1975 Hannibal Marvin Peterson “Hannibal” on MPS/BASF

First, SIEMPRE ANTIFASCISTA! I mean, if jazz is to teach us anything, there is royalty (Count Basie, Duke Ellington, King Curtis, Prince, King Floyd, George Duke, Sir Duke, Count Five, Duke Pearson, Duke Reid, Prince Jammy, The Duchess, The Viscounts, King Crimson, Earl Fatha Hines, Earl King, and Earl Chinna Smith), but there are NO KINGS! Not only politically, but no one, not even Sun Ra, can control, contain, or corrupt jazz.

Hannibal Barca was the King of Carthage, who slaughtered so many hapless Roman soldiers there is probably a monument to him in Valhalla, and he really did lead a herd of elephants over the alps for a surprise attack before the battle of Cannae, and although verifiable specifics are not at hand, just contradictory oral recitations, word on the streets is that hardly any of the elephants survived, but even the few who did, while rampaging through the ranks, terrified the Roman soldiers to such a degree that some went mad.

On the other hand, Hannibal Marvin Peterson is a killer and totally unsung trumpet player who effortless skips between multiple genres - soul jazz, spiritual jazz, straight Modal, heavy funk, Eastern Melodicism, Empowerment Vibes, proto-disco, free jazz, and Rare Groove.

I found this sealed copy in the wild a week ago! It is a huge upgrade from my decidedly hammered JP copy, which I have since traded for two tacos. Man, it’s nice to hear it clean and fat and engineered in the way only The Germans can. To be honest, all you really need to know is Stafford James on bass. KILLER ACTION. Oh yeah.