Lester Bowie's Septet in the Studio, June 1982
Bowie's septet swings hard with humor, then he strips it all away for solo trumpet meditation.
All the Magic! captures Lester Bowie leading a septet through loose, grooving arrangements that sit somewhere between free funk and swing. Recorded in June 1982, the session brings together Ari Brown on soprano saxophone, pianist Art Matthews, bassist Fred Williams, and drummer Phillip Wilson — a tight rhythm section that locks in behind Bowie's horn without overthinking it. Vocalists Fontella Bass and David Peaston add texture without dominating; they're part of the ensemble texture rather than the focus. The whole thing has a jammy quality, like Bowie called friends into the studio and let the tape run. It doesn't feel precious or overly composed, which is the point.
What makes this work is the restraint. The septet doesn't overplay, and Bowie doesn't grandstand. Tracks move between swinging hard and pulling back, with Brown's soprano weaving in and out of the pocket. There's space for the rhythm section to breathe, and they use it. Scott Yanow's AllMusic review noted that the set "shows off both Lester Bowie's playing abilities and his sense of humor," and that's accurate — there's a looseness here, an ease that suggests Bowie was enjoying himself without needing to prove anything.
The One and Only, the second half of this double album, shifts entirely to solo trumpet. Bowie alone with his horn, improvising without net, is a different animal altogether — meditative where the septet is social. It's a sharp turn, but the pairing makes sense: here's what the band brings, here's what Bowie brings when standing alone. This is his second ECM release, and it lands somewhere between a working session and an artistic statement, never quite settling into either.
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