Steve Smith & Vital Information - A Prayer For The Generations (2023)

During Steve Smith’s formative years at the Berklee College of Music in the early 70s, he often played with saxophonist George Garzone’s group The Fringe. Steve reached out to George and invited him to play a few tunes on the TIME FLIES recording. When that session was finished the group decided to continue recording together and explore stellar regions. George called Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up.” They played one high-energy take and decided to enter a space of “collective group composition.” George suggested: “Let’s play as if we are offering a prayer.” The result is A PRAYER FOR THE GENERATIONS Parts 1–8. Each piece was improvised and performed one time in the order presented on Disc 2. The players connected in a telepathic zone creating an acoustic/electric sonic landscape infused with question/answer, discovery and surprise, with pieces ranging from mid-tempo groovers, rubato ballads, 3/4 blues to up-tempo burners; A truly innovative chapter in the ever-evolving musical output of Steve Smith and Vital Information.