The Squid's Ear Magazine


Edmaiston, Art / Chad Fowler w/ Bob Moses / Damon Smith / Clifford Jackson: Memphis Mandala (Mahakala Music)

Recorded live at Crosstown Arts in Memphis in March 2024, this concert brought together Art Edmaiston, Chad Fowler, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Damon Smith and Clifford "Pee Wee" Jackson for a spiritually charged free jazz session that channels a deep Southern lineage, blending blues-rooted intensity with fearless collective improvisation into a cohesive, dramatic and wholly spontaneous performance.
 

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Personnel:



Art Edmaiston-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone

Chad Fowler-stritch, flute

Bob Moses-drums, percussion, gongs

Damon Smith-bass

Clifford Pee Wee Jackson-drums

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UPC: 195269402556

Label: Mahakala Music
Catalog ID: MAHA-091
Squidco Product Code: 37090

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded live in the Green Room at Crosstown Arts, in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 22nd, 2024, by Tim Hall.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

Art Edmaiston - Memphis, TN saxophonist, improvisor/composer and player of "Ecstatic Energy Music". Credits include Gregg Allman, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Feat, JJ Grey & Mofro, Ra Kalam Bob Moses and many more.

"Art's voluptuous sound on the tenor saxophone was sculpted from years spent playing R&B and blues in Memphis, but has origins in the small country town of Troy, TN where he grew up playing alone in wide open farm land and soybean fields.

Edmaiston creates forward-looking music while being fully present in the moment. Bold improvisations teeming with energetic melodies that alternate between husky subtones and brilliant multiphonic flourishes. Blues and spiritual music are an underlying influence in the original compositions as well as a touchstone throughout his solo journeys.His personal creative approach to the soprano saxophone makes use of smeared notes, pitch bends and tonal manipulations offering listeners an aural picture of abstract liberated instrumental expression unlike anything heard in mainstream music performances."

-Choose 901 (https://choose901.com/event/art-edmaiston/)
2/20/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"I'm Chad Fowler. I write books, write and play music, write software, lead organizations (currently for Microsoft, in Berlin), invest in startups, speak at conferences, teach, learn, organize conferences, etc.

I started and co-organized a couple of Ruby-related conferences including The International Ruby Conference and RailsConf."

-Chad Fowler Website (http://chadfowler.com/)
2/20/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Bob Moses (born January 28, 1948) is an American jazz drummer.

Moses played with Roland Kirk in 1964-65 while he was still a teenager. In 1966 he and Larry Coryell formed The Free Spirits, a jazz fusion ensemble, and from 1967 to 1969 he played in Gary Burton's quartet. He also recorded with Burton in the 1970s, in addition to work with Dave Liebman/Open Sky, Pat Metheny, Mike Gibbs, Hal Galper, Gil Goldstein, Steve Swallow, Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan (from 1979 to 1982), George Gruntz, and Emily Remler (from 1983 to 1984). In the early 1970s he was a member of Compost with Harold Vick, Jumma Santos, Jack Gregg (fr) and Jack DeJohnette.

His first session as a leader was in 1968, released as the record Love Animal. His second session as a leader was in 1973 with the release of Bittersuite in the Ozone. his records for Gramavision in the 1980s were critically acclaimed.

He is also the author of the drum method book Drum Wisdom.

Moses currently performs alongside John Lockwood, Don Pate, and John Medeski with noted guitarist Tisziji Muñoz and teaches at New England Conservatory."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Moses_(musician))
2/20/2026

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"Damon Smith studied double bass with Lisle Ellis and has had lessons with Bertram Turezky, Joëlle Leandré, John Lindberg, Mark Dresser and others. Damon's explorations into the sonic palette of the double bass have resulted in a personal, flexible improvisational language based in the American jazz avant-garde movement and European non-idiomatic free improvisation. Visual art, film and dance heavily influence his music, as evidenced by his CAMH performance of Ben Patterson's Variations for Double Bass, collaborations with director Werner Herzog on soundtracks for Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World, and an early performance with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Damon has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including: Cecil Taylor, Marshall Allen (of Sun Ra's Arkestra), Henry Kaiser, Roscoe Mitchell, Michael Pisaro, Wadada Leo Smith, Marco Eneidi, Wolfgang Fuchs, Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. After many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, and five great years in Houston, Texas working regularly with Alvin Fielder, Sandy Ewen, David Dove & Chris Cogburn, Damon will move to the Boston area in the fall of 2016. Damon has run Balance Point Acoustics record label since 2001, releasing music focusing on transatlantic collaborations between US and European musicians."

-Balance Point Acoustic Website (https://www.balancepointacoustics.com/damon-smith/)
2/20/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Clifford "Pee Wee" Jackson is driven by an uncompromising dedication to his craft, approaching music with the same relentless work ethic he admires in elite athletes - a mindset grounded in the belief that growth never stops and that there is always more to learn, refine and explore.

From an early age, Jackson committed himself to becoming the strongest musician he could be, living life through his drums and allowing his experiences to shape his sound in return. He is not simply a technically accomplished drummer, nor merely a player of feel and instinct - he embodies both precision and deep musicality, balancing command of the instrument with emotional intelligence and groove.

Now one of the most in-demand drummers on the Nashville scene, Jackson has built a reputation not only for his versatility and power behind the kit, but also for his character and collaborative spirit. His profile continues to rise steadily, yet he remains focused on the long arc of development, viewing each performance as part of a much larger journey - one he believes is still only just beginning.

-Drummer's Resource (https://www.drummersresource.com/cliff-pee-wee-jackson-interview/)
2/23/2026

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Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:

February 2026
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Duo Recordings
Collective & Free Improvsation
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Mahakala Music.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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