Jair-Rohm Parker Wells Trio - Brotherly Love in Philadelphia

Grego Edwards, gapplegatemusicreview

This morning I do my review after a significant snowfall has hit our area overnight. It effects nothing in terms of my review-writing, except it seems pretty white outside my window.

We look today at a trio led by electric bassist Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, live in Philadelphia, 2008. Brotherly Love in Philadelphia (Ayler DL-101) is a good contribution to the Ayler download-only series. For $10 you get a full download plus all the CD art for printing out.

It's Jair-Rohm plus Elliot Levin on tenor and flute, Eric Slick on drums. Mr. Levin recites some rather surreal verse now and again, but it is not the central focus of the set. Instead you get some very extroverted out bass conjuring, funk-to-free settings well covered by Eric Slick's heated drumming and some excellently fired-up tenor from Elliot Levin. Levin has an appealingly gruff open sound on his horn and the three together get into some rock-funk jamming that builds up plenty of steam.

I rather like this one. It took a few listens but it's all there. Go to www.ayler.com and click on the "Download-Only Releases" to pull up the album.