Frank Gordon - Clarion Echoes (1985)

The first album as a leader from trumpeter Frank Gordon – one of the lesser-remembered members of the AACM in the 70s, and an artist who's probably best known for his work in the soulful combo The Awakening! This set has Gordon blowing in some richly creative territory, especially for the 80s – a soulful, stretched-out sort of groove that's mostly built around original compositions by Frank – well-written numbers with a strong undercurrent of darkness, even at moments of brighter light from some of the soloists – who include Bobby Watson on alto sax, Ari Brown on tenor, and James Williams on piano. There's a rock-solid rhythm section on the date – courtesy of Rufus Reid on bass and Carl Allen on drums – which offsets some of the more exploratory horn passages nicely – and titles include "El Toro", "Clarion Echoes", "Convulsion", "Illusion", "Libra", and "Take Off".