Drummer
Ronald Shannon Jackson's
Decoding Society sounded like a tighter version of
Ornette Coleman's free funk band Prime Time, which originally included
Jackson as a member. That influence remained prominent during this live performance at Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth in 1984.
Earned Dreams features
Zane Massey on alto and tenor saxophones,
Akbar Ali on violin, Henry Scott on trumpet,
Vernon Reid on guitar, Melvin Gibbs on bass, and
Bruce Johnson on electric bass. This ensemble maintained intense creative mayhem while sticking with tight funk structures. One of several out-of-print
Jackson titles made available again by Knitting Factory's reissue label Knit Classics. ~ Al Campbell