Deep down in every sax player lies a funky alter ego ready to surface. Many straight-ahead players ignore it or repress it for the sake of purity. Others less intent on remaining true, open up and, occasionally, let it pour forth.
Talented young lion James Carter sure opens up on "LayinΓÇÖ In The Cut," his first-ever electric recording. Supported and encouraged by stellar accompaniment guitarists Marc Ribot and Jef Lee Johnson, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer G. Calvin Weston, Carter virtually explodes on the seven deep and loose jams featured here, venturing out to the edge and back on various chaotic cuts here, including the manic "Terminal B" and the daring "Drafadelic in D (sharp)." Ribot and Johnson, accustomed to the courageous fusion Carter's after, fit neatly into the equation, especially when the going gets a little frantic, as on the crackling "There's a Paddle" and the elastic title cut.
It's a pleasure to witness Carter engaging in the kind of whack swing he embraces here. And, on the album-ending, micro-note filled "GP"--the musical equivalent of an orgasmic climax--you know he's fully enjoyed the electricity of it, the act of opening up and, man, just letting it flow.
All recordings courtesy of Atlantic Records. "Layin' In The Cut" and "Motown Mash," written by Carter, Johnson, Ribot, Tacuma, Weston; courtesy of Carte Noir (BMI)/Malinda Davora Music/Knockwurst Music/Jamaaldeen Music/Can Be Done Music (ASCAP). "GP" written by J. Carter; courtesy of Carte Noir (BMI).
