Word: rhythmical
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Allen's solos are direct, her lines concise. Although her playing is devoid of excess ornamentation, the flow of both rhythmic and melodic ideas is unceasing. Allen has masterfully incorporated the innovations of such challenging pianists as Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock. All three of these pianists share Allen's distinctly unsentimental aesthetic...
...unsettling rhythmic complexity of her remarkably independent left hand is especially apparent on the album's only solo track, "In the Middle," an original composition. This is masterful solo piano work in the tradition of Monk or, even more accurately, Allen's fellow-Brooklynite Randy Weston. The sense of modernity and African-American culture that "In the Middle" conveys is a testament to the evocative power of Allen's playing...
...when soloing he was barely audible above Tyner's majestic accompaniment. Adding to the disjointed feel of the group were Sharpe and Scott, who both have solo styles that can best be described as over-the-top. There is no question that bassist Sharpe has strong fingers, but his rhythmically monotonous solos seem to be rather weak in melodic ideas. On the tune "May Fair," drummer Scott soloed a la John Bonham for almost ten minutes, beating the living daylights out of his set in a vain, stiff-armed attempt at rhythmic expression. Tyner himself rarely unleashed runs...
...thirty straight hours of it, one has to really want to. Taylor's music is both emotionally draining and almost physically demanding. There is simply no way to listen to it passively, as the listener is constantly bombarded with screaming sheets of note-clusters, unexpected exclamations, and a frenetic rhythmic pulse that makes sitting still virtually impossible...
Also in this period, namely in 1958, Taylor recorded an album with tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. It is difficult to find a more bizarre record anywhere. With Coltrane struggling mightily to cling to his own advanced harmonic world against Taylor's barrage of atonal clusters, jarring rhythmic patterns, and jackhammer assaults on the piano, a profound tug-of-war between two musical camps ensues. Nobody wins, and the tension produced is exhausting both for the musicians and listeners. Still, this has to be one of the most interesting recordings of American music ever made. It has the curiosity value that...