Healing Force

We Say...

Review by Charles Farrell

The late pianist Don Pullen's career was a strangely labyrinthine one. Although he got his start as accompanist to Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba, he was initially seen as part of the avant garde, often being unfairly compared to Cecil Taylor. In point of fact, Pullen borrowed from a much more varied stylistic pool than Taylor, utilizing elements of gospel, funk, bebop, modal playing, and even a kind of ersatz cocktail piano. The similarly eclectic Jaki Byard was probably a more closely related figure. That Pullen also played organ undoubtedly colored his conception at the piano. After garnering notice with musicians like Milford Graves and Giuseppe Logan, he circled back and worked with R&B vocalists Ruth Brown and Big Maybelle as well as with mainstream giants like Art Blakey and, more significantly, Charles Mingus. Healing Force is a solo piano recital that illustrates the range of Pullen's talent.

The album consists of four long tunes. Pullen doesn't pull his punches. "Pain Inside" starts inside the piano as the pianist strums, lets the bass strings rumble, and picks out an ominous melody. He knows he's going long, so he takes time to develop his structure. The result is a measured performance that holds up. "Tracey's Blues" is a straightforward treatise on how the blues has emerged in jazz piano. It moves from bedrock simplicity through a churchy phase, touches on sophisticated late-night lounge playing, extends to intricate bop lines, and strays as far afield as Pullen's signature back-of-the-hand glissandi. Every note is articulate and played with total certainty; it's like an eight-and-a half-minute history lesson. "Healing Force" is a simple modal piece, moving between two chords. It's dignified and beautiful, and it sets the stage for the finale. "Keep On Steppin'" is entirely sui generis. It begins with a technically rigorous Charles Ives-like outburst with great blasts of information emerging from the swirl, followed by patriotic anthems spewing from Pullen's left hand as tone clusters spark from his right. This is jazz as social commentary — fierce and darkly angry. All of those years in the Charles Mingus band weren't wasted on Don Pullen.