It was a sad day for
avant-garde jazz when guitarist
Sonny Sharrock died of a heart attack on May 24, 1994 at the age of 53. But thankfully, there is still an audience for his work -- not a huge audience by
rock,
R&B,
hip-hop or
country standards, but a small, enthusiastic, appreciative cult following in the United States as well as Europe. One of those hardcore believers is guitarist
Noel Akchote. Recorded in 2003,
Sonny, Vol. 2 finds
Akchote paying tribute to
Sharrock nine years after his death. Not everything on this CD was written by
Sharrock; five of
Akchote's own compositions are included. Nonetheless,
Sharrock's compositions dominate
Sonny, Vol. 2, and
Akchote turns his attention to nine
Sharrock pieces as well as
Sharrock's arrangement of the
traditional French song
"Bialero." While
Sonny, Vol. 2 is a loving tribute, it isn't a slavish, knee-jerk affair;
Akchote is wise enough to let his own personality shine through. And while
Sonny, Vol. 2 is
avant-garde, it isn't
avant-garde in an overly radical or extreme way.
Akchote's guitar playing is free-spirited but relatively accessible -- certainly by
avant-garde jazz standards -- and he speaks a language that is primarily a
jazz language but incorporates elements of
blues,
rock,
folk and
Latin music. And why shouldn't a
jazz improviser have all of those influences?
King Oliver,
Jelly Roll Morton,
James P. Johnson and
Louis Armstrong had a variety of non-
jazz influences back in the '20s -- none of them listened to
jazz exclusively -- and there is no reason why an
avant-garde jazz guitarist like
Akchote cannot have a variety of non-
jazz influences in the 21st century.
Sonny, Vol. 2 won't go down in history as a five-star masterpiece, but it's a thoughtful, enjoyably sincere way for
Akchote to acknowledge
Sharrock's legacy. ~ Alex Henderson
