Malachi Thomspon’s Seventh Son was originally released on RA Records in 1980. It eventually became a rare and in demand independent spiritual jazz release, played on the London Jazz dance scene as early as 1980 in clubs such as the Horseshoe by DJ Paul Murphy, who states that it was “a stone cold Horseshoe very early jazz dance classic (…) I remember playing this way back in the night of the day”. As popular as the music was felt on British dancefloors at the time of its release, Malachi Thomson would have been completely unaware of its appeal and underground resonance across the pond.
Trumpeter Thompson grew up on the South Side of Chicago, playing on the rhythm and blues scene as a teen. In 1968, he joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), joining their house big band. Prior to this release, Thompson worked with saxophonists Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Jackie McClean and Frank Foster after moving from Chicago to New York City to pursue a full-time career as a jazz musician. He formed his own band in 1978, known as the Freebop Band, eventually relocating to Washington D.C. Thompson also worked with Defunkt trombonist Lester Bowie’s Hot Trumpets Repertory Company and formed a separate group Africa Brass, inspired by traditional New Orleans marching bands.
Highlights from the album include the opener Two Nights in Malakal, an up-tempo samba with all the hallmarks of a popular jazz dance tune: high octane tempo, melodic weirdness and surging Latin American rhythmicality. West Side Stomp is one of the funkier album cuts, not too far away from Herbie Hancock’s Fat Albert Routanda, a funky blues with sharp horns and a percolating bassline that propels the bottom-end. Denise is a stripped back spiritual take, stretching out over nine minutes with crisp cymbals and clear as day electric keys counterpointing rubbery basslines and jagged tenor and horn solos. The Quest is another high point, a track that begins as a languid, laid back bossa groove which builds in drive and intensity as it progresses, culminating in a tune that could foreseeably have been a dancefloor friendly cut, were it not for the spacious intro. A fine guitar solo glides accross the form towards the end of the track, coupling up alongisde eery incidental vocal.
Buy the LP HERE
Listen to the tracks HERE
