Whisper of Dharma

Whisper of Dharma is the debut album by the Human Arts Ensemble, a musical collective that was an offshoot of the St. Louis-based Black Artists Group. Consisting of two 22-minute pieces, it was recorded on October 6, 1972, in St. Louis, and was initially released later that year by the small Universal Justice label. In 1977, it was reissued by Arista/Freedom with different cover art. The album features drummer and group leader Charles "Bobo" Shaw, saxophonists Oliver Lake, J. D. Parran, and James Marshall, trumpeter Floyd LeFlore, trombonist Joseph Bowie, multi-instrumentalist Baikida Carroll, and percussionist Gene Lake, who was six years old at the time of the recording session. On the recording, the musicians supplemented their primary instruments with miscellaneous "small instruments" plus a Tibetan trumpet introduced by Marshall, who had just returned from a trip through India and Nepal.[1][2][3][4][5]

Whisper of Dharma
Studio album by
Human Arts Ensemble
Released1972
RecordedOctober 6, 1972
StudioSt. Louis, Missouri
GenreFree jazz
LabelUniversal Justice
UJ 103
ProducerCharles "Bobo" Shaw, James Marshall
Human Arts Ensemble chronology
Whisper of Dharma
(1972)		 Poem of Gratitude
(1973)
Reissue cover

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 4½ stars out of a possible 5,[1] while DownBeat awarded it 4 stars out of 5.[6][7]

Coda's Art Lange noted the "extremely gentle and evocative" character of the first track, describing it as a "cool wash of delicate sound" that is "reminiscent of Marion Brown's Afternoon of a Georgia Faun." He called the second track "an aggressive, hot, shouting exhortation of demons... an exhilarating, chaotic celebration with a much denser texture, never turning violent or ugly." In conclusion, he stated: "The success of an ensemble music such as this depends upon a near-telepathic interplay between musicians. That these two performances are so sensitively shaded, colorful, rhythmically balanced, and explosively imagistic is a credit to the musicians involved."[8]

A writer for Musician, Player and Listener commented: "Extraordinary music, collective improvisation of a very high order... On both sides the level of continuity is remarkably high. This is some of the best avant garde jazz I have heard on record. If you've ever played free jazz you'd know how incredibly difficult it is to play it this well."[9]

Author Dennis Owsley called the first track "trance music, slow-moving and elegiac," and praised the "interplay between all of the horns," while noting that, on the second track, "the sonic landscape is so dense that it is difficult to follow."[6]

Track listing

Composed by Charles "Bobo" Shaw and James Marshall.

  1. "Whisper of Dharma" – 21:40
  2. "A World New" – 21:35

Personnel
  • Charles "Bobo" Shaw – drums, small Instruments
  • Oliver Lake – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, small instruments
  • J. D. Parran – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, small instruments
  • James Marshall – alto saxophone, Tibetan trumpet, wooden flute
  • Floyd LeFlore – trumpet, small instruments
  • Joseph Bowie – trombone, congas, small instruments
  • Baikida Carroll – gong, small instruments
  • Gene Lake – drums, small Instruments

References
  1. "Human Arts Ensemble: Whisper of Dharma". AllMusic. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  2. "Human Arts Ensemble - Whisper of Dharma". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  3. "Human Arts Ensemble discography". JazzLists. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  4. Minderman, Dean (September 12, 2011). "STLJN Audio Archive: Human Arts Ensemble - Whisper Of Dharma". All About Jazz. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  5. Looker, Benjamin (2004). Point from which Creation Begins: The Black Artists' Group of St. Louis. Missouri Historical Society Press. pp. 174–175.
  6. Owsley, Dennis (2006). City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973. Reedy Press. p. 183.
  7. Smith, Will (March 28, 1974). "Human Arts Ensemble". DownBeat. Vol. 41, no. 6. p. 29.
  8. Lange, Art (1978). "Reviews". Coda. No. 159–163. p. 24.
  9. "Reviews". Musician, Player and Listener. No. 11–20. 1978. p. 41.
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