Sunny Murray, John Edwards and Tony Bevan – I Stepped Onto A Bee – Foghorn – FOGCD014 - ****

Working with Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler in the Sixties, Sunny Murray, the Dr Who of the drumkit, escaped the tyranny of time. Here he teams again with his British collaborators, the saxophonist Tony Bevan and John Edwards, the European improviser's bass player of choice. Bevan and Edwards are in uncharacteristically bluesalicious mode here. Having spent a lifetime dodging melodies in search of transcendence, they circumnavigate the carvery to load up on fat licks. Murray kicks against walking bass and ecstatic solos, and sonic screwdrivers the cymbals, delivering a joint high.

(11/6/11)