ARCHIE SHEPP QUARTET

‘If Trane is the father, Pharoah: the son, and Ayler: the holy ghost, Archie Shepp is the uncle that no one mentions’ (All About Jazz). Shepp carries the torch of the great preachers of the tenor saxophone, with a warmth and directness that goes back to Don Byas and Ben Webster. The avant-gardist pioneer, whose sound is instantly recognizable, has downplayed his shock tactics in recent years, in favour of a more seductive sound. The message remains intact: the power and spirituality of the music he consequently calls Afro-American. This implies not only gospel or rap, but also bop, ballads and blues.