(1971) Embryo - Rocksession ****

With: Edgar Hofmann (saxophone, violin), Mal Waldron (electric piano), Jimmy Jackson (organ), Siegfried Schwab (guitar), Dave King (bass), Jörg Evers (bass), Christian Burchard (drums)
Record date: February 1, 1971

Mal's second (or third if you count 'For Eva' also as an official date) record with Embryo founds him playing mostly in the same styles as on it's predecessor 'Steig Aus'. There is small difference in personell but it mostly is the same. Roman Bunka was the guitarist on 'Steig Aus'. Siegfried Schwab takes his place here. It doesn't really matter for the sound of the recording.

Again the world music influences are big but not neccisarly the dominant factor. It's just there. There's music from Africa beneath the Sahara, the Middle East and India that get's melted an mixed with psychadelic rock, jazz, blues and funk. Embryo travelled the world multiple times. They made journey's trough Africa and also trough the Asian continent. They even travelled Afghanistan and the Sha's Iran: Persia. They made all the sounds they picked up there part of their etno-fusion sound.

The first songs are both really experimental funk/fusion compositions with psychadelic influences. The compositions all have a modal and repetitive feeling. Mal play's this very weird electric piano which gives him yet another sound altough his trademarks are still clearly audible. It's also pretty clear it was Mal who wrote the piece 'Entrances' at least for the largest part. There's a constant groove in the back which is an excellent settlement for both Jackson and Mal to improvise on. I have to say that together with Burchard, those are the one's that impress me the most.

Then there's 'Warm Canto', written by Mal and first played on his excellent 'The Quest' date with Dolphy and Booker Ervin. Its played in a completely new form but it all works out pretty well. Mal's warm atmospheric touch is hearable all too yet is sounds all very different. Jackson's solo is thoughtful and him soloing with Mal in the background playing the chords just sounds great. 'Warm Canto' really is the highlight of the album. It's full of feeling and emotional depth. Great performance!

The original LP goes for over a 100 euros which is not really surprising. Reissues are avaible on both cd and vinyl but they aren't very cheap. This is another excellent example of Mal's collaborations with this great German band. Very refreshing stuff and definitely recommended!