Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun

About

Alto saxophonist Marion Brown, a trained ethnomusicologist with a Wesleyan degree, was among the circle of John Coltrane devotees who joined the tenor great for his 1966 late-career landmark album <i>Ascension</i>. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Brown made only one album for the highly regarded ECM label, but it’s a standout in the storied German label’s catalog: <i>Afternoon of a Georgia Faun</i>. Released in 1970, with a title recalling Debussy—via Mallarmé—the album was the first part of a trilogy devoted to Brown’s southern roots (followed by the albums <i>Geechee Recollections</i> and <i>Sweet Earth Flying</i>). The names on the cover are of high stature, laid out in a visual style reminiscent of the cover of Cannonball Adderley’s classic <i>Somethin’ Else</i>. Chick Corea and Bennie Maupin, both of whom took part in Miles Davis’ <i>Bitches Brew</i> sessions almost exactly one year prior, are among the numerous musicians—including Brown himself—credited with playing bells and miscellaneous percussion on <i>Georgia Faun</i>. Corea explores some two-piano textures with Gayle Palmore (who’s also one of two vocalist, along with the great Jeanne Lee). Maupin and Anthony Braxton, meanwhile, provide an array of reed sonorities from bass and contrabass clarinet to musette and wood flute. And Andrew Cyrille’s drumming and Jack Gregg’s bass fit together like a healthy knee joint. .

via Apple Music

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