March 1998

Archie Shepp
Four For Trane
Impulse!

By Tom Terrell

All praises be to Archie Shepp. Today, he's almost the Forgotten Man, but back in 1964 when he recorded Four For Trane (his debut as a leader), he was one of the few young tenor players who was able to outdistance the great black tornado that was John Coltrane. As if to underscore his individuality, Shepp and his crew of iconoclasts (Roswell Rudd, trombone; John Tchicai, alto; Alan Shorter, trumpet; Charles Moffett, drums; Reggie Workman, bass) took four of the master's best known tunes and made 'em new again.