eMusic Review 0
Rubber-wristed new jazz pianist Don Pullen often paid the bills by working as a soul-jazz organ player on the side. In 1991, he and David Murray made an okay organ quartet record, Shakill's Warrior (with Stanley Franks on guitar and Andrew Cyrille on drums). Shakill's II recorded in '94 is the superior sequel, zippier and more in the pocket than the original. J.T. Lewis is so sure-footedly swinging on drums, you could miss that the first tune's in 5/4. Guitarist Bill White's grit-on-the-strings solos and lean and syncopated peek-a-boo chords are conspicuous assets, as they play blues up ("1529 Gunn Street") and lowdown ("Blues Somewhere"). On "One for the Don," Murray's tender tenor could be Stan Getz. (After Pullen died in 1995, Murray recorded an album of his tunes, Long Goodbye, with Lewis on drums and Pullen disciple D.D. Jackson on piano.)