Music

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Trust Company Review - True Parallels
I Love This Band
3-1/2 stars -- Good company
Every song sounds the same.
And they did it again

True Parallels
Trust Company
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Lonely Position of Neutral
Twelve Year Silence
Someone in Control
Lo-Pro
Two

ASIN: B0007TKHX4
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

Stronger
The War Is Over
Surfacing
Slave
Fold
The Reflection
Breaking Down
Someone Like You
Crossing The Line
Silently
Erased
Without A Trace
Unknown
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Bonus Track 1

Customer Reviews:

Trust Company Review - True Parallels.......2006-03-20

Now, This CD is Awesome. Way better then the 1st. This song is a little more (not much), heavier then their 1st CD, but it's mostly the same. Either this CD makes you want to "Mosh" and jump around, or to listen to when you wanna get Hyped about something. I hope they come out with more great songs!

I Love This Band.......2006-02-21

I LOVE Trust Company and for that I really liked the CD. However, I could see where someone who isn't really familiar with them - would care too much for this CD. It sounds very much like their first one - which I REALLY love. This CD is good if you like Trust Company OR really liked 'Lonely Position'.

3-1/2 stars -- Good company.......2005-12-08

TRUSTcompany is another one of those hard rock bands that seem to get lost in the shuffle of all the other bands. It's not to say they aren't good, but it seems that they just don't get as much cred as other bands. Anyway, I didn't get to hear their first album, but I decided to check out their latest, True Parallels.

This album is decent, but there really isn't much else to say about it. The songs are basically okay; not "filler" okay, but they're not extraordinary songs either. The band kind of reminds me of Linkin Park without the rapping (that's not a bad thing, because I know some people don't like Linkin Park) because vocalist Kevin Palmer tends to sound like Chester Bennington. Anyway, the only real negative thing I can say about the album is that the great production in "Breaking Down" is thrown off by the off-tempo singing in the chorus.

While nothing to run and tell a friend about, True Parallels would still be a nice purchase for hard rock enthusiasts. But if they want to get more recognition with their next album, they should follow what they said in the first single and make it stronger.

Anthony Rupert

Every song sounds the same........2005-09-05

My musical interests have changed slightly since "the lonely position of neutral", so I wasn't first in line to get "true parallels". I got it two months after it's release, and when I put it on, I knew i wouldn't like it. The War Is Over and Stronger and two great tracks...if they were done by hoobastank. The rest of the album stucks way worse. all the songs after those first two are awful and sound the same. TLPON was atleast original and had some siganture sound to it, this crap just sounds like every other band out there. Not catchy, not interesting, and the lead singer (kevin, who's a real jerk) sounds way worse than he did on the last record. Not that I like TLPON either, I'd give it maybe 3 stars tops, but it was better than this. BTW, the band broke up last month (well, actually, kevin quit like the loser he is and left two other band members angry and upset with him, which is obvious in their posts on the TC message board) so don't expect any better follow-ups either. I'd sell my copy back, but I'd only get .90 for it, so I think i'll pass. What a waste. Avoid!

And they did it again.......2005-07-21

I must say this is another album where I love EVERY single song. Unbelievable. I was blown away by their first album, and blown away again by this again. Buy this CD.

Average customer rating:

Another amazing Fates album
Intelligent Emotional Metal
Progressive hard rock/metal GENIUS! Incredible!
THE Progressive Metal Masterpiece
The Disc that Got Me Into Fates Warning

Parallels
Fates Warning
Manufacturer: Metal Blade
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Perfect Symmetry
Pleasant Shade of Gray
No Exit
Inside Out
Disconnected

ASIN: B000007T6W
Release Date: 1998-07-14

Tracks:

Leave The Past Behind
Life In Still Water
Eye To Eye
The Eleventh Hour
Point Of View
We Only Say Goodbye
Don't Follow Me
The Road Goes On Forever

Customer Reviews:

Another amazing Fates album.......2006-12-26

Fates Warning decided to write an insightful and complex album that will appeal and reflect every listener. Such a difficult and complex work for a band to do. Without much trouble they succeeded! That is what parallels is all about. 8 songs dealing with everyday human life matters and while they sound simple there is much more to them that meets the eye. The songs are not as complex as their later works but one can easily notice the work given to every song. This is a very nice album to get to know the band as it's very simple to listen and fully abbrevate. Highly recommended!

