Larry Nozero – Time

Description

A native of Detroit, the flute player on Eddie Russ’ “Lope Song”, Nozero spent time in Charles Moore’s Detroit Contemporary 5 (part of Strata Inc.) before being drafted into the military. While enlisted, Nozero capitalized on his time by honing his craft in the Army Band. By the time he returned to Detroit, Nozero had little trouble landing high-profile gigs. No stranger to success, Nozero’s previous credits and collaborators include Henry Mancini, Sergio Mendes, and playing Soprano sax on Marvin Gaye’s iconic 1971 album, What’s Going On.

Working with his cousin and collaborator Dennis Tini, Time is unlike many albums of the era in that it truly feels like a work fueled by freewheeling expressionism. The pieces are funky, soulful, strange and soothing all at once. Tini’s stand-out contribution to the album is “Tune for L.N.”, a funk-fueled piece of rhythm-centric jazz. A distinguishing feature of the album is the use of wordless vocalise. The scat work on part two of “Chronicle Of The Murdered House” adds a distinct counterpoint to Nozero’s reedwork, while the high pitch bebop of “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” closes out the album with a carefree and buoyant groove.