domingo, 31 de mayo de 2009

Anthony Braxton - Six Monk's Compositions (1987)




The band Anthony Braxton assembled for this unique exploration of the compositions of Thelonious Monk is one of the wonders of the composer's retinue. Braxton, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Bill Osborne use six Monk tunes and go hunting for harmonic invention; in order, they are "Brilliant Corners," "Reflections," "Played Twice," "Four in One," "Ask Me Now," and "Skippy." From the jump, the listener can tell this is no ordinary Monk tribute. The music is fast, skittering along at a dervish's pace on "Brilliant Corners," and Braxton's horn -- an alto on this album -- moves right for that street where interval meets modulation and sticks his solo in the center, careening over the arrangement -- which is what the tune is in essence, an arrangement rather than a "song" -- and slipping just behind the beat to allow Waldron's brittle, almost angular percussive sonority to define the melody enough to move around the harmonic framework. And this is only the beginning. The other five compositions here are treated in a similar fashion, in that they are radically reinterpreted, played and executed with a degree of musicianship seldom found on any tribute. Braxton's intent was to get at the knotty -- even nutty -- harmonic and rhythmic idiosyncrasies that make Monk's music connect so deeply and widely yet remain difficult to interpret correctly. If all you get is a listen to "Four in One" or "Skippy," just listen to how completely each of these musicians reinvents himself to approach the material. On alternating tunes, Braxton and Waldron provide the catalyst, but all four become changelings in light of this intense and addictive harmonic conception. (Thom Yurek)

1. Brillant Corners
2. Reflections
3. Played Twice
4. Four In One
5. As Me Now
6. Skippy


Anthony Braxton (alto sax); Mal Waldron (piano); Buell Neidlinger (bass); Billy Osborne (drums).

Recorded on June 30th & July 1st, 1987 at Barigozzi Studio, Milano (Italy).

Old and New Dreams - Old and New Dreams (1976)



These four alums of groups led by Ornette Coleman got together to explore the sound and repertoire that their mentor had largely given up when they cut this record back in 1976. They were so pleased with the experience they adopted the album title for the group name and went on to make several for albums over the next decade or so. This brilliant debut made clear that the approach was as vital and potent as ever. Although the opening track "Handwoven" is the only Coleman tune included here, the original pieces by Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, and Charlie Haden were all composed and performed in the spirit of the saxophonist’s classic quartet.


Redman’s playing always reflected a more conventional harmonic sensibility, so Old and New Dreams doesn’t sound quite as freewheeling as its model, but there’s no missing the sublime interplay, flashes of collective improvisation and unabashed melodic ebullience. Despite the inspiration, however, there’s no doubt that this quartet’s stands on its own merits, from the singular way Blackwell could breakdown a swing pattern as productive jabs at the frontline improvisers to Cherry’s magical yet deeply human lines to the distinctive musette playing Redman drops on the title track. An underrated classic. (Peter Margasak)


1.- Handwoven
2.- Dewey's Tune
3.- Chairman Mao
4.- Next to the Quiet Stream
5.- Augmented
6.- Old and New Dreams


Don Cherry (pocket trumpet); Dewey Redman (tenor sax and musette); Charlie Haden (bass); Eddie Blackwell (drums)


Recorded in October 1976, at Generation Sound Studios, New York.

sábado, 30 de mayo de 2009

Cecil Taylor - The Willisau Concert (2000)




One of most Taylor's accesible and beauty solo concerts. Also one of my favourites
.


Cecil Taylor had released numerous albums of solo recitals, and picking the best out of such a stellar crop is next to impossible. At the very least, it's safe to say that among his recordings after having reached the ripe age of 70, The Willisau Concert is among the very best and that it sits comfortably alongside discs like Indent, Silent Tongues, and Double Holy House. Since around 1970, in one sense Taylor, especially when playing solo, reiterates the same immensely deep composition time and time again. One hears almost the same motifs, usually subtly altered, a profound appreciation of the blues (if rarely directly stated), and an attack that, even if it had mellowed somewhat over the years, retained a hugely proud and rigorous character. Here, he battles a luxurious sounding Boesendorfer into submission, making rich use of its extra low notes; there's almost always a rumbling going on. His unyielding invention is at the forefront as he wrings variation upon sublime invention on his repository of melodic lines, never noodling about in search of inspiration, always somehow summoning it directly to his fingertips. The live performance is sliced into five sections. A lengthy main portion seemingly leaving no stone unturned is both beautiful and exhausting on it own. But then, as though Taylor realized there were things left unsaid, he launches into a stunning 13-minute postlude, breathtaking in its touch and level of emotion. In an embarrassment of riches, he adds three brief and exquisite addenda, achieving a delicacy and depth unmatched by any of his peers in the music. The Willisau Concert shows a grandmaster as yet unfazed by age, much less current fashion, and stands as one of Cecil Taylor's finest recordings. Very highly recommended.


