Outer and Interactions
Outer and Interactions is an album by Jerome Cooper. It was recorded in February 1987 at Acoustilog in New York City, and was released on LP by About Time Records in 1988. On the album, Cooper is joined by saxophonist Joseph Jarman, violinist Jason Hwang, bassist William Parker, and drummer Thurman Barker. Reception. In a review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick wrote: "The pieces are episodic, full of incisive details, melodic, and swingingly propulsive for the most part, tightly performed by the intriguing band... In a sense, these compositions appear to be outgrowths of his solo performances, having  a rhythmic base that owes something to both contemporary minimalism and West African drumming, but the singing melodies come as a very pleasant surprise... "Outer and Interactions" is one of the finer group recordings to have emerged from the American avant jazz scene of the late '80s, but one that went virtually unrecognized. Highly recommended." Writing for The Hum, Bradford Bailey commented: ""Outer and Interactions" is a decidedly avant-garde gesture which can't help being funky. It's challenging, fun, filled with joy, and defies the easy categorization of Jazz. At moments it flirts the territories of advanced classical  music, and at others it sounds like a mad marching band of clowns playing Kazoos. It's an album I find myself going back to time and time again, never quite able to wipe the smile from my face." Track listing. All compositions by Jerome Cooper.