Rabble Without A Cause
Wednesday February 1st, 2012 with Bernard Stepien
Archie Shepp in Chambery, 1987

During the second half of the '70s, Archie Shepp underwent a radical transformation in his approach to music. All of the techniques and sound strongly rooted into the Blues or even field hollers he developed during the '60s to support the radicalism of avant-garde Jazz were put to use in a wall to wall exploration of Jazz history. Sidney Bechet, Erroll Garner, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and many others combined with the reverence to great saxophonists like Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster were the main staple of a legion of concerts in Europe and particularly in France. Chambery in the French Alps is a small provincial town, probably the size of Hawksberry. Still, like in many other provincial towns across Europe, Shepp always plays in front of packed audiences.