Intelligent Emotional Metal.......2006-05-17

The vocals are so powerful. The songs sound like they were sung by someone who really believes in what he's saying and that the songs are actually personal experiences being told. That's what I notice most about this album/band, the sheer authenticity and true emotion that they convey in each song makes fates warning sound 'heavier' than the heaviest metal band, (and I like "heavier" metal bands too). Fates crush them all on this album! Of course the excellent drumming and guitars help too! Recommend this and the other Fates Warning CDs '88 to present be listened to with good head phones / ear buds.

Progressive hard rock/metal GENIUS! Incredible!.......2006-01-13

Fates Warning is an amazingly talented and underrated band. 'Parallels' is an incredible, highly engaging, world class piece of prog metal music. It is VERY dynamic, with gorgeous, subtle soft musical passages and vocals interspersed with heavier riffing and wails that showcase diversity and raw heartfelt emotion. They have that powerful, clockwork early Queensryche sound but with their own original signature. Truly one of the best hard rock/prog rock bands EVER.

THE Progressive Metal Masterpiece.......2005-12-09

This is the definition of progressive metal. While accessible, the intricacies and subtlety that lie below the surface will amaze any discerning listener. Like a fine wine or high end audio system only those who listen carefully or those who know will be able to detect the sheer genius in the songwriting on this album. How many modern "progmetal" bands have aspired to be what Fates was and is, including the mighty Dream Theater, even they could not reach the subtlety of Fates. The drumming by Mark Zonder on this album is beyond phenomenal, the guitar riffs are incredible. I guess you would say this is Frank Aresti's swan song as this was his best collaborative work with Jim Matheos ever, the dual guitars creating layered melodies. Every track is a monument unto itself.

The Disc that Got Me Into Fates Warning.......2005-08-19

If it hadn't been for Parallels I probably would have never have given Fates Warning much of a chance, but this disc is absolutely mesmerizing as is their 1997 epic "A Pleasant Shade of Gray."

I'll admit that I've been critical of many of FW's releases, in fact I'm still waiting for "FWX" to grow on me, but I'm giving it a fair chance. However, no such wait was necessary with "Parallels," for it I have only positive things to say. And kudos to a band that can have as much staying power and build as loyal a fan base as Fates Warning.

Average customer rating:

Brutal Death Metal
Not the disgorge, i once liked...
Good... but a little monotonous!!!!
Terrible... Sounds way too repetetive...
I can't believe the reviews here

Parallels of Infinite Torture
Disgorge
Manufacturer: Crash Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mark of the Legion
She Lay Gutted
Reduced to Ashes
Consume the Forsaken
Crown of Souls

ASIN: B0007Z9QAS
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Tracks:

Revealed in Obscurity
Enthroned Abominations
Atonement
Abhorrent Desecration of Thee Iniquity
Forgotten Scriptures
Descending Upon Convulsive Devourment
Condemned to Sufferance
Parallels of Infinite Torture
Asphyxiation of Thee Oppressed
Ominous Sigils of Ungodly Ruin

Customer Reviews:

Brutal Death Metal.......2006-11-23

This is my favorite Disgorge album; the one that I would recommend first to anyone new to the band or even brutal DM. Disgorge continues to stay true to their music writing with Parallels. They play two or three themes, modify them, as well as throwing in frequent interludes and development sections. However, they've matured musically since their last album making this release their most technical. The guitars go on more frequent runs playing more scales and returning to the themes less, which makes the music formatting even more unpredictable than previous releases. They break down the scales often with melodies and chord progressions, which adds depth to the musicianship. The scales are played with more speed, intensity, and on average, are more complicated than the ones in previous albums. Putting all instruments together, there are more odd time signatures, abrupt tempo changes, and grooves. This album is also more diverse than previous ones because some of the main themes have a more powerful sound making them epic sounding. There are also a few instances where the direction of the music turns to borderline doom emphasizing a dark atmosphere. Despite the increased technicality and slight progression, this album is just as brutal as the others. The vocals are just as deep and guttural as ever and the drums rely on gravity blast beats for the most part.

Time: 43:56

Not the disgorge, i once liked..........2006-05-16

Speaking from some one who has disgorge's other albums such as she lay gutted, consume the forsaken and their other works... I didnt like disgorge's "parallels of infinite torture" at all and i was very dissapointed because, i realy love this band but their previous materiels were actullie damn good but parallels isn't. From the first song to the last ? It gets old so quick. Disgorge ? If your read this ? Why you didnt sound brutal like in your previous efforts ? A let down fan. Step up your sounds next time !

