Dogon A.D. cover

Dogon A.D.

Released

Alto saxophonist Julius Hemphill’s debut album, self-released in 1972 on his own Mbari label, then reissued five years later on Arista, is a stark, sometimes frightening masterpiece. On the opening title piece, Hemphill and trumpeter Baikida Carroll march to Philip Wilson’s militaristic beat, driven on by Abdul Wadud’s fierce cello. The saxophonist, like Ornette Coleman born in Fort Worth, Texas (they attended the same high school, eight years apart), is similarly driven to explode and embrace the blues at once, but he’s got a theatrical flair that turns avant-garde jazz into ecstatic ritual.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Duets cover

Duets

Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell
The Circle Of Time cover

The Circle Of Time

Amina Claudine Myers Trio
Dance of the Evil Toys cover

Dance of the Evil Toys

Tarbaby, Oliver Lake
The Veil cover

The Veil

Jim Black, Nels Cline, BB&C, Tim Berne
Sketches and Ballads cover

Sketches and Ballads

Various Artists, Full Blast
Uneasy cover

Uneasy

Tyshawn Sorey, Vijay Iyer, Linda Oh