1.- Willisau Concert part. 1
2.- Willisau Concert part. 2
3.- Willisau Concert part. 3
4.- Willisau Concert part. 4
5.- Willisau Concert part. 5


Cecil Taylor - piano

Recorded live on September 3, 2000, at the Jazzfestival Willisau.

Jimmy Lyons Quintet - We Sneezawee (1983)




...Karen Borca also appears to great effect on "Wee Sneezawee", perhaps the most conventional of these discs in freebop terms but a similarly invigorating session. Only on the brief, uncharacteristic "Ballada", with which the album ends, does Lyons occupy the foreground. It's immediately clear that his fey, slightly detached tone doesn't entail an absence of feeling; the closing track is a sad monument to a fading career.

(The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD - Ninth Edition)


1. Wee Sneezawee
2. Gossip
3. Remembrance
4. Shackinback
5. Driads


Jimmy Lyons (alto sax); Karen Borca (bassoon); Raphé Malik (trumpet); William Parker (bass); Paul Murphy (drums).

Recorded at September 26 & 27, 1983 at Vanguard Studios, New York.

jueves, 28 de mayo de 2009

Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory/Cecil Taylor Quartet - At Newport (1957)




At first combining a set by Cecil Taylor with another by the Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory seems like an odd pairing, but it ends up working rather well. These live recordings, which come from the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, have stood the test of time rather well. Taylor's style of piano playing is not that far removed from Thelonious Monk in his interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's "Johnny Come Lately," though his dissonant, angular approach is a bit busier; Steve Lacy's nasal-toned soprano sax and solid rhythmic support from bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Denis Charles fuel Taylor's fiery playing. Both Taylor's "Nona's Blues" and "Tune 2" are fairly accessible in comparison to his works in the decade which followed. The Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory -- with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Wendell Marshall, and drummer Osie Johnson -- is firmly rooted in hard bop. Oddly enough, none of the three pieces were written by either Gryce or Byrd, though they were both already budding composers at this point in their respective careers. But their brief program -- which includes Ray Bryant's "Splittin' (Ray's Way)," the blues "Batland," and a rousing rendition of "Love for Sale" -- is a good representation of this unfortunately short-lived and under-recorded group. Reissued as a part of Verve's limited-edition series in the summer of 2002, this valuable CD will be available until the summer of 2005.

1. Johnny Come Lately
2. Nona's Blues
3. Tune 2
4. Splittin'
5. Batland
6. Love for Sale


Cecil Taylor Quartet: Cecil Taylor (piano); Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone); Buell Neidlinger (bass); Denis Charles (drums).

The Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory (#4-6): Gigi Gryce (alto saxophone); Donald Byrd (trumpet); Hank Jones (piano); Wendell Marshall (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).

Recorded July 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival, Rhode Island: tracks 4-6 on July 5, and tracks 1-3 on July 6

miércoles, 27 de mayo de 2009

¡CAMPEONES DE EUROPA!

Ron Carter - Uptown Conversation (1969)


Ron Carter's Uptown Conversation may very well be the most intriguing, challenging, and resonant statement of many he has made over the years as a leader. Originally on the Embryo imprint of Atlantic Records, Wounded Bird now reissues it with two alternate takes. As a prelude to his funkier electric efforts for CTI and the wonderful dates for Milestone Records where he emphasized the piccolo bass, these selections showcase Carter with unlikely partners in early creative improvised settings, a hint of R&B, and some of the hard-charging straight-ahead music that he is most well known for. Flute master Hubert Laws takes a prominent role on several tracks, including the title cut with its funky but not outdated style, where he works in tandem with Carter's basslines. On "R.J.," the short hard bop phrasings of Laws and Carter are peppy and brisk, but not clipped. The first rendering of "Little Waltz" apart from the Miles Davis repertoire to which Carter contributed is more pensive and delicate, with Laws at the helm rather than Davis' trumpet. Carter's trio recordings with pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Billy Cobham are cast in a different light, as the lengthy "Half a Row" (referring to six of a twelve-tone row) is at once free, spacy, loose, and very atypical for these soon-to-be fusion pioneers. The three stay in a similar dynamic range during "Einbahnstrasse," but move to some hard bop changes informed by the brilliant chordal vamping and extrapolating of Hancock, while "Doom" is another 3/4 waltz with chiming piano offsetting Carter's skittering bass. There's also a free-and-easy duet with guitarist Sam Brown, and this reissued CD also includes alternate takes of both "Doom" and "Einbahnstrasse" as bonus tracks, the latter piece omitting the dark foreboding intro. Considering the music Ron Carter played preceding and following this effort, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more diverse, intellectually stimulating, enlivened, and especially unrestricted musical statement in his long and enduring career. (Michael G. Nastos)


