The Great Pretender (Lester Bowie album)


The Great Pretender is the first album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM and released in 1981.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "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

  1. "The Great Pretender" - 16:22
  2. "It's Howdy Doody Time" - 2:08
  3. "When the Doom Comes Over the Mountain" - 3:39
  4. "Rios Negroes" - 7:17
  5. "Rose Drop" - 7:28
  6. "Oh, How the Ghost Sings" 5:50

    Personnel