Stanley Cowell – Musa/Ancestral Streams – Strata-East/Mack Avenue #SES-19743-25 – 38:04 – ****1/2
(Stanley Cowell – piano, African thumb piano)
As part of their re-release program of Strata-East Records albums from the 1970s, the Mack Avenue Music Group, is beginning with four prime albums from the label. One to get very excited about is Musa/Ancestral Streams, a solo piano issue from Stanley Cowell. Recorded in 1973, Cowell composed all the tracks, with gorgeous themes that blend jazz, classical, African, and Eastern influences.
Stanley co-founded the Strata-East label, with trumpeter, Charles Tolliver (whose own Music Incorporated-Live at Slugs, Vol. 1& 2, is part of the initial re-issue series…). What made the Strata-East label so distinctive in its decade long tenure, was the fact that it was black artist owned, with the label roster free to record their own compositions, without regard to larger label interference, still a consideration in present time.
Stanley Cowell had a fifty plus year career, recording over 35 albums. He was raised in the Toledo, Ohio, area. He grew up with music in the family, and his parents ran a boarding house for traveling black musicians. Perhaps, the greatest jazz pianist of all-time, Art Tatum, was a family friend.
Cowell studied classical piano at Oberlin College with Emil Danenberg, (and dedicates a track to his professor on this CD), and went on to receive a Masters in Classical Piano from the University of Michigan. Later in life Stanley as a professor at Rutgers University.
Cowell recorded very few solo albums, and along with his Maybeck release for Concord Records, and Angel Eyes for Steeplechase, his Strata-East date stands out for its mellow spiritual beauty, with gospel influences. It has a strong contrast to other issues from the label that had more avant garde, strident themes.
Standout tracks include “Travelin’ Man,” where Cowell plays both acoustic and electric piano as a “duo,” as well as the funkiness of both”Abscretions,” and “Departure No. 1.” His lyricism is on full display on “Equipoise” and the closer, “Sweet Song.”
Stanley Cowell passed away in 2020 at age 79. This re-release is a testament to his greatness. Kudos to Mack Avenue for including this album in their first series of Strata-East re-issues….
—Jeff Krow
Musa – Ancestral Strams
Tracklist:
Abscretions
Equipoise
Prayer for Peace
Emil Danenberg (from “Illusion Suite”)
Maimoun (from “Illusion Suite”)
Travelin’ Man
Departure No. 1
Departure No. 2
Sweet Song
