In Concert: Metamorphosis / The Grip

Among alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe’s earliest recordings as a leader were a pair of live albums, The Grip and Metamorphosis, recorded at The Brook, a small Manhattan performance space. This CD combines both LPs. Blythe opens the show solo (“My Son Ra”) and is gradually joined by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, tuba player Bob Stewart, cellist Abdul Wadud, drummer Steve Reid, and percussionist Muhammad Abdullah. The music is a raucous, polyphonic, acoustic funk, sometimes Ayler-esque in its howling intensity, but the tuba adds a rollicking New Orleans heartbeat.