Hannibal

Berlin Jazztage, Philharmonie, 3 November 1976, three days before Mangelsdorff's Trilogue set. Hannibal Marvin Peterson with George Adams on tenor, Diedre Murray on cello, Michael Cochrane on piano, Steve Neil on bass and Allen Nelson on drums. MPS issued it in 1977.

Adams was the new element, just out of the last Mingus band, and the same front line would play Antibes the following summer for Enja. MPS's notes describe the programme in Hannibal's own words: The 23rd Psalm, his opener, is a dedication to the art of perseverance; Willow Weep for Me is offered to Sarah Vaughan; Bessie's Blues is Coltrane's tribute to Bessie Smith; Swing Low Sweet Chariot is his memory of the sounds and colours of the Texas cotton fields where he grew up. There is also a My Favorite Things.

Dusty Groove finds the set a lot straighter than his more "out" records but with the same spiritual sound, and picks out Cochrane as the force that kicks each tune into motion after the leader's introductions. Classicalite, reviewing the 2015 MPS reissue, describes sidemen whose job was to sandpaper Hannibal's rough edges, and Bessie's Blues played with more static than the original. A Tokyo dealer's note sums it up in one line: Coltrane covers, traditionals, originals, all of it deep.

Japanese CD edition from Solid's MPS series.