Open Forms, Generous Spirits: Abrams Conducts Inquiry
Five musicians finding their way through open structures, listening hard to one another, no preset paths.
The sound here is spacious and conversational. Muhal Richard Abrams sits at the piano but doesn't dominate—he listens as much as he plays, dropping in sparse chords and figures that seem to ask questions rather than assert answers. Wadada Leo Smith's flugelhorn enters the space with a tender vulnerability; Henry Threadgill's alto saxophone moves in and around it, sometimes matching, sometimes veering off. Thurman Barker on percussion and Lester Lashley on bass provide a subtle architecture, not a groove, anchoring things just enough to let the horns float. There's room between the notes. Nothing feels rushed or predetermined.
This is Abrams working in the open-ended, collective-minded territory that defined the AACM—the Chicago organization he helped found. Young at Heart / Wise in Time documents small-group improvisation where the title itself hints at what's happening: youthful openness meeting seasoned judgment. The sextet format he pioneered throughout his career is here in miniature. Abrams isn't conducting in the classical sense; he's more like a facilitator, creating conditions where real conversation can happen. No fusion posturing, no harmonic clichés, no one trying to sound hard. Just five people with serious listening skills working through materials that shift underneath them.
For listeners already familiar with Abrams' orchestral work, this shows his sensitivity in smaller settings—the same compositional intelligence applied to chamber scale. If you're new to him, start with something more immediately accessible first. This rewards patient ears and repeated listening. It's the kind of record that reveals different details depending on how you pay attention.
Who's playing
Lester Lashleydouble bass
Muhal Richard Abramspiano
Henry Threadgillalto saxophone
Thurman Barkerpercussion
Wadada Leo Smithflugelhorn
Where next?
More by Muhal Richard Abrams
Things to Come From Those Now Gone 1975
Levels and Degrees of Light 1968
Sightsong 1976
Mama and Daddy 1980
The musicians on this record
Easily Slip Into Another World 1988
Henry Threadgill
plays alto saxophone here
plays alto saxophone here
Creative Music - 1 (Six Solo Improvisations) 1971
Wadada Leo Smith
plays flugelhorn here
plays flugelhorn here
