Booker T. Williams: Ode to BC/LY

MAHAKALA MUSIC 057 (RELEASED JANUARY 17, 2025)

If it were not for the release of Ode to BC/LY, the musical adventures of Seattle-based saxophonist Booker T. Williams would remain severely undocumented. Having recorded sporadically throughout the 1990s with free jazz players such as Saheb Sarbib, William Hooker and Dennis Charles as well as one record under his own name (Go Tell It on the Mountain with Andrew Cyrille), Booker T’s last visit to a recording studio was in 2000. Ode to BC/LY is a welcome addition to his discography and hopefully a sign of more to come. More excursions into material such as “Simontov,” a Yiddish tune my klezmer band performs at many simchas, but not quite in the way Booker T attacks the melody with his Ayler-like cries energized by the propulsive bass lines of Luke Stewart and the shifting rhythms of drummer Chad Anderson. Now that’s chutzpah! More tender ballads such as saxophonist Gary Hammon’s “Are You for Me,” featuring a luscious Jeanne Lee-like vocal from Kelley Hurt and an equally appropriate Ran Blake-like fragmented piano solo from Christopher Parker. More Afro-centric grooves such as Hammon’s “Last of the Tribesmen, with strong solos from trumpeter Marc Franklin and Chad Fowler on stritch delivered over a funky vamp laid down by Stewart, Anderson and Parker. More emotional peaks such as “Mama’s Cry,” a knotty anguished melody delivered by Booker T with Hurt adding her own unique “cry” to the overall feeling of the tune. More fast and furious collective improvisation such as “Stay Alert,” which makes you do just that in a tumultuous expression of musical joy and freedom. More tasty little musical tidbits such as the three versions of the title track “Ode to BC LY,” each delivered in a unique way and in a matter of moments. Regarding more, everyone involved with this session deserves more — more recognition for their commitment to creative music, more recording opportunities to advance the music and more joy for listeners like me who are grateful to celebrate the return of Booker T. to the recording scene.

BOTTOM LINE: In a single recording, underground legend and saxophonist Booker T. Williams has crafted a recording that incorporates various facets of modern jazz — Albert Ayler to the Art Ensemble of Chicago, John Coltrane to Jeanne Lee — into a singular session that will have you craving more.