Good... but a little monotonous!!!!.......2005-12-23

I really like Disgorge, the musicianship here is at the top, but the vocals and certain parts make's the album way repetitive, and boring in some parts. So, don't situate them on Cryptopsy's throne, they don't fit!!! The quality of their music is compared for the likes of: Devourment, Deeds of Flesh and etc...

Terrible... Sounds way too repetetive..........2005-10-08

How can people compare the boring and unoriginal and repetetive sounds of disgorge to cryptopsy ? Thats blasphemy! Not to mention that their drummer is one of the worse in the genre by far besides cannibal corpse's drummer which both are lame as hell... Disgorge's "parallels of infinite torture" shoulnd even be consider a deathmetal album period, because to me deathmetal is talent,originality, great lirycs ,skilled musicians, which disgorge has none of that whats so ever!

I can't believe the reviews here.......2005-09-05

Any comparison to Cryptopsy is something I take very seriously. I can't believe people are thinking that Disgorge is on the same level as other bands mentioned. Cryptopsy, in particular, occupies a plane that is situated orders of magnitude above this band.

The first time I listened to this CD, I was so bored and disappointed that I didn't even make it through the whole thing. This is while sitting in hours of construction-strangled traffic with *nothing* else to listen to. That says something.

I suppose this CD is valuable in one sense: it makes painfully clear the fact that the Canniblast cannot stand on its own. It only really works in small doses, and when mixed with other techniques (see: Necrophagist, Behemoth). The blasting is almost entirely Canniblast, with a few precious seconds of bomb-blasting thrown in. It is truly perplexing why a band of this technical ability would limit themselves to the slowest-sounding of all blast beats. (It sounds slow because the hands and feet are not alternating, so you get half the perceived number of impacts.)

Well, I went back and gave it a second chance recently. It completely lacks subtlety, originality, nuance, etc. But it is reasonably enjoyable. It's exactly the kind of music that your friends think death metal is: monotonous, indiscriminate bludgeoning. If you've already grown to appreciate bands like Cryptopsy (again, *why* the comparison? I just don't get it), Necrophagist, Iniquity, Theory in Practice, Commit Suicide, and Gorguts, there is nothing for you in "Parallels of Infinite Torture". This will seem like a joke band to you. There are too many ingenious, brutal, light-speed bands out there to waste your time on this one.

Average customer rating:

Parallels
Fates Warning
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Inside Out
Perfect Symmetry
Perfect Symmetry

ASIN: B00000E9PJ
Release Date: 1991-10-29

Tracks:

Leave the Past Behind
Life in Still Water
Eye to Eye
Eleventh Hour
Point of View
We Only Say Goodbye
Don't Follow Me
Road Goes on Forever

Average customer rating:

An Experiment - Not Quite an Accomplishment
The well will never dry
A splendid new direction for David S. Ware
Diggable

Corridors & Parallels
David S. Ware Quartet
Manufacturer: Aum Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Threads
Freedom Suite
Wisdom of Uncertainty
Pastoral Composure
Live in the World

ASIN: B00005Q6KH
Release Date: 2001-09-18

Tracks:

Untitled
Straight Track
Jazz Fi-Sci
Superimposed
Sound-a-bye
Untitled
Corridors & Parallels
Somewhere
Spaces Embraces
Mother May You Rest In Bliss
Untitled

Amazon.com

Tenor saxophonist David S. Ware's quartet has become a key institution of the "ecstatic" movement--latter-day free jazz--delivering nonstop intensity with the leader's vast, harrowing wail, the complex detailing of pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker beneath, and the roll and tumble of a series of drummers. Corridors and Parallels maintains much of the band's heat, but breaks new ground with Shipp's shift to synthesizer. Whether it's the distancing effect of electronics or the suddenly broadened sound palette, the group is essentially reborn, pressing into fresh territory and touching on genres unheard in their previous work.

