorer of that terrain since his 1970's days as a sideman with McCoy Tyner and on a number of dates with Prestige, has emerged on the scene again. Prayer for the Ancestors is a dazzling outburst of jazz as a spiritual venture. On the title tune and "Swinging in Exile", Lawrence soars on tenor, while meditating on soprano on "Under Tanzanian Skies" and "Ode to Pharaoh.". "Thokole" features Ibrahim Ba on vocals and guitar and Amadu Fall on kora in a mode reminiscent of the 60's folk era. The criminally underrated Nate Morgan on piano, Henry Franklin on bass, and Alphonse Mouzon and Roy McCurdy on drums all contribute immensely to one of the best new CD's I've heard in quite a while. I got my copy from Dusty Groove, that redoubtable source of all things soulful. Check it out.
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