The late tenor/soprano saxophonist and bass clarinetist Reverend Frank Wright could barely play his instruments. Don't let that bother you; it's not important. What matters is that he was one of a handful of players capable of distilling the message of late-period Coltrane into an ecstatic scream. The energy music that Wright, pianist Bobby Few, bassist Alan Silva and drummer Muhammad Ali played was akin to collectively sticking their heads into a boiling cauldron. Immersing yourself into the maelstrom with them for an hour is a riveting experience. Unity, recorded live in 1974, is clearly not for everybody, but it still retains great immediacy and power. 3.5 stars
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2007.