And "Blue Anthem" — with its ensemble chord of impending doom, the trumpet theme that followed and Miguel Zenon's tart and thoughtful alto commentary — later left the pain and pleasure of a brass sustain to become Steve Cardenas' solo guitar that played out as a quiet hymn.

Which leads me to make this comparison.

I'm saying that the politics — and music — of the Liberation Music Orchestra were all about pause and reflect, while the previous evening's William Parker Ensemble: The Inside Stories of Curtis Mayfield was all about an incitement, albeit abstracted, to politicized action.

Maybe two opposite flips of the same coin?

In any case, the arrangements by Carla Bley always left spaces open for the soloists — and because all the soloists were so creative — their full inner life, in turn, irradiated the brilliant arrangements.