Jeff Palmer

August 8 - 15, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

**1/2 Jeff Palmer

ISLAND UNIVERSE

(Soul Note)
Palmer's island is neither Gilligan's funnyland nor a Caribbean getaway but a place for thoughtful withdrawal, somewhere near the islands of the inner ear. The organist picks up the hard cudgels and loomy pedals of the late Larry Young, exploring areas of the Hammond B-3 where few have gone before and sending back obscure messages. Longtime bandmate John Abercrombie, who has elsewhere shown a recent affinity for organ trios (with Don Wall on ECM), digs in deeply. Arthur Blythe's guest alto on a few tunes never gets quite as down and dirty with these neo-blue explorations, but drummer Rashied Ali proves a tireless helmsman. The dark, introspective grooves Palmer sends out on murky tunes like "Spot Check" conjure measles or worse. Some tunes bog down utterly, as on the lurching "Count Sirloin." Others squiggle, like "Octopia," a threatening, deep-sea rarity that brings out Abercrombie's otherworldly best.
-- Fred Bouchard