Zitro

Fast '60s free jazz that just piles it on with energy and intensity. You've got a very '60s jazz sound, particularly in the piano (check out track 2!) with hyperactive drumming and full-blast solos. James Zitro was Sonny Simmons' drummer back then, and ESP gave him this chance in 1967 to show what he could do as a leader -- great stuff.

Allan Praskin (alto sax)
Bert Wilson (tenor sax)
Warren Gale (trumpet)
Michael Cohen (piano)
Bruce Gale (bass)
James Zitro (drums)

1- (22:09) Wild free jazz, big and energetic but keeping to a deeply '60s sound.
Opens with a nice drum solo, mostly toms, then kicks into a strong, hopping groove, part Latin, part hip bebop, with blaring free horns! Solos carry a rich '60s-jazz sound but dance a chaotic line, down to the squealy, intense sax solo that comes last. A massive free-for-all ends it.

2- (13:50) More accessible than #1 -- it's fast '60s bop! A loud, forceful sound, insistant, but very much a straight-jazz opening with complex, speedy lines. Hard-ripping solos with Zitro's drums piling on the intensity behind otherwise calm, jazzy piano comping. Crazy ending, quite a rush.
at 8:49, breaks off into a straight piano solo that's fast but gives you a break from the intensity, whew.

3- (5:06) A slow, lovely piano progression interrupted by blaring horns. Ends with guys talking to the engineer: "'That five minutes?"