The Great Pretender is the eighth album by American jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie as leader, recorded in June 1981 and released on ECM later that year.
Contents
Reception
The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos stated: "The Great Pretender is a perfect title for this effort, a mix of funk and humor, gospel and jazz, with no small points of reference to Dizzy Gillespie, early doo wop, Mahalia Jackson, James Brown, and Sun Ra... The Great Pretender falls just short of Bowie's magnum opus The 5th Power, but not by much in terms of sheer modernism. It's utterly enjoyable creative jazz, worthy of a space in your collection."
Track listing
"The Great Pretender" (Buck Ram) – 16:22
"It's Howdy Doody Time" (Edward Kean) – 2:08
"When the Doom (Moon) Comes over the Mountain" (Harry M. Woods, Howard E. Johnson; Lester Bowie (arr.)) – 3:39
"Rios Negroes" (Bowie) – 7:17
"Rose Drop" (Bowie) – 7:28
"Oh, How the Ghost Sings" (Bowie, Donald Smith, Fred Williams, Phillip Wilson, Manfred Eicher, Martin Wieland) 5:50
Personnel
Lester Bowie – trumpet
Donald Smith – piano, organ
Fred Williams – bass, electric bass
Phillip Wilson – drums
Additional musicians ("The Great Pretender")
Hamiet Bluiett – baritone saxophone
Fontella Bass – vocal
David Peaston – vocal
Technical personnel
Manfred Eicher – producer
Martin Wieland – engineer
Dieter Rehm – cover design, cover photography
Helmut Frühauf – liner photography