FRANCISCO MORA CATLETT  

OUTERZONE / Premier Cru, 2007

Description: Featuring Marshall Allen on alto sax & flute, Craig Taborn on keyboards & bass keys, Carl Craig on synth & space programming, John Douglass & Dwight Adams on trumpets, Cassious Richmond on alto sax (1 track), Brian Hollis & Andrew Daniels on percussion and Francisco Mora Catlett on assorted percussion, arranging and composing. The wonderful thing about working here at DMG is when someone you've never met or heard of comes in and hands you their disc and it blows you (me) away. This is certainly the case here! Francisco Mora Catlett is a fine percussionist and composer who was a member of Max Roach's M'Boom and played with the Sun Ra Arkestra for more than a decade in the 70's and 80's.

'OuterZone' opens with an impressive blast of synth, sax, trumpet and percussion called "Space Chord." Every other track is another short blast of a "Space Chord". "Saints of Congo Square" is dedicated to New Orleans' finest: Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden and Baby Dodds. It features some inspired alto sax and trumpets wailing together over an impressive Afro-Cuban percussion groove. Each "Space Chord" provides a short, uplifting percussive interlude before we sail into the next tune. "Voodoo" is for Miles Davis & Jimi Hendrix and again both trumpets (one muted) and alto sax play their righteous parts over another funky. Latiny groove. Considering I hadn't heard of either trumpet player before this, both are great and distinctly different in tone and approach. That muted trumpeter is somewhat Miles-like and sounds pretty amazing. One of the things about this disc that makes it special is that it is so well produced, everything seems to fit no matter how far out it gets. The spirit of Sun Ra is at the center without any of the totally-out horn blasting that tended to scare some folks away, although on a few of the "Space Chords" they do get close. Even the occasional drum machine beats never hold this disc back from being consistently engaging and infectious at times. Francisco's righteous percussion is at the center of most of these pieces and holds the thread together throughout. It is rare that music that makes one want to dance is also so spirited and challenging to listen to as well, but many of these pieces work well on both levels. 'OuterZone' is this week's great under-recognized gem. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean. - BLG / Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

 DIASPORA MEETS AFRO HORN ‘JAZZ: A MUSIC OF THE SPIRIT. OUT OF SISTAS’ PLACE’ CD (SELF-RELEASED) 5/5
19TH JUNE 2020 UKVIBE
Brooklyn based bandleader and trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah has recently released his first album in 15 years. Abdullah’s band is Diaspora, an acronym for Dispersions of the Spirit of Ra. Abdullah was a long time member of his mentor Sun Ra’s Arkestra. On this recording, Diaspora joins forces with percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett’s Afro Horn Ensemble. The line up for the record is Ahmed Abdullah (trumpet, flugal-horn and vocals) Monique Ngozi Nri (vocals) Alex Harding (baritone sax) Don Chapman (tenor sax) Bob Stewart (tuba) Donald Smith (piano) Radu Ben Judah (bass) Francisco Mora Catlett, Ronnie Burrage and Roman Diaz (percussion).
The titular Sistas’ Place is a Brooklyn community coffee shop and music venue founded in 1995 by Viola Plummer. Abdullah is the musical director of the venue.
Abdullah began to work with Sun Ra in 1975, he explained to The Wire magazine recently that as a young man he hoped to establish himself as a band leader and was concerned about what he might himself get from the relationship with Sun Ra, in these early days he combined work with the Arkestra with establishing himself as a band leader and producing a number of his own records. Abdullah described a vivid dream from this period in which he was told Sun Ra was his mentor and he should be back in the Arkestra on a full-time basis. This he did and continued to play and tour with the Arkestra following the death of Sun Ra first under the leadership of John Gilmore then Marshall Allen.
Abdullah gives an insight into his attitude towards life when he talks about the Sun Ra composition ‘Fate In A Pleasant Mood’ ‘you’re just a puppet and a pawn in the hands of fate, but if you have faith then you can find fate in a pleasant mood and change your destiny.’ He describes changing his destiny by rejoining Sun Ra which eventually led to meeting his future wife, the writer and poet Monique Ngozi Nri while on tour in London.
The centrepiece of this album is probably the 17-minute reworking of Abdullah’s song ‘Eternal Spiraling Spirit’ which appears originally on Life’s Force, his first release as leader in 1979. The spiritual vibe is evident from the outset as muted trumpet and bass intermingle before the trumpet soars and percussive waves combine with his wife Monique Ngozi Nri’s impassioned delivery of Louis Reyes River’s poem ‘A Place I’ve Never Been’ which is dedicated to the memory of Malcolm X. ‘Did you see the bullet cry?’ asks the narrator, a witness to the murder of Malcolm X before asking, ‘was you there? Did you go to hear a poem in his every word?’ The lines are emphasized by repetition giving a vivid almost cinematic visualisation of the scene rerun in what feels like slow motion from multiple viewpoints, including that of the bullet itself. Abdullah explained the original tune was dedicated to the idea of reincarnation and he and Rivera united this theme with the poem while working together at Sistas’ Place.
There’s also a great version of Sun Ra’s ‘Love In Outer Space’ the original lyrics are sung in harmony by Ngozi Nri and Abdullah and expanded with more poetry of Rivera, ‘the womb of space unfolds in the uterus of silence’. There’s a retro feel to the music but at the same time a contemporary thread runs through with the new lines adding a mood of celestial sexual exploration.
The whole album has a narrative arc, a journey through memory via the Earthly horror of an assassin’s bullet through the spiritual optimism of reincarnation to the freedom of celestial love and the finality of ‘Terra Firma’ a brief poem by Monique Ngozi Nri towards the close of the album which concisely draws our attention to the contradictions and injustice of life on Terra Firma with lines like ‘Rooted like ancestors beside a sea of protest’ and ‘free and unfree, clear and unclear’.
There’s plenty on this album that will be familiar to fans of Sun Ra, Abdullah is certainly succeeding in his mission to keep the music of his mentor alive but his own voice is powerful in the mix and I’m guessing his younger self might be pretty satisfied with the outcome.
James Read

