Ask The Ages

Unreleased Sonny Sharrock piece

A few years ago, a publication asked me to write a short piece on Sonny Sharrock’s 1991 album, Ask The Ages. I wrote it and they never published it for some reason, so here it is! Also, check out this live concert of Sharrock in Prague circa 1990.

Sonny Sharrock Band - Lucerna Hall Prague 4.10.90

Throughout the late 1960s and early 70s, the stylistic breadth of Sonny Sharrock’s session work was almost as broad as that of contemporary jazz itself. Sharoock made his name early on playing on breezy, soul-jazz sides led by popular jazz stars like Herbie Mann (Glory Of Love) and Roy Ayers (Daddy Bug). He was also equally comfortable as a sideman to the avant-garde experiments of trumpeter Don Cherry (Eternal Rhythm) and contributing to classics like Miles Davis’ electrified Jazz-Rock opus, Jack Johnson. In the 1980s and '90s, Sharrock continued pushing the guitar to its limits with several solo releases, and playing alongside Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell, and Ronald Shannon Jackson, as a member of blistering Free-Jazz/Rock supergroup, Last Exit.

In 1991, Sharrock released Ask The Ages, a fierce highpoint in the guitarist’s rich catalog, infusing jazz with the energy of rock music. With an all-star lineup that consists of Pharoah Sanders on tenor and soprano sax, Charnett Moffett on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, Ask The Ages is a clear spiritual descendant of the fiery and revolutionary experiments that Coltrane laid down on albums like Kulu Sé Mama and Meditations. Throughout the album, Jones and Moffett lay down a burning rhythmic palette for Sharrock and Sanders’ ecstatic and often noisy solos.

The band explodes out the gate with “Promises Kept”, a tune with a catchy and majestic main melody and solos from Sharrock and Sanders that pushes the limits of Bebop into full-blown, open-concept free improvisation. “Who Does She Hope to Be” opens with an understated and regal theme before yielding to Sharrock’s dreamy and melodic solo. Moving effortlessly from soft and intricate Jazz solos to rowdy Rock-like riffing, Ask The Ages makes a powerful case for Sharrock’s inclusion among the giants of both the jazz and rock guitar pantheon.

(Photo by K. Abe/Shinko Music)