Tony Williams: Life Time (UHQ-CD)

Precocious and gifted drummer and composer Tony Williams was already a member of the Miles Davis Quintet and had contributed to numerous seminal Blue Note recordings, including Herbie Hancock "Empyrean Isles", Eric Dolphy "Out To Lunch", Andrew Hill "Point Of Departure", Jackie McLean "One Step Beyond" and Grachan Moncur III "Evolution", when he recorded his own adventurous debut album "Life Time" in August 1964, when he was just 18 years old. Williams had no intention of playing it safe on his maiden voyage as a leader and set out to document his uncompromising expression on this program of innovative original compositions. Side 1 presents the expansive two-movement suite "2 Pieces of One", in which the drummer is joined by tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers and bassists Gary Peacock and Richard Davis. Side 2 begins with the cheerful "Tomorrow Afternoon", featuring Williams, Rivers and Peacock. On the freely improvised "Memory", which features Herbie Hancock on piano and Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, Williams plays various percussion instruments, and the thoughtful piano-bass duet "Barb's Song to the Wizard", performed by Hancock and Ron Carter, which closes the album, is entirely tailored to him.