There must have been something in the air in January, 1993. Lars-Olof Gustavsson, who had released Charles Gayle's first recordings on his label Silkheart in 1988, had contacted Gayle with the interest of doing a new session with him and a double rhythm section. Gayle pared the concept down to two basses and one drummer and selected the players - William Parker, Vattell Cherry and Michael Wemberly. Those sessions resulted in five hours of tape and two CDs, Translations and Raining Fire. Years later and after some negotiation, Gustvasson has returned to the masters again, culling a third release from the tapes.

While on the previous releases Gayle is heard on bass clarinet and viola along with his saxophone, this is primarily a tenor session. There is some viola again, but it's incidental compared to the cry of his horn. Gayle was homeless when he first started working with Silkheart, and the cry from his horn carries a passionate wail that few have achieved and which can only be heard as life's lessons sung. By 1993, his career was more established, and the lineup the two men created for these sessions was inspired. Wemberly's sharp attack cuts through the thick basses almost as much as Gayle's screaming sax, and the dual double basses allow for rich breakdowns and changes in texture.

The only times the disc comes off as "outtakes" is with the inclusion of four relatively brief tracks. They're not lesser, but buttressed between pieces reaching, sometimes passing, the 15-minunte mark, they serve to remind that this might be the bottom of the barrel. Leaving them off and letting the disc fall under an hour would have been stronger, but that's a pretty petty grievance to lodge. It's remarkable that, with some 75% of those sessions now made available, the music is all so strong.

Charles Gayle Quartet: Blue Shadows Is On Sale at Squidco!