Free Jazz Music

I don't need to review this because if you are even checking this out you know what a fu**ing classic this is. Get is now.

This is one of the greatest jazz recordings ever made. Thirty-five years after it was done, it still makes most jazz CDs look lame. It's all thanks to the late, great Jeanne Lee. Yes, Archie was the driving force, but the divine Jeanne's vocals from another universe put this session up on Olympian status. No serious listener of jazz should be without this monument

The first disc, BLASE, is a studio effort with a number of co-conspirators including several members of the AACM crowd, a drummer more known for his hard-bop playing, some blues cats on harmonica, and some absolutely gorgeous female vocals. As an attempt to simultaneously pay homage to jazz's roots (in the blues) and to look ahead to the future. On those terms the album succeeds nicely, and musicians who seem like they might clash work together well as a unit.

The second disc is a live recording which pairs Shepp and crew with a number of Algerian and Tuareg musicians. The sound quality is a bit dodgy, but the two lengthy tunes are filled with plenty of passion and joy, and one in which Shepp and crew get their point across: jazz's roots ultimately are in the traditional musics of Africa.

If there is a common theme to both discs, it is simply this: an attempt to pay homage to one's roots, and incorporate them into the then-present avant-garde scene. Worth checking out as an interesting historical document and as an engaging, mind-expanding, forward-looking set of tunes in their own right. Definitely recommended.

The first disc, BLASE, is a studio effort with a number of co-conspirators including several members of the AACM crowd, a drummer more known for his hard-bop playing, some blues cats on harmonica, and some absolutely gorgeous female vocals. As an attempt to simultaneously pay homage to jazz's roots (in the blues) and to look ahead to the future. On those terms the album succeeds nicely, and musicians who seem like they might clash work together well as a unit.

The second disc is a live recording which pairs Shepp and crew with a number of Algerian and Tuareg musicians. The sound quality is a bit dodgy, but the two lengthy tunes are filled with plenty of passion and joy, and one in which Shepp and crew get their point across: jazz's roots ultimately are in the traditional musics of Africa.

If there is a common theme to both discs, it is simply this: an attempt to pay homage to one's roots, and incorporate them into the then-present avant-garde scene. Worth checking out as an interesting historical document and as an engaging, mind-expanding, forward-looking set of tunes in their own right. Definitely recommended.

One of Muhal's finest discs, heard this 13 years ago, still fresh, creative contemporary big band jazz. Highlights for me are Joel Brandon human whistler extrodinaire, hearing is believing and some classic compositions Bloodline, One for the Whistler and the Muddy Waters homage Blu,Blu,Blu. If you only get one CD by this jazz master, get this one

If you think Holland's or Bley's are the only big bands that are worth listening to in our days, then you'd better pay attention to the music of this undervalued protean artist. You will take part to a stunning musical representation, melodically, rhythmically and harmonically multifarious, made of tradition, bebop, free, avant-garde, and something else not well-defined. All is wisely elaborated with rigorous compositional carefulness and recourse to wealthy instrumentation. In this regard, a very special mention deserves Joel Brandon, whose whistle is an unexpectedly phenomenal instrument: a sound between a piccolo and a recorder, and an array of inventive solos that leave open-mouthed (but the other musicians are no less than grade A). This album is a multifaceted and colourful one, with ample palette, representing a superlative achievement by a marvellous contemporary jazz big band.

I'm only reveiwing this because I was surprised and disappointed to see that there aren't any reviews for any of the Abrams discs available on Amazon. About the artist: In the early 1960s, he formed the Experimental Band, which included Eddie Harris and Roscoe Mitchell amongst others. Eventually they morphed into the highly influential Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM), which was to spawn the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Air (the jazz group, not the French moog-based pop group), and Anthony Braxton. Abrams, who began studying piano at the age of 17, has a style that encompasses the entire stratosphere of "black tradition," from ragtime, boogie-woogie, and stride to bebop, free jazz, and the most experimental sounds, and so does this recording. Blu Blu Blu, which came on the heels of Abrams materwork, The Hearinga Suite, was recorded in 1990, and features a 14-piece band. Like the big-band experiments of Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Sun Ra before him, Abrams is adept at composing unusual swaths of sound uncommon to jazz. For example, the track Bloodline, features Joel Brandon whistling. The rest of the band includes four saxophonists, a five-piece rhythm section, a trumpet, a trombone, a French horn, and a tuba. The music is lively and spritely with a roots-to-modern inventive approach. For fans of progressive big band, this is a unique treat. Like fine wine, the music complex with a light finish. One of my favorites is the title track, which is a raunchy, rompy blues homage to Muddy Waters that would be at home at any Chicago blues speakeasy. That track is immediately followed by the tingling tympani crescendo that sounds like the beginning of a big screen fairy tale for adults. With Abrams, variety is the spice of life.