Free Jazz Music

On this album, recorded in 1958, Fiedler is at its best. "Slaughter on Tenth Ave" is a great musical score and a famous black and white, gangster film was made of it back in 1951 and released in 1952, starring Richard Egan.
This album is another reason why the Boston Pops is my favorite classical orchestra and the late maestro Arthur Fiedler was a true master of his profession. His work will never be forgotten. Having lived in Boston for nearly 17 years, made the Boston Pops my favorite of the genre.
I highly recommend this album.

This CD is a great collection of modern-style moving ballet music by famous composers. Really swings!
Nice range of music styles, excellent orchestration & performances.

Serious music lovers shoud buy it!

John Norville

I THOUGHT THIS CD WAS VERY BAD. I REALLY DIDN'T LIKE IT AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE WILL. IT IS OLD FASHIONED AND NOT A GOOD CD FOR PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO NOWADAYS.

...And this album is the perfect soundtrack to it. In this compilation are the creme de la creme of modern nocturnal classical pieces, with the exception of Khatchaturian's Sabre Dance. Here is the anthem of Manhattan itself, "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" by Richard Rodgers, "Gavotte and Blues" by Morton Gould, "Fancy Free: Gallop, Danzon and Waltz" by Bernstein, "The Three Cornered Hat" By De Falla and the "Age of Gold Polka" by Shostakovich, a piece to help bring up images of an old string-marionette puppet show. However, for some odd reason, "Petrouschka" by Igor Stravinsky and one of the most beautiful melodies you'll ever hear, Gian-Carlo Menotti's "Barcarolle from 'Sebastian'" have been left off of this version of the album, to be replaced by the woefully out-of-place, (and totally mediocre,) "Estancia: Malambo" by somebody named Ginastera. This is a bloody shame, for the left out pieces really enhanced the feel of the whole album! Still, though, what is left will mentally put you in a cherry paneled den with subdued ligting, in a big red leather easy chair, puffing on the most aromatic pipe you own, (if you smoke,) reading your favorite Raymond Chandler novel. I can't recommend it highly enough! (The album, not smoking!)

By all means, beware of later incarnations of this album which were altered beyond all recongition, with only "Rodeo" and "Fancy Free" left on it, along with the title tune. It is NOT the same album! Somebody at BMG had the good sense to find THIS incarnation in RCA's catalog, which isn't TOO mangled, to represent Fiedler and the Pops at their finest, and market it in lieu of the latter mistake! The original, "Orthophonic" version, which included "Sebastian" and "Petrouschka", is, apparently, either still buried in RCA's vaults, or, regrettably, no more....

I often picture Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse traipsing down 1st Ave. to the best music on this album. The "Fancy Free" pieces would have made GREAT title themes for Tim Burton's "Batman " movies. (Okay, Warner's...remember me when you use that idea!)

If you lived through the fifties either as an adult or a child, or if you want to know what nighttime felt like in a good urban neighborhood between 1930 and 1960, GET THIS ALBUM!!

I first purchased this music in vinyl record form in 1960. At the time, I was looking for a hi-fi version of Slaughter On Tenth Avenue and this recording was the only one available in town.

The title music was all I wanted it to be and it was pure serendipity to also receive the rest of the selections on the record. Some I was familiar with, but the rest have since become some of my favorite music. The fact that I am back getting a CD of the music helps attest to its timeless value. After almost exactly 40 years I am still not tired of it and am looking forward to being able to hear it again in about the clearest form possible. Now I will be able to listen to it in my car as well as at home.

Maybe it will help to know that I think Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is the best piece of American music ever composed.

My tastes run toward music with strong melody lines (such as Greig's music) and all of the selections in this disc meet that criterium.

Simmons reminds me of Lee Morgan's deconstructionist beb-bop, yet highly melodic style. Exquisite! This Five-Song Sampler is the perfect introduction to Sonny's music.

I rank Sonny Simmons among the best living jazz saxophonists. Never close to being a "household name," even in the restricted world of jazz, he has worked in unstintingly exploratory fashion since the 1960s, producing challenging records and enduring long stretches when it was difficult to bring his music to vinyl or CD. Still, during the 1990s, he enjoyed a bit of a renaissance, even landing a contract with Warner Brothers-owned Qwest, which produced this album and the very fine "Ancient Rituals."

I don't rank "American Jungle" (1995) as Sonny's best album, but it's still well worth having if you appreciate hard-driving saxophone by an intelligent, passionate and committed player. It certainly features some of his most lyrical playing, as on "Black, Blue and Purple" and his take on the famous Coltrane vehicle "My Favorite Things." The sound is softened somewhat by the piano of Travis Shook and the rather restrained drumming (for a Simmons band, anyway) of Cindy Blackman. A further tribute to Trane, "Coltrane Story," finds Sonny hitting a mid-60s-sounding groove his mentor would have approved of: hard-edged, and always pushing forward, but leavened by melodicism.

