Arnold Cheatham - Thing

The rare 1972 album released by Cheatham's first group, "Thing" consists of two sprawling songs of Jazz tempered with bristly Funk. Few points of comparison for the group exist in the Boston Jazz world, then or now, but several influences predominate. The album certainly stands in the shadow of Miles; Vagn Leick's dark chords especially are straight out of "Live Evil" or "Agharta." the most aggressive moments on the album are on the last half of "Road Through the Wall," where Leick's keys and Saltman's bass are overdriven through amplifiers, resulting in a glorious wall of noise. Kiah Nowlin keeps the beat more than steady, culminating in a drum break on "Road Through the Wall pt. 3" that has to be heard to be believed.