1. Uptown Conversation
2. Ten Strings
3. Half A Row
4. R.J.
5. Little Waltz
6. Einbahnstrasse
7. Doom
8. Einbahnstrasse (alt. tk.)
9. Doom (alt. tk.)


Ron Carter (bass); Hubert Laws (flute); Herbie Hancock (piano); Billy Cobham, Grady Tate (drums).

Recorded at A & R Recording Studios, New York on Oct 6 & 7, 1969.

Sam Rivers - Crystals (1974)


When Sam Rivers' Crystals was released in 1974, it had been over a decade since Ornette had worked with his Free Jazz Double Quartet, nine years since Coltrane assembled his Ascension band, and six since the first Jazz Composers' Orchestra Association was formed and whose first records were issued (a couple of members of that band also perform with Rivers here). It's difficult to note in the 21st century just how forward-thinking this avant-garde big band was, and how completely innovative Rivers' compositions are. The number of musicians on this session is staggering: With Rivers, it numbers 64 pieces! A few of the names appearing here are Hamiet Bluiett, Richard Davis, Bob Stewart, John Stubblefield, Bill Barron, Robin Kenyatta, Julius Watkins, Norman Connors, Andrew Cyrille, Billy Hart, Ahmed Abdullah, Charles Sullivan, Clifford Thornton, Grachan Moncur, Ronnie Boykins, and Reggie Workman -- and no pianist. Musically, this is the mature Sam Rivers speaking from the wide base of his knowledge as a composer, improviser, and conceptualist. These compositions were written between 1959 and 1972, and were finished as new elements came to him to fit them together conceptually. The fact that all six of them are so gorgeously juxtaposed is a testament to his discipline and his vision. From the beginning of "Exultation," the horns storm out of the gate, saxophones up front in what appears to be full free jazz freakout. Trumpets and trombones bleat behind, and the bass violins bow in unison on a modal opening. Within minutes, however, the rhythm section kicks in, and a full-on swinging soprano solo accompanied by the stomping bass of Workman fills the center for about 40 bars until the entire band comes back for a restated them that is knotty yet swinging. A number of instruments then jump through the center of the piece, creating an intervallic dialogue that prompts the soloists to come back in and take it. The intervals and contrapuntal structures are subtle enough to avoid seams -- though the jagged edges in the solos provide dense and beautiful textures -- and when the whole band comes back in, one doesn't notice that they are all grooving in a whole new rhythmic situation that is full of stops, starts, and sideways maneuvers. On "Tranquility," the bassist lays down a syncopated funk groove and long, drifting melodic lines that are written out comes flowing in between the bass and Stewart's tuba. They shimmer around each other in harmonic dissonance, though with the dynamics controlled, the edges are rounded. Rivers has written some of the most complex music of his life here, allowing for short, poignant, and often strictly composed solos to complement the linear, contrapuntal structures that these towering compositions are. As soloists do give way to one another, it is remarkable that the sheer density of hard swing provides the center of the maelstrom with such a wide emotional and chromatic palette. This is spiritual music in the most profound sense in that it attempts to breach the gyre between what has previously been said -- by Ellington, most notably -- what can be said, and the musically unspeakable. There is a massive centrifugal force at work in Rivers compositions here; and it pulls everything in, each dynamic stutter, legato phrase, ostinato whisper, and alteration in pitch in favor of what comes next. The swinging nature of these tunes refutes once and for all whether or not avant-garde music can be accessible -- -though it's true Sun Ra had already done that, but never to this extent. In sum, there are harsh moments here to be sure, but they are part of a greater and far more diverse musical universe, they are shards in the prism of the deep and burning soul that these six compositions offer so freely. Of the many recordings Rivers has done, this was the very first to showcase the full range of his many gifts. It is an underrated masterpiece and among the most rewarding and adventurous listening experiences in the history of jazz. Now that it is available on CD with pristine sound, you have no excuse. (Thom Jurek, All Music Guide)

