Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman

Trouser Press: On Black Woman, presumably an ode to Sharrock's wife, Linda, Sonny and crew whip up a hell of a maelstrom. Sharrock's most obviously avant-garde statement, the album also contains a kind of theme song in "Blind Willy," here played solo (later to re-appear in Last Exit sets and almost two decades later on Guitar). What is striking about this version of "Blind Willy," ostensibly a tribute to Blind Willie Johnson but perhaps also to Blind Willie McTell, is Sharrock's audible breathing throughout the piece, pacing his phrases as a reed player would. The effect is intimate (and mildly unsettling) but entirely part of Sharrock's conception and approach to his instrument.

The remainder of Black Woman is entirely of its era, a slab of ESP Disk-like free jazz, including a stellar performance by the oft-cited but little-recorded drummer Milford Graves. Also notable is Linda's contribution, especially on the title track. The range of emotion — praise, worship, jubilation, eroticism, horror, torture — present in her wordless vocals is remarkable and entirely connected to the rest of what's going on. Much as Abbey Lincoln would do for Max Roach, Linda Sharrock's vocal lines accent rather than detract from the music, an integral part of the overall sound rather than a focal point in and of itself. Inexplicably re- issued with Wayne Henderson's soul-jazz statement, People Get Ready, in 2000, Black Woman is a vital item in Sharrock's catalogue.


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