An exceedingly odd free jazz classic,
Bittersuite in the Ozone was recorded in 1973 and reissued by the Brooklyn-based percussion label Amulet in 1999. It features some of the music's leading lights: bassist
Eddie Gomez, drummer
Billy Hart, saxophonists
David Liebman and
Daniel Carter, trumpeters
Randy Brecker and
John D'earth, tuba virtuoso
Howard Johnson, vocalist
Jeanne Lee, and more.
Bob Moses, pictured inside with a huge hippie Afro, plays not only drums and percussion, but also vibes (on "Glitteragbas Solo") and rather excellent piano (on the sprawling epic "Stanley Free"). Compositionally, he is at his peak on the very brief, classically influenced "Message to the Music Bizness." Bittersuite is to some degree a dated period piece, but its radical aesthetic remains a touchstone of sorts for the jazz avant-garde. ~ David R. Adler