Label: Elemental
Reissued 11/8/2024, Originally released 1968
The debut album by American trumpeter Eddie Gale, recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. A member of the Sun Ra Arkestra before and after taping these sides, Gale also played on Cecil Taylor's Blue Note debut, Unit Structures. "The aesthetic and cultural merits of Ghetto Music cannot be overstated," stated AllMusic critic Thom Jurek. "That it is one of the most obscure recordings in Blue Note's catalog - paid for out of label co-founder Francis Wolff's own pocket - should tell us something. This is some of the most spiritually engaged, forward-thinking, and finely wrought music of 1968. What's more is that, unlike lots of post-Coltrane free jazz, it's ultimately very listenable. Soloists come and go, but modes, melodies, and harmonies remain firmly intact. This is militant music possessed by soul and spirit."
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