Gary Bartz has achieved legend status several times over. For some, of course, merely having been in one of Miles Davis’s great touring and recording bands would have been enough. Others might choose his terrific sideman work with McCoy Tyner or with Norman Connors or with any of a number of others. Some would certainly choose his many fine dates as a leader. Today, in his seventies, Bartz is discussed with deep admiration and is frequently honored with prestige gigs and honors.
But none of that is what Richard Admiral and I will apply the Deep Focus to. In the early- and mid-seventies, Bartz led a blistering post-jazz group called Ntu Troup. It’s an everything-at-once explosion of musical joy that anticipated much of what today’s emerging musicians are doing. It’s some of the music that Richard and his friends listened to at that time when they were bombing the train yards, back when he was known in the streets as “Bama.” Trust me: you’ll like this one!
WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR HD-1, wkcr.org. Monday night from 6pm to 9pm NYC time.