Jazz Archives

Recorded in 1972 and released in 1973 with Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, and Jack DeJohnette, Joe Farrell's Moon Germs was a foray into the electric side of jazz. More progressive than groove-oriented, three of the four compositions were written by Chick Corea and certainly reflect that knotty, angular, almost mathematic penchant of his for soaring arpeggios in the solos and contrapuntal basslines that circle DeJohnette's drumming. Nowhere is this truer than on the opener, "Great George," where Farrell leads off with the hint of a melody before careening into legato streams of thought along striated intervallic paths. DeJohnette is like a machine gun, quadruple-timing the band as Clarke moves against the grain in a series of fours and eights, and Hancock's attempts to keep the entire thing anchored are almost insufficient. On the title track there is more of a funk backdrop, but still, there are the knotty runs and insane harmonic reaches Farrell attempts on his soprano that crack, falter, and ultimately turn into something else even more satisfying that what Mr. Math (Corea) wanted, though the sheer business of the track is dizzying. "Bass Folk Song" is by Clarke, and is the only thing on the record that actively engages melody rather than harmonic structures. Farrell uses his flute and Hancock strides into the same kind of territory his explored with Miles Davis, chopping up chordal phrases into single lines and feeding them wholesale to the running pair frontmen in Clarke and Farrell. DeJohnette uses a Latin backdrop to hang his drumming on and pursues a circular and hypnotic groove on the cymbals and toms. It's a gorgeous piece of music and utilizes an aspect of space within the melodic frame that the rest of the firebrand tunes do not, though it's no ballad. This is sci-fi Farrell at his most intense.

1. Great Gorge (11:40)

2. Moon Germs (7:23)

3. Times Lie (8:25)

4. Bass Folk Song (9:50)

Bass - Stanley Clarke

Drums - Jack DeJohnette

Flute - Joe Farrell

Piano - Chick Corea

Saxophone - Joe Farrell