Henry Grimes & Rashied Ali - Going to the Ritual

2008 CD release.

In one of the last recordings before he passed away, drummer Rashied Ali proves with every slash, riff, and paradiddle why he belonged in the pantheon of improvising percussionists well past his time with John Coltrane. In duets with well-matched partner and bassist Henry Grimes, this set shows how locked in these natives of Philadelphia (who never met while they lived there) are with their estimable heritage in making free jazz that still sounds fresh some 50 years after the movement was founded.

There's a rambling kind of empathy, focused but rarely intense that is clear from the outset. Hard bop is at the core, particularly when you listen to them dig in and stand their ground during 26 minutes of "Gone Beyond the Gate." It's a magnum opus of freedom in mutated modalities, as Grimes swings like mad on his acoustic upright, and plays his piquant violin, underscored by Ali's underground tapping percussion.

When Ali solos, he's energetic yet thoughtful as can be, but together the duo exudes this fascinating low-ebb roar, especially during "This Must Have Always Happened." Grimes is also effective as a bowed bassist, but especially with poetry, giving well-enunciated oratory on the short "Easternal Mysticism, Virtue & Calm," which is certainly a testament to his newfound life after years of obscurity and being ignored.

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