International relevance: ***
Ed Thigpen was a Chicago born drummer growing up in Los Angeles who played with several major league performers. He's probably best known for his work with Oscar Peterson from the late 50s to the mid 60s. He moved to Copenhagen in 1972, and spent the remainder of his life there (he died in 2010 and is buried in Copenhagen). ”Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action” was recorded in Denmark in spring 1973 but with a partly Swedish line-up including Lennart Åberg, Sabu Martinez and Kjell Öhman. It was first released on Swedish Sonet in 1974.
Split in two suites ”House Of Poets” and ”Action-Re-Action” divided by standalone track ”Danish Drive”, it's an often funky fusion affair touching on soul jazz, with slight hints at early 70s Miles Davis. The short ”Adventures Of A Duck With Friends” from the title suite even suggests Don Cherry's organic music. While the music isn't always stone cold excellent, it's actually a pretty pleasant experience to listen to the exceptionally tight line-up. It's indeed a high-level performance that everyone involved seem to love being a part of. And compared to several other Swedish jazz fusion albums that sound like they were recorded by a group of social workers on a day release trip to a conference center, this album ought to be a given choice for those into the genre.
The album was reissued on a CD as a twofer with another Danish but lesser 1973 set, "Resource", as "Ed Thigpen In Copenhagen 1973-74" in the mid noughties.
House Of Poets: Le Matin
House Of Poets: Le Soir
House Of Poets: Who's Kidding Who?
Danish Drive
Action-Re-Action: Illusions
Action-Re-Action: Adventures Of A Duck With Friends
Action-Re-Action: Action-Re-Action
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