Hooky

by François CoutureMarch 24, 1976: Steve Lacy plays his first concert in Montreal, at St.-Jean l'Évangéliste Church. This solo appearance was recorded but only 25 minutes of the performance can be found on side one of the 1979 Quark LP The Woe (side two being "The Woe"). Over 20 years later, the label Emanem released the complete concert (minus an aborted piece and applause) on the CD Hooky. Good idea. The church's acoustics gave Lacy's soprano saxophone more body than usual -- he also played with the room's possibilities on "The New Duck" -- and compensated for poor sound quality (as the left channel on the recording is defective at times). The first set was comprised of a selection of short original compositions, including "The Crust," "Pearl Street," and "Hooky," the latter being only documented on this CD. In the second set, Lacy performed his suite "Tao" and came back for an encore ("Revolutionary Suicide"). Apart from "Hooky," all the material is well documented elsewhere, but the saxophonist was very inspired on this particular date. Lifted by an impressive sense of well-being (which becomes almost palpable on "Tao"), the music totally makes up for the small recording imperfections. Fans of Lacy will find him at his best on Hooky.