Some of the tracks seem frankly experimental, testing the possibilities of the electro-acoustic relationship. "Straight Track" has Shipp developing a Sun Ra-like mix of the cosmic and the kitsch before Ware roots the music in his familiar, soulful expressionism. "Jazz Fi-Sci" further exploits that contrast with call and response between the acoustic trio of Ware, Parker, and drummer Guillermo E. Brown against Shipp's passages of burbling, skittering electronics. The music is far more compelling when the elements are integrated. "Superimposed" uses marimba-like programming to layer dense polyrhythms of electronics and percussion, creating an African-sourced field for Ware's sustained power. The title track is the most arresting, a brilliant amalgam of funk beats and Middle Eastern sonorities, with the bowed drone of Parker's bass bridging the shennai-like call of Ware's tenor and Shipp's own electronic figures. Occasionally, the results are more interesting than musically successful, but this is an important CD for both the quartet and the style that they center. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

An Experiment - Not Quite an Accomplishment.......2004-03-23

Much has been made of the "new" direction that this album represents for the Ware quartet. Most of this hype centers around the presence of electronics on the disc. Certainly this disc represents a radical departure from Ware's more mainstream but still impressive albums for Sony. Where on the Sony albums, Ware seemed to be channeling late Coltrane through Charles Lloyd, this disc marks the return of Ware the ecstatic Ayler disciple. So to me, rather than marking a new direction in Ware's work, this disc is a return to form, albeit with a few gimmicks and some twists.

The album does mark some interesting departures for the group. Stylistically, the work on the album is less compositionally based and ranges freely between avant-garde energy jazz blowouts, an Africanized romp, some very impressive Middle Eastern inspired blowing and even a ballad. Though there are "tunes" like Corridors and Parallels, which obviously has a predetermined theme, much of the album sounds like a studio experiment, with grooves and general shape as the determining factor rather than the earlier free jazz "heads" that were the stock in trade of the group in the 90s. The results are mixed. Straight Track noodles around for a while until Ware enters, then things ignite. Jazz Fi-Sci is centered an old-fashioned "trading fours" session between Ware on tenor and Shipp on synthesizer. As interesting as this concept might be in theory, the effect is rather weak, partly because Shipp's chosen program is not particularly interesting as a solo voice. Superimposed, the African jam is one of the outstanding tracks. It features a percussion jam centered on a synthesized marimba sound, over which Ware blows a scorching solo. Sound-a-bye is an interesting sonic texture ballad, but it goes on too long and too little happens. Corridors and Parallels is the other really outstanding track, featuring a beautiful bowed melody from William Parkers inimitable bass over which Ware blows with the intensity of a Sufi musician. Somewhere is another wonderful Parker feature. The bass player coaxes some amazing sounds out of his instrument over an otherworldly soundscape. Spaces Embrace has a bluesy quality that is intriguing, and Ware's tone is at it's raspy best. And Mother May You Rest In Peace is a gospelized ballad and dedicated to the memory of the tenorist's mother.

To me though, the album's central gimmick mars it. I have struggled long and hard to come to terms with Matthew Shipp as a pianist. For years I didn't get the hype. Now I am learning to appreciate his strong points, an interesting sense of construction, a unique blending of the tone clusters of Cecil Taylor with a piano style that owes almost as much to hard boppers like Horace Silver and Bobby Timmons as it does to any 60s pianist. But the synthesizer just isn't his instrument. The "ingenious programming" that many reviewers have commented on is actually not that ingenious. Any user of a Roland keyboard product will recognize the programs as straight "out-of-the-box" Roland user programs. This in itself is not such a big deal, though it shows no special ingenuity on Shipp's part. But his approach to the instrument is fairly unimaginative. On Jazz Fi-Sci Shipp noodles around like Sun Ra at his kitschiest, and it's not particularly attractive. On Superimposed, he uses a pad sound, which is meant as a background wash, as his solo instrument voice and it is singularly ineffective. On some of the other tracks, his use of the instrument is a little more in keeping with the nature of it, but even in such tracks like Corridors and Parallels, the use of synthesizer relegates Shipp to a subordinate role in the quartet, effectively negating him as an equal creative member of the group. Perhaps the best thing that could have been done with this disc would have been to hire an expert, as Shipp has done on his two "jazztronica" albums for Thirsty Ear, and let Shipp do what he does best, play the piano. Then the disc would have less of a gimmicky sound, and we would get the well-oiled machine that we've come to expect from the Ware Quartet.

