feature photo: Jon King
Michael Gregory Jackson has dazzled as a cutting-edge guitarist since his 1976 Clarity debut but generally speaking, the people he’s dazzled the most have been mainly other guitarists. That’s been a blessing and a curse for Jackson; he’s influenced a long line of guitar masters who have achieved much fame, from Bill Frisell on down to Mary Halvorson, but that kind of fame has eluded Jackson himself. Fortunately, that hadn’t kept him from making audacious music on the fringes of jazz to this day.
Back during the days of Clarity, Jackson was making his mark in the downtown scene as a member of Oliver Lake’s band as well as leading his own groups. Frequency Equilibrium Koan is a 1977 souvenir of one of his own gigs taped from Jackson’s own cassette recording machine. Capturing a show at a club in the Lower Manhattan’s NoHo district, this recording is finally seeing the light of day on February 5, 2021.
This is an eagerly-awaited release not just because it adds to the canon of Jackson at a particularly creative time for him but also for who was in his band that night. Abdul Wadud played cello, Pheeroan aKLaff was on drums and lastly, there was Lake’s then-partner in the World Saxophone Quartet, the late, great Julius Hemphill.
An extra bonus comes in the way of Jackson’s original material; save for “Heart & Center,” none of the songs presented here appear on any other of Jackson’s records.
Jackson and Wadud find some common ground for “Frequency Equilibrium Koan” to combine for an uncommon sound combination. After that intro, Hemphill takes control and embarks on a breathtaking saxophone exhibit, as everyone else finds the creases and jumps in them, occasionally daring to take on Hemphill one-on-one. The melodic side of Jackson comes out on “Heart & Center,” a great riff anchored by Wadud’s and aKLaff’s tribal pulse, as the leader’s guitar leans heavy into rock and with Hemphill, joyfully ride that groove.
Jackson plucking his strings with mostly dead notes combines with aKLaff’s drums to form a unique percussion procession on “Clarity 3.” Hemphill duels with Wadud — reminiscent of their work together on Hemphill’s masterpiece Dogon A.D. — and as Jackson opens up his strings, the two-way fray becomes a spirited three-way. The quartet is reduced to a trio (sans Hemphill) for “A Meditation,” where Jackson trades in guitar for wood flute and sets about on a spiritual journey and shows off damned good chops along the way.
The recording quality is better than bootleg but not quite top-notch, either. Most notably, it’s bright and a bit dull at spots. There remains plenty enough, ahem, clarity to enjoy this astonishing performance, however. Frequency Equilibrium Koan is a communion of loft jazz musicians who weren’t just among the best of their time, but of all time. Accordingly, the music isn’t of its time, either. As Frisell marveled, “I can’t believe this happened more than 40 years ago. It sounds like the future.”
Pre-order/order from Bandcamp.
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