The Ancients

The Ancients are an intergenerational 21st century free jazz trio that began as a one-off ensemble. While playing together they discovered their collective potential. Prolific bassist William Parker recruited vanguard drummer William Hooker and young Chicago sax firebrand Isaiah Collier together to perform concerts in conjunction with the Milford Graves Mind-Body Deal exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. This two-LP set (also a digital download) from Michael Ehlers Eremite label captures four side-long improvisations at 2220 Arts + Archives in L.A. and The Chapel in San Francisco, all in 2023. One can hear the inspiration of Ornette Colemans Golden Circle trio as well as John Coltrane and Rashied Alis powerful Interstellar Space, Pharoah Sanders Tauhid, and Cecil Taylors early-70s trios. Nearly 90 minutes long, the album starts with the second set of their May 12 L.A. gig. It commences with Parker and Collier offering a modal framework. While the bassist lays down a sparse, open modal line, the saxophonist digs into serious deep blues phrasing. Hooker plays with brushes until the saxophonist begins to break the cadence and follow a dissonant modal line without sacrificing the blues. Hooker becomes more active as Parker begins to play arco. Collier goes right at Hooker, and the track explodes into intense free improvisation but never loses its center. Both sets from May 13 are included. The first offers intimate yet action-oriented Eastern modalism that Collier addresses in a manner that reveals the depth of his creativity. Sparse tom-toms and Parkers insistent lines increase tension before handing it over it to the saxophonist. Collier drives the intensity into the red while cutting across bebop, hard bop, modal, and modern jazz in a fierce improvisation that has his bandmates hollering their encouragement. Parkers rumbling bass is insistent but hypnotic in the intro to the second set as Hooker dances behind him with powerful accents and fills. Collier enters with a series of short drones at 2:25, then finds Parker and lays down a circular vamp that again reveals his blues roots. Hookers hyperkinetic yet groove-centered playing adds drama with a forceful kick drum as Parker bridges his trio mates, offering a syncopated gospel melody that Collier grabs on to, wailing. The set closes with the May 15 first set in San Francisco. Once more introduced by Parker, it is speculative and spacey as the bassist runs through modal patterns with a pronounced pulse that Hooker embellishes and Collier plays across, before they open it up, at four-and-a-half minutes. On the surface it sounds like all three bandmates are soloing; however, with a bit of attention you can hear Parker guiding the band toward integration before engaging Hooker in interlocking rhythmic conversation. At one particularly intense segment near the end, Collier brings out his hoary "Aztec death whistle" as the trio explode in fiery communication. The Ancients is intensely focused 21st century free jazz via a shared and inspired bandstand consciousness. It exists without aimless noodling or egotism, making for a set as musically startling as it is powerful. ~ Thom Jurek