Tenor and soprano saxophonist
Carlos Garnett
crafted one of the funkiest big-band jazz albums of his era with 1976's
Cosmos Nucleus
. Born in Panama,
Garnett
grew up surrounded by a diverse blend of indigenous, as well as African and Latin musical sounds. He was also exposed to jazz from a young age and played with soldiers at a local U.S. Army base. All these influences came together after his move to New York in the '60s where he worked with luminaries like
Freddie Hubbard
,
Art Blakey
, and
Charles Mingus
. His fourth solo album for the
Muse
label,
, found
building upon the organic space jazz he had been exploring since his 1974 debut as leader,
Journey to Enlightenment
. Joining him were pianist
Kenny Kirkland
(in one of his earliest appearances), guitarist
Otis McCleary
, bassist
Cecil McBee, Jr.
, drummer
Byron Benbow
, and bong/conga players
Gene Ballard
and
Neil Clarke
. Building upon the boundary pushing work of luminaries like
Oliver Nelson
John Coltrane
fleshed out his small group sound, crafting lush large ensemble arrangements that wove together his Panamanian musical roots with a groove-oriented blend of post-bop, R&B, and cinematic funk. Key to the album's vibe is "Mystery of Ages," a soulful anthem featuring singer
Mary Alexander
and a backing vocal chorus, in which she questions, "Who am I, where do I come from?" Equally surprising is "Wise Old Men," a hooky, semi-pop sounding track in which
sings against an infectious, Central American-inspired acoustic guitar rhythm. Though full of expansive improvisation, part of the album's charm is how enthusiastically
crossed musical boundaries. With his throaty tone set against propulsive funk grooves, as on the opening "Saxy," the album often brings to mind similarly globally-minded works by
Gato Barbieri
and early
Carlos Santana
. It's a style that evokes the psychedelic soul of groups like
Rotary Connection
the Chambers Brothers
just as much as it does the exploratory style of
Miles Davis
(with whom he also played),
Sun Ra
Herbie Hancock
's
Mwandishi
Band. Sonically ambitious modern jazz underpins all of
's playing here as he showcases his dazzling soprano work on the "Sketches of Spain"-esque title track and surrounds himself in a moody, modal noir atmosphere on "Kafira." A lesser-appreciated psych-jazz classic,
is the sound of
bridging his musical worlds. ~ Matt Collar