Perhaps best known as Sun RA's long-standing bassist, this is Boykins only album as a leader. The story goes that ESP label boss Bernard Stollman approached Boykins about recording an album in 1964, and a decade later, Ronnie was ready, leading a septet of handpicked players through six self-penned compositions.
It may be the later date of this recording, or perhaps the re-mastering, but this is one of the clearest sounding ESP dates I've heard. The music runs the gamut from repeated riffs with strings of solos (often in odd time signatures) to ballad-like structures to weird boppy almost big band sounding swingers. "Starlight At The Wonder Inn" evokes it's title perfectly, although this particular venue feels more like the set from a David Lynch movie than say, a WWII radio broadcast. Many of the tunes have this odd, otherworldly patina, which is perhaps an echo of Boykins' long-time employer. "Demon's Dance" has a Braxtonian feel, with a sideways bopping head that falls apart beautifully a minute or so in.
"Tipping On Heels" has the style of a game show theme song, albeit a slightly scary one, and "The Third I" is an exercise in collective improvising that very much resembles certain Sun Ra recordings. The solos throughout are well formed and executed, and Boykins' writing is interesting, especially his chord voicings. If only there were more...
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Jeph Jerman 2009-06-02
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