In closing, this is not a bad album at all. It is even a welcome return to form from Ware himself after his "mellow" Sony phase. But it doesn't represent the group at it's best, or even a "new direction" for them. Rather it represents a stylistic experiment of the kind that musicians often attempt to get themselves out of a creative rut. It has much in common with similar experiments like Miles' late flirting with hip-hop, Ornette's Skies of America recording, or Charlie Parker with Strings...it represents not so much a bold new direction, as an attempt to inject life into a style that may fit the musicians too well. Perhaps with some work, this could truly develop into a new direction for the Ware quartet. But as it stands, this is a good album...not a great one. Worth checking out, surely; but not destined to go down as a classic album for this group, which is capable of much greater things.

The well will never dry.......2003-09-04

David S Ware is one of the most important post-Coltrane tenor saxophone players, and is easily my favorite. His playing is nothing short of thrilling, and his saxophone tone is so beautiful and personal that I fell in love with his music after the first 5 seconds of "Surrendered" (convenient title).

That said, Ware was not one to reinvent the wheel when it came to instrumentation. The vast majority of his albums feature a classic quartet lineup. This is not meant as an attack on Ware; rather, it makes this release just a little more interesting.

Released alongside a solo album, "Live in the Netherlands" (which you can't seem to get in the US), Corridors and Parallels features a fresh new approach to the quartet. Rather than simply recycle the tenor sax/piano/bass/drums of his earlier albums, Ware reaches out into the newer style of jazztronica (although god, I hate that term). His longtime pianist, Matthew Shipp doubles on synths, and the band also at times utilizes programmed beats (at least to my ears).

The result, while occasionally uneven, is nevertheless mind-blowing. Ware's playing is as one would expect it - intense dramatic playing coupled with a surprisingly warm tone. Sometimes the synths can be a little too much - I don't care for the opening track, for instance, as it delves a little too much into kitsch. However, the majority of the album finds a beautiful combination of his more standard playing with the newer styles.

That said, the finest track on the album, "Mother May You Rest in Bliss" is synth free. It features David S Ware playing over a Parker's arco bass and Brown's cymbal work, and it is one of the finest moments in music I've heard in quite a while.

Ultimately, I even find myself returning to some of the track I don't care for as much. Ware is stretching even farther with this album than before, and this album is a brilliant, if slightly flawed, testament to that. This is an album that deserves far more recognition that it appears to have received.

A splendid new direction for David S. Ware.......2003-03-26

Just because Matthew Shipp plays a synth doesn't make this free-jazz muzak. This is not a "quiet" album. Really, can you imagine David S. Ware, perhaps THE free-jazz sax ambassador of our era, notwithstanding Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, Jon Butcher, and Ivo Perelman, teamed up with William Parker and Guillermo Brown producing anything but take-no-prisoners, in-your-face sonic assaults? I'd want my money back, if that's not what I got here. And I do get it. In spades.

Take "Straight Track," for instance--or, really, just about any cut ("Jazz Fi-Sci," a free-robotic number, "Superimposed," with its free-jungle vibe, "Corridors and Parallels," a free-hip-hop groove); it would be difficult to imagine a more committed, burning free-jazz sensibility than this.

Maybe it's the faux "ballad" numbers--"Sound-a-Bye," "Somewhere," "Space Embraces"--not ballads, really, but more like Matthew Shipp's ambient jazz, and the neo-gospel number, "Mother May You Rest in Bliss," that have led some to regard this as something other than full-bore David S. Ware.

I for one absolutely affirm this new direction for Ware. May his tribe increase.

Diggable.......2003-02-13

A great, quiet album by the David S. Ware Quartet. They seem to have been able to find a more concentrated vision for this project than for others, and the result is a slow and sublime piece of music which manages both to be meditative and highly experimental. Even the synthesizers sound good (which is kind of hard for me, an avowed synthesizer hater, to admit)! To me, this echoes some of the Chicago Underground Duo's works. Excellent album.

Average customer rating:

Contrasts + Parallels

Manufacturer: M.a. Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001K63QO
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Tracks:

Piano Improvisation, No.1
Trio Improvisation
Inspiration Of Variation II
Rondino
Inspiration Of Variation XXL
Inspiration Of Variation XXV
Piano Improvisation, No.2
Rubato
Con Fuoco
Passacaglia
Ad Libitum
Fughetta
Allegro Giusto
Hommage A Bela Bartok

Average customer rating:

Numbers
Days Difference
Manufacturer: Black Dog Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000SE7ODO

Product Description

10-track CD on Black Dog Recordings, 2007.

Average customer