#monnette sudler

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Khan Jamal and Monnette Sudler performing in Philadelphia in the mid-1970s

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Monnette Sudler

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Laurie Bogin - Thunder in the Sky (Buddah)

Female Guitarist, Miss Bogin plays several instruments on this her soliterary LP,  1975.

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Monnette Sudler – In My Own Way (Steeplechase)

A vital participant in Philadelphia’s creative music communities for over fifty-years, guitarist/vocalist Monnette Sudler was also a pioneer in melding jazz, pop, and folk influences into a warmly personal alloy of improvisation-inclusive expression. Despite a lengthy career, her efforts didn’t yield more than modest discography, with a handful of credits as a leader joining contributions to projects by vibraphonist Khan Jamal and the Sounds of Liberation collective as the sum of her catalog. Sudler’s most prolific label association was with the Steeplechase imprint in the 1970s, resulting in two studio albums and a Danish concert date released over a two-year time span. In My Own Way is something of a long-lost companion to those dates. Recorded in a studio two days prior to the live album in June of 1978, it features the same band augmented by percussionist Mohamed Al-Jabry.

Sudler and producer Nils Winther strangely decided to shelve the session, and both forgot about it for the better part of forty years. Pandemic downtime precipitated renewed interest and Winther decided to add an unreleased performance from the contemporaneous concert to take advantage of CD capacity. The result is both companion piece and time machine, visiting Sudler in her youthful prime with colleagues who are dialed in to her designs. Pianist Oliver Collins, electric bassist Kenny Kellem and drummer Newman Taylor Baker evince collective commitment from the jump. Sudler’s cleanly amplified picking bobs and weaves with the Collins’ bright chording on the opening “Thoughts,” the first of five compositions by the leader. There’s a flanging bite to her ringing octaves and serrated runs that contrasts exhilaratingly with Collins’ more conventional comping.

“Easy Living” introduces Al-Jabry’s percussion instruments and gives Kellem and Baker the chance to roam around a revolving Caribbean rhythm. Once again, Sudler’s strings balance sharpness and sweetness and while the piece errs to the slightly drawn out, it’s still a worthy entry in terms of the colors and textures explored. A pair of torch songs, the title piece and “Message to My Love” showcase Sudler’s pipes. The lyrics traffic in amorous affirmations and attentions with Sudler tempering her guitar tone to match sentiment-saturated moods. “Fire and Air,” a smoldering blues shuffle, and Miles Davis’ “All Blues,” the only standard of the session and a feature for Kellem’s percolating strings, are the other ensemble vehicles. “Libra Rising,” the closing concert cut, sprawls past twenty-one-minutes and it’s a welcome counterpart to the half-hour version long available on the band’s live album. Sudler’s still active on the Philly scene and this previously sequestered session should hopefully raise her profile.

Derek Taylor

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Khan JAMAL’s CREATIVE ARTS ENSEMBLE

"Drum Dance to the Motherland"

(LP. Eremite rcds. 2017 / rec. 1972) [US]

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Sounds of Liberation - New Life (Dogtown)

Gtr, Monnette Sudler

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Sounds of Liberation - Billie One (Dogtown)

sleeve artwork, Leroy Butler, 1972

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Khan JAMAL’s CREATIVE ARTS ENSEMBLE “Drum Dance to the Motherland” (LP. Eremite rcds. 2017 / rec. 1972) [US]