1. Exultation
2. Tranquility
3. Postlude
4. Bursts
5. Orb
6. Earth Song


Personnel: Sam Rivers (arranger, conductor, soprano & tenor saxophones); Fred Kelly (soprano, alto & baritone saxophones, flute, piccolo); Joe Ferguson (soprano & alto saxophones, flute); Roland Alexander (soprano & tenor saxophones, flute, African flute); Paul Jeffrey (tenor saxophone, flute, bassett horn); Sinclair Acey, Ted Daniel, Richard Williams (trumpet, flugelhorn); Charles Majeed Greenlee, Charles Stephens (trombone); Joe Daley (euphonium, tuba); Gregory Maker (bass); Warren Smith (drums); Harold Smith (percussion).

Recorded at Generation Sound Studios, New York, New York on March 4, 1974.

martes, 26 de mayo de 2009

Max Roach feat. Anthony Braxton - Birth and Rebirth (1978)





The duets with Braxton are a key point. In ther anxiety to sort-code music, critics couldn't decide who was climbing into whose pigeonhole, whether Birth and Rebirth was a better example of reedman's accommodation to the mainstream, or of Roach's avant-garde credentials. In the event, of course, they met exactly head-to-head. Braxton, even on this vintage, is still making respectful gestures towards bop, and Roach is constantly looking for points beyond orthodox time-signatures.
(
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD - Ninth Edition)

The first of drummer Max Roach's two duet sets with multireedist Anthony Braxton consists of seven fairly free improvisations that they created in the studio. Each of the selections (particularly "Birth" which builds gradually in intensity to a ferocious level, the waltz time of "Magic and Music," the atmospheric "Tropical Forest" and "Softshoe") have their own plot and purpose. Braxton (who performs on alto, soprano, sopranino and clarinet) and Roach continually inspire each other, which is probably why they would record a second set the following year. Stimulating avant-garde music. (Scott Yanow)

  1. Birth
  2. Magic And Music
  3. Tropical Forest
  4. Dance Griot
  5. Spirit Possession
  6. Softshoe
  7. Rebirth
Anthony Braxton - alto, soprano & sopranino saxophones, clarinet
Max Roach - drums


Recorded in September 1978 at Ricordi Studios, Milano.

lunes, 25 de mayo de 2009

Cecil Taylor - Olu Iwa (1986)




On the shelf for eight years before release, and whith Wright and McCall both gone in the interim, this already has the feel of history about it. Some of the music, too, has one reflecting on Taylor's own history: the presence of Barker's marimba harcks back to Earl Griffith on the ancient "Looking Ahead!", and the small group with horns reminds one of "Unit Structures". But the two sprawling pieces here (the first is almost 50 minutes; the second , where the horns depart, is nearly 30) have moved far on from those days. Alternately hymnal, purgatorial, intensely concentrated and wildly abandoned, the first theme is a carefully organized yet unfettered piece that again disproves Taylor's isolation (it's firmly within free jazz traditions, yet sounds like something no one else could have delivered). The second, despite the absence of the towering Brötzmann, superb in the first half, is if anything even more fervent, with the quartet - a more-time appearance for this band on record - playing at full strech. Another great one. (The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD - Ninth Edition)

1
B Ee Ba Nganga Ban'a Eee! (48:21)
2
Olu Iwa (Lord of Character) (27:09)


Cecil Taylor: piano; Thurman Barker: marimba, percussion; William Parker: bass; Steve McCall: drums.
Earl McIntyre: trombone (1); Peter Bröztmann: tenor sax, tarogato (1); Frank Wright: tenor sax (1)


Recorded live during the "Workshop Freie Musik 1986" of Berlin, April 11 & 12 1986.

sábado, 23 de mayo de 2009

Andrew Hill Trio - Strange Serenade (1980)



This is as dour and dark as anything Hill has committed to record. Silva and Waits are ideal partners in music that isn't so much minor-key as surpassingly ambigous in it's harmonic language. Hill seems on occasion to be exploring ideas that can be traced back to Bud Powell - no the straight bebop language so much as the more impressionistic things. There are curious little broken triplets and wide-interval phrases which seem to come straight from Bud's last recordings.