In fact, the slightly rounded-off sound is the only thing that tempers my appreciation of the album somewhat, although that's a matter of taste. Those who are interested in hearing a more aggressive and challenging Simmons are encouraged to check out his CIMP releases "Transcendence" and "Judgment Day" and his great '60s avant-garde flings with then-wife and trumpeter-extraordinaire Barbara Donald, "Manhattan Egos," "Stayin' on the Watch" and "Music from the Spheres." These albums display Sonny at his unbridled best, challenging the range of his instrument and truly extending the legacy of Coltrane's search for new sounds. Then again, it must be said that none of these albums are for the faint of heart or those who shy away from music that is confrontational.

That said, "American Jungle" is fine modern jazz and a good introduction to Sonny's music. He is in fine form, albeit seemingly at a bit of a resting place, it seems, before striking out again for further musical shores.

Simmons reminds me of Lee Morgan's deconstructionist beb-bop, yet highly melodic style. Exquisite! This Five-Song Sampler is the perfect introduction to Sonny's music.

I rank Sonny Simmons among the best living jazz saxophonists. Never close to being a "household name," even in the restricted world of jazz, he has worked in unstintingly exploratory fashion since the 1960s, producing challenging records and enduring long stretches when it was difficult to bring his music to vinyl or CD. Still, during the 1990s, he enjoyed a bit of a renaissance, even landing a contract with Warner Brothers-owned Qwest, which produced this album and the very fine "Ancient Rituals."

I don't rank "American Jungle" (1995) as Sonny's best album, but it's still well worth having if you appreciate hard-driving saxophone by an intelligent, passionate and committed player. It certainly features some of his most lyrical playing, as on "Black, Blue and Purple" and his take on the famous Coltrane vehicle "My Favorite Things." The sound is softened somewhat by the piano of Travis Shook and the rather restrained drumming (for a Simmons band, anyway) of Cindy Blackman. A further tribute to Trane, "Coltrane Story," finds Sonny hitting a mid-60s-sounding groove his mentor would have approved of: hard-edged, and always pushing forward, but leavened by melodicism.

In fact, the slightly rounded-off sound is the only thing that tempers my appreciation of the album somewhat, although that's a matter of taste. Those who are interested in hearing a more aggressive and challenging Simmons are encouraged to check out his CIMP releases "Transcendence" and "Judgment Day" and his great '60s avant-garde flings with then-wife and trumpeter-extraordinaire Barbara Donald, "Manhattan Egos," "Stayin' on the Watch" and "Music from the Spheres." These albums display Sonny at his unbridled best, challenging the range of his instrument and truly extending the legacy of Coltrane's search for new sounds. Then again, it must be said that none of these albums are for the faint of heart or those who shy away from music that is confrontational.

That said, "American Jungle" is fine modern jazz and a good introduction to Sonny's music. He is in fine form, albeit seemingly at a bit of a resting place, it seems, before striking out again for further musical shores.

Everything on this recording is enjoyable; but I would buy it again just for the "Grand Canyon Suite."

This CD is worth buying just for the historic recording of the Grand Canyon Suite by the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler. There have been many recordings of Grof?s Grand Canyon Suite, but I think this is the most evocative of the desert and its moods. For example, the CD with Kunzel and the Cincinatti Pops is worth having for the live thunderstorm - definitely a "demo" disc - but Kunzel's perpetual forward thrust emphasizes the jazz at the expense of the (dare I say) impressionist side of the music. Fiedler on the older recording somehow manages to put you right into the desert.

The opening chirps in seconds from the woodwinds, for example, in the Fiedler recording sound like some exotic bird rather than orchestral instruments, and the "Painted Desert" movement sounds so parched I can see the heat shimmers. "Sunset" is rich and expansive; Fiedler's tempi are generally more relaxed than Kunzel's. This is the definitive Grand Canyon recording for me. BTW, technically it stands up very well against later recordings -- the sound is brilliant and has a broad stereophonic landscape.

The other selections for me are simply a bonus; the Gershwin Cuban Overture is particularly good to have as it is not as often recorded as it deserves.

The 4 star rating is primarily due to the attractive compositions
grouped on this one disc, by six great American composers. The remastered recording quality is variable with the "Grand Canyon
Suite" and "Cuban Overture" sounding best. The recording dates range from 1958-1964. On Gould's "American Salute" Fiedler conducts at
break neck speed; I think missing some detail. The "Fancy Free" dances are too brief and are probably included as filler. All in all this recording is dated and their are better versions available of all these pieces. Anyway, at a bargain price this is a nice way to spend seventy minutes relaxing. Subtract 1 star
if recorded sound is all important to you!

This is a nice Sunday afternoon concert played by a wonderful orchestra with a late, lamented leasder, maestro Fiedler.

Please understand that this is not patriotic music per se, but rather a collection of tunes about America or by prominent American composers--which means the title is a bit misleading, even though Gould's American Salute is the title track.

Still, for those who don't know much about the American concert repertoire, this is a nice album. I especially enjoy the Grand Canyon Suite and so too will anyone who's seen it with his own eyes.