Tracklist
Accent
Eternal Spiraling Spirit
Discipline 27
Love in Outer Space
Magwalandini
Lights on a Satellite
Terra Firma
Reminiscing

Personnel
Ahmed Abdullah trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Francisco Mora-Catlett multi percussion
Monique Ngozi Nri poetry and vocals
Alex Harding baritone saxophone
Don Chapman tenor saxophone
Bob Stewart tuba
Donald Smith piano
Radu ben Judah bass
Ronnie Burrage multi percussion
Roman Diaz percussion


Far Out Recordings is delighted to present Mora!, and for the first time ever on vinyl Mora! II. Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett originally recorded and released his debut solo LP as a private press in 1987, but the sequel he recorded over the course of the next few years with an expanded Detroit jazz brass section was shelved for decades to follow. A pan-American melting pot of hypnotic afro-cuban rhythms, frenetic batucadas and fiery sambas, Mora I & II are holy grails of latin jazz, masterminded by an unsung hero of the genre.
Born in Washington DC, 1947, Francisco Mora Jr is the eldest child of two highly prominent Mexican artists, Francisco Mora Sr and Elizabeth Catlett, to whom this project was dedicated. Being born into a mixed heritage bohemian family provided Mora Jr with what he called a “creative, progressive, and healthy arts environment”, building the foundations for a fascinating career journey ahead. Mora grew up in Mexico City where he began working as a session musician for Capitol Records in 1968, before moving to study at Berklee Music College in Boston, MA in 1970. Once he’d completed his studies in 1973, he very briefly returned to Mexico City with the best intentions of cultivating an avant-garde movement in the city, but when the Sun Ra Arkestra came to perform, Mora ended up leaving with the band to tour the world for the next seven years, a decent innings within a group famous for its constantly evolving line up.
Settling in Detroit after his years with the Arkestra, Francisco set to work on his self-titled debut, gathering an ensemble of musicians that included keyboardist Kenny Cox, founder of the legendary Strata Records, esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker of the Roy Hargrove Quintet and percussionists Jerome Le Duff, Alberto Nacif, and Emile Borde. The album openly embraces and unites the broad spectrum of improvisation, rhythm, and jazz that has thrived throughout the American continents for centuries. In Mora’s own words the album intended to “manifest the African heritage presence in the American continent.” Epitomising this outlook, album opener ‘Afra Jum’ deploys a melody based on Haitian, African and Native American motifs, which is expanded upon by the soulful excellence of the Detroit veterans Cox and Whitaker, amidst a backdrop of afro-cuban inspired percussion.
The sequel Mora II was recorded shortly after with an expanded line up that included trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, famed for his work with Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Eddie Russ and Wendell Harrison. Continuing the concept of the first album, the follow up moves deeper into South America with the samba jazz dance belter ‘Amazona’, led by the rich vocals of Francisco’s wife Teresa Mora. The ‘Afra Jum’ concept is further explored, with the original motifs beefed up by the additional horns, and interspersions of Sun Ra inspired rumbling free improvisations. This follow up album remained shelved until 2005, when Mora put it out as a now obscure CD titled River Drum, but only now has it been given the high quality vinyl treatment it so deserves, presented as the sequel to Mora! as originally intended.
Through the 90s and into the the 21st century Mora would continue his Pan-American explorations, moving toward a more electronic afro-futurist direction as part of Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra. Mora also worked with Carl Craig, moog synth wizard Craig Taborn, and his former Arkestra colleague, the legendary Marshall Allen, to form the Innerzone Orchestra spin-off Outerzone, released in 2007 on Premier Cru Records. Mora I & II will be out as two vinyl LPs, CD and digitally 26th March 2021.

