Other Afternoons

Destination Out is just awesome. The current Cecil Taylor offering, “Taht,” is slamming, not outstaying its welcome like some of Cecil’s other large ensembles. The great Jimmy Lyons is (as usual) on board, and listening to “Taht” sent Iverson to his shelves for the 1969 Lyons LP, Other Afternoons, a quartet date with Lester Bowie, Alan Silva, and Andrew Cyrille. Other Afternoons is a magical record. Bowie throws down hard, Lyons is Bird+, and Cyrille doesn’t play a note of time but swings heavily throughout anyway. Silva’s endless “E-drone” madness holds it together. The excellent compositions are all by Lyons.

The sound quality is also really good, with the instruments resonating in a European studio in just the right way. For years, this was the only Jimmy Lyons record. The later ones are worth hearing too, but Other Afternoons has the youthful moxie. It stands the test of time as one of the best records of old-school “free jazz.”

Unfortunately, Iverson must have loaned his cherished LP out to some friend who hasn’t given it back yet. Hey! If you read this blog and borrowed Other Afternoons, please return it. We have three weeks off and it's a good time to put the turntable to good use.