This is the debut album from Black Hat record company owned by Michael Cooke a reed player and leader of Cooke Quartet. Who also won the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for Tenor saxophone (CQ) CQ In this SearchingSAT album also helped by some musicians in addition to CQ itself consists of several young musicians like Mel Nelson, a multi-instrumentalist, but in this particular album to play the piano, then Alec Lyte bass player who also played a lot of classical music and modern music and Sammer Gupta drummer who was 22 years old that energizes this group.
Encouraged and inspired by the reformers Jazz in the 60s and 70s such as John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter CQ effort to present music that took the path of "Modal Jazz" which is opening in the direction of free jazz music. And indeed if heard the songs on this album seems to combine the music of Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane's playing style and sound of Wayne Shorter.
"Malcontent" composition of Michael Cooke loaded with jazz capital engineering and tenor sax cooke game itself many "blowing" and aggressive impressed with the fast tempo reminiscent of John Coltrane quartet. "Goddess" Gupta wear supplemental composition of musicians playing traditional musical instruments Indian tabla and tenpura so impressed fusion between jazz and Indian music is loaded with elements of "spirituality" and religious. Sebual sweet ballads performed on the song "Nikita", a blend of piano and saxophone improvisation dai in this song is very organized, neat and maintained. "Searching" is used as the title of this album took a Latin rhythm style, although still played with the technique of "jazz capital" as it had been done by Pharoah Sanders before .. "Footprints" created by Wayne Shorter and "Lonrly Woman" from Ornette Coleman seems to be touch and arranger new, because this song has just as new energy to be played using a faster tempo and energetic. Flute game of Cooke can be listened to "coalescing" which also incorporate elements of Asian music. The song that accentuate bass playing and taking style "contemporary jazz" sound in "The Source". The last song "Reflection" Cooke's ability to play the bass clarinet playing the improvised dialogue to play bass and congas.
In the linernotes Cooke himself insisted that their group tried to take the path that may rarely taken by the young jazz musicians who play jazz rock or "pop jazz" although previously Cooke himself much playing rock and classical music, but they are trying to show with music idioms "pure jazz", a commendable effort from the young musicians.
(Ajie/WJ)