Release date: 16th April 2021 | Also available on Bandcamp
Tracklist:
MORA I
1 Prelude Welcome
2 Afra Jum
3 Rumba Morena
4 Five A.M.
5 Samba De Amor
6 Cultural Warrior
7 Epilogue-Conga "Hasta La Vista"
MORA II
8 Afra Jum Pt. 2
9 Amazona Prelude "Dawn"
10 Amazona
11 Samba "Conga Do Amor"
12 El Moro
13 Old Man Joe
14 Por Que Paro
15 Afra Jum Pt. 3

Francisco Mora Catlett ‎– Mora!
Label: SHOUT! Productions ‎– SHOUT-255
Series: Deep Jazz Reality –
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Paper Sleeve
Country: Japan
Released: 26 Sep 2012

RIVER DRUM

Premier Cru, 2005 

Description: From 2005, this is an earlier gem from former Sun Ra & M'Boom percussionist, Francisco Mora Catlett. It features four different groups including a string quartet on one track. The players include Marcus Blegrave & John Douglass on trumpets, Alex Harding & Vincent Bowens on saxes, Sherman Mitchell on trombone, Craig Taborn or Kenny Cox on piano, Rodney Whittaker on bass, Emile Borde on steel drums, and Alberto Nacif, Jerry LeDuff & Francisco Mora Catlett on drums & percussion.
'River Drum' is one of the best percussion centered discs I've heard in a long while. Francisco wrote, arranged and produced this wonderful disc. I find this music to by joyous, jubilant and rhythmically seductive. The rich layer of interlocking percussion pushes this music to one great groove after another. I only know of a few of the musicians on this disc, but everyone plays superbly throughout. It is always great to hear local bari sax giant Alex Harding wail and he gets a few chances to stretch out here as well. The other (tenor) saxist here, Vincent Bowens also plays with fire and that creative spirit. Special mention to bassist Rodney Whitaker who plays some excellent acoustic bass throughout, bubbling and burning when need be. Steel drummer, Emile Borde, also sparkles all over the place, as do both trumpeters, the legendary Marcus Belgrave and John Douglass. Considering that this disc is some 75-minutes long, I must admit that it is consistently spirited and creative. The only Latin (oriented) jazz that has knocked me out in years comes from Kip Hanrahan. It would seem the great Francisco Mora Catlett has given Kip a run for his money. - BLG / Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

WORLD TRADE MUSIC

Community, 1999 

Description: This is an older studio project from 1999 which features Francisco Mora Catlett on drums, percussion & compositions, Craig Taborn & Kenny Cox on pianos, Marcus Belgrave & Nik Pena on trumpets, Vincent Bowens, Alex Harding & Cassius Richmond on saxes & flute, Sherman Mitchell on trombone, Rodney Whittaker on bass and Andrew Daniels, Jerome LeDuff & Alberto Nacif on percussion. Famed Detroit producer Carl Craig has much respect for his former homey, Mexican/American percussion hero Francisco Mora Catlett. So much respect that he lets Francisco utilize his studio when need be and Craig released this disc on his own label, Community Projects. Sadly, this disc didn't have great distribution or recognition when it first came out. Things have got to change...
The introduction is called "Welcome" and it consists of jungle sounds and layers of Latin percussion. "Iron Master" is a Yoruba traditional song and features two softly swirling pianos with simmering percussion. You might recall elder Blue Note legend, pianist Kenny Cox from two great albums with the Contemporary Jazz Quintet in the late 1960's. Both pianists here have obvious respect for one another play together superbly. Acoustic bassist Rodney Whitaker also stands out providing ample support and taking the occasional spirited bass solo. Four of these tracks are traditional Yoruda songs and each one has a special groove and/or vibe with enchanting percussion at the center of each piece. Although Francisco is the main drummer throughout this disc, the other percussionists are on just a couple of songs each. It is Mr. Catlett's spirited drumming that is at the center of each piece, shaping and directing the joyous currents the run throughout this entire disc. There are number of highlights here like the hypnotic mbira & tranquil trumpet on "The Other Side of the Mask" as well as that most lyrical sax & melody on "Cultural Warrior". There is a most uplifting spirit that runs through this entire disc like a lifeline to & from the source. It seems sad that it took ten years for someone to notice how special and overlooked this disc is. I guess it is never too late to give some credit where credit is due. So here it is - rejoice! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery