SONNY SIMMONS — The Cosmosamatics (review)

SONNY SIMMONS — The Cosmosamatics album cover Album · 2001 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
In the mid 60s to early 70s, West Coast reeds player Sonny Simmons was a significant figure in the free jazz movement, mostly as a collaborator ("Conversations" and "Iron Man" with Eric Dolphy, "The Cry!" and "Firebirds!" with Prince Lasha), but he also released some successful solo albums as well. Influenced by Eric Dolphy's freeish bop, his music was an attractive mix of composed blues, bop roots and free improvisational elements. After the mid 70s he disappeared from the jazz world for two decades (playing just on the street by some sources).

After his return in the mid 90s, he became even more active with lots of gigs and recordings, plus what is more important - searching for new ways in music.

In 2001 Sonny founded a new project, The Cosmosamatics, with his old collaborator, reeds player Michael Marcus. On their project's first album, recorded for US Boxholder, besides those two, the line-up includeded such stars as bass sax player James Carter, bassist William Parker and drummer Jay Rosen. Supported on one composition by Karen Borca on bassoon and Samir Chatterjee on tablas, the band plays high energy and very modern sounding complex but accessible free jazz mixed with world music elements. It's really impressive how Sonny, in his late 60s, fearlessly steps on a new track. Five solid compositions are less bop-rooted than his music from the early 70s, but are more full-bodied, heavy-energy and well balanced.

This is a great example of the missing link between Eric Dolphy and the new millenium's free jazz, The Cosmosamatics became a long lasting project (with the only two constant members being Simmons and Marcus, plus some high level collaborators such as drummer Andrew Cyrille),which after three albums on Boxholder, made a successful move to the European market with lots of concerts and a series of albums on Central and Southern European labels (Italian Soul Note, French Bleu Regard and Polish Not Two). It's interesting that later project releases in Europe are tagged as "The Cosmosamatics", without any mention of the band members on the album covers and cover art, usually looking like a modern indie or art-pop band release.
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