(The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD - Ninth Edition)

1. Mist Flower
2. Strange Serenade
3. Reunion
4. Andrew


Andrew Hill (piano); Alan Silva (bass); Freddie Waits (percussion).


Recorded at Barigozzi Studio, Milan, Italy on June 13 & 14, 1980.
Soul Note

viernes, 22 de mayo de 2009

David Murray Trio - 3D Family (1978)





A major early release by tenorist Murray, 3D Family appeared originally on Hat Hut records as a double LP before eventually being re-released on disc by hat ART. Murray performs here in a live context with one of his very strongest rhythm sections: the intensely musical South African bassist Johnny Dyani and veteran master drummer Andrew Cyrille. The program consists of all Murray compositions, weaving between burners, funky dances, and soulful ballads. "Patricia" is an especially lovely example of the latter, with Murray displaying his well-known penchant for Ben Webster-like growls, which almost inevitably mutate into upper-register cries. The title track is a wonderfully surging piece, full of drama. Dyani's propulsive playing here is astonishing; of all the bassists to accompany Murray, perhaps only the late Fred Hopkins was his peer. His often-played "P-O in Cairo" suffers a bit pared down to a trio, its sinuous line sounding a bit lost as though seeking support, but still the playing manages to salvage something. If anything, the length of the pieces allows Murray to drift on a bit longer than necessary at times. As often as not, though, he manages to wring out some extra juice, making it easy for the listener to grant him significant slack. Still in his mid-twenties, this recording captures him moving toward the crest of his powers (evidenced in his octets) and is one of the better trio dates in his discography. Recommended, as much for the marvelous "sidemen" as for Murray himself.


1.- 3D Family
2.- Patricia
3.- In Memory of Yoko Kenyatta
4.- Shout Song

David Murray (tenor saxophone); Johnny Mbizo Dyani (bass); Andrew Cyrille (drums)


Recorded in concert at Jazz Festival Willisau on September 3, 1978.
hatART 6020

Charles Tolliver Music Inc. & Orchestra - Impact (1975)


This is the japanese remastered edition of the big band Tolliver's "Impact" (not be confused with the quartet live album). Probably, one of my all time favourite (also my girl's).


Trumpeter/flügelhornist Charles Tolliver often straddled the line between the lyricism of hard bop and the adventurous nature of the avant-garde. Released in 1975, Impact contained a stimulating progressive edge within an energetic large band (14 horns, eight strings, and rhythm section) format. Tolliver's arrangements are consistently bright and build momentum, while the soloists are given sufficient room to maneuver through the multiple textures. Featured soloists in the remarkable reed section include Charles McPherson, James Spaulding, George Coleman, and Harold Vick (Al Campbell)



1. Impact
2. Mother Wit
3. Grand Max
4. Plight
5. Lynnsome
6. Mournin' Variations

Charles Tolliver (trumpet/flugelhorn); Stanley Cowell (piano); Cecil McBee (bass); Reggie Workman (bass); Clint Houston (bass); James Spaulding (alto/soprano sax & flute); George Coleman (tenor sax); Harold Vick (tenor/soprano sax & flute); Virgil Jones (trumpet); Jon Faddis (trumpet); Garnet Brown (trombone) . . .


Recorded and mixed at Sound Ideas Studios on January 17, 1975.
Strata-East (CD 9001)

David Murray - The Hill (1986)


For this date, Murray teamed up with the able veterans Richard Davis and Joe Chambers, producing a varied, solid, and enjoyable session mixing originals with standards and showing that he was quite capable of holding his own among the older pros. Davis had always shown himself to be open to all sorts of jazz, from the most traditional to the outer reaches of the avant-garde (check out his work with the Creative Construction Company), and he runs the gamut here. His arco playing on the title track and "Herbie Miller" is as free as you please, yet he swings Ellington's "Take the Coltrane" like nobody's business. Butch Morris contributes a lovely number, "Fling," allowing Murray to indulge in his romantic side. The leader's playing is typically gritty and imaginative throughout; Murray rarely gives less than 100 percent live or on record, and if his work here is less than his most inspired, that still leaves plenty of room for a lot of good blowing. Joe Chambers switches to vibes for the closing track, a luxuriant rendition of Strayhorn's classic Chelsea Bridge, and along with deep work from Davis, provides a rich bed for Murray's most probing playing on the date. Summoning the spirits of Ben Webster and perhaps just a bit of Archie Shepp, he pours phrase after liquid phrase in a warm and touching tribute to one of the great jazz composers. The Hill offers an accurate snapshot of Murray in the mid-'80s, straddling the mainstream and avant-garde and proving himself quite adept in either.

1. Santa Barbara and Crenshaw Follies - David Murray-(8:25)
2. The Hill -David Murray- (9:00)
3. Fling -Lawrence Butch Morris- (7:09)
4. Take the Coltrane - Duke Ellington- (7:42)
5. Herbie Miller -David Murray- (5:52)
6. Chaelsea Bridge - Billy Strayhorn- (10:31)

David Murray - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Richard Davis - bass
Joe Chambers - drums

Recorded November 29, 1986 at Sound Ideas Studios, New York
Black Saint 120110-1

jueves, 21 de mayo de 2009

Frank Lowe - The Flam (1975)

On this free jazz date the powerful tenor Frank Lowe teams up with trumpeter Leo Smith,
trombonist Joseph Bowie, bassist Alex Blake and drummer Charles Bobo Shaw for five group
originals including the collaboration "Third St. Stomp." The very explorative and rather emotional music holds one's interest throughout. These often heated performances are better heard than described. (Scott Yanow)

…A wonderful band and a very fine record which was unavailable for far too long. A good place to start if you haven't encountered Lowe before… ” (The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD - Ninth Edition)

1. Sun Voyage (Joseph Bowie) 7:35
2. Flam (Frank Lowe) 14:03
3. Be-Bo-Bo-Be (Charles Shaw) 10:53
4. Third St. Stomp (Lowe/Shaw/Bowie/Blake/Smith) 10:21
5. U.B.P. (Leo Smith) 0:45


Frank Lowe (tenor saxophone), Leo Smith (trumpet), Joe Bowie (trombone), Alex Blake (bass), Charles "Bobo" Shaw (drums)


Recorded in NYC, Generation Sound Studios October 20-21, 1975

miércoles, 20 de mayo de 2009

William Parker - In Order To Survive (1993) [Black Saint]




Bassist William Parker's survival techniques demand liberty and solos for all. The members of this sextet feed off one another's energy, filling their collective plate with counterpoint, and expressing music in colors and feelings spontaneously derived from thematic motifs. Parker, a phenomenal theoretical and technical improviser, has pianist Cooper Moore, drummer Denis Charles, trumpeter Lewis Barnes, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, and alto saxophonist Rob Brown in tow. Three of these pieces were recorded live at Club Roulette in N.Y.C., the fourth at the Knitting Factory. Clocking in at nearly 40 minutes, "Testimony of No Future" develops from the piano-bass-drums trio's bop swing rhythms that set up a three-note pattern that the horns then state and extrapolate on with counterpoint. This leads into extended solo fare from everyone -- simple and direct, easy to follow, yet dense and saturated. The beautiful "Anast in Crisis, Mouth Full of Fresh Cut Flowers" has Moore's spiritual lines influencing Brown's alto greatly, with Moncur chiming in for a lucid, free association for seven minutes, again based on three notes. "Testimony of the Stir Pot" has thematic nuances that grow subtler over 20 minutes while horn lines flow parallel to Moore's lightning-quick runs. "The Square Sun," from the Knitting Factory session, features Barnes' rubato-style trumpet (which shows his unique blend of jazz past and present); Moore's haunting, dancing figures; percussionist Jackson Krall's wisp-of-smoke accents; and Parker's mouse-squeak bowed bass. Some tour de force music is found here, which makes one wonder if these performances wouldn't have yielded another CD or three from this band of extraordinary avant-gardists. Highly recommended for those who take their freedoms seriously.

1. Testimony of No Future (38:47)
2. Anast In Crisis Mouth Full of Fresh Cut Flowers (6:55)
3. Testimony of The Stir Pot (20:07)
4. The Square Sun (6:10)

William Parker: bass/composer, Grachan Moncur III: trombone, Rob Brown: alto sax, Lewis Barnes: trumpet, Cooper-Moore: piano, Denis Charles: drums #1-3, Jackson Krall: Percussions #4


Recorded 1-3# Live at Roulette, NYC - April 11, 1993
Recorded 4# Live at the Knitting Factory, NYC - June 28, 1993.

martes, 19 de mayo de 2009

Jimmy Lyons & Andrew Cyrille - Something In Return (1981)



1. Take the "A" Train
2. Something in Return
3. Lorry
4. J.L.
5. Nuba
6. Fragments I

Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone
Andrew Cyrille - percussion


Recorded February 13, 1981 at Soundscape, New York City.