Posted on 09/09/2005

 

The adventure of jazz is that you have to go wherever the music and the artist take you. I’ll be the first to admit that The Edge: David Axelrod at Capitol Records 1966-1970 does not make for a smooth trip. But since when has good jazz been about easy listening? David Axelrod helped usher the jazz-fusion era. He has also influenced artists such as Dr. Dre, Madlib, De La Soul, Cesar Comanche, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Compiled by Eothen Alapatt of Stones Throw and Now Again Records, these tracks are definitive of Axelrod’s time at Capitol.

The Edge begins with the track "House of Mirrors" from David McCallum’s 1969 release Music: It’s Happening Now. Quite honestly, I have no idea what McCallum does on this track nor do I care. Axelrod takes the listener on a midnight drive through the desert and he populates the sparse soundscape with cascading drums, an ambling bassline, and a haunting vocal track. Also from McCallum is the track titled "The Edge" from his 1968 release Music: A Bit More of Me. What would Dr. Dre’s "The Next Episode" be without this song? Axelrod’s sly arrangement feels as though it was tailor-made for a Bond film.



i>The Edge also features a couple of tracks from Lou Rawls. De La Soul aficionados will certainly recall Rawls' "You’ve Made Me So Very Happy" from "I Am I Be". However, where De La used the piano and percussion on this track to convey a sense of introspection, Axelrod uses it to emphasize the overwhelming enthusiasm and joy of love; it’s a subdued crescendo.



ounding out the eclectic cast assembled for this album are Letta Mbulu, Don Randi and Cannonball Adderley. Mbulu’s song "Pula Yetla" seduces the listener on a rainy night in Soweto. Axelrod’s track percussion accents Mbulu’s voice perfectly. Don Randi’s "Theme from The Fox" begins in the typical Axelrod fashion striking the listener as stark and almost otherworldly. Hip hop heads will easily recognize the piano refrain as that from Black Star’s "Respiration". Cannonball Adderley’s "Tensity" is by far the funkiest track of the album and that’s due to Cannonball’s saxophone. He lends an earthiness to Axelrod’s compositions which tend to stray toward the abstract and ethereal.

At the core of The Edge are Axelrod’s compositions from his albums Songs of Innocence (1968), Songs of Experience (1969) and Earth Rot (1970). These albums are best viewed as a trilogy with the first two based on the poetry of William Blake and the third album centered on environmentalism. The central theme of these tracks is Love: love of yourself and fellow man, love of your unique human condition, and love of nature and the world.

Axelrod's range is best demonstrated through these tracks. His work blends chaotic rhythms, lush string arrangements, and excellent sequencing to convey grit, urgency, self-assured aggression, desperation, determination, and a unique transcendental psychosis.

While the album is hard to swallow and definitely necessitates some acclimation, Axelrod's depth and skill are astounding. The Edge might be too demanding for casual listening, but the music showcased in this collection clearly warrants the highest respect from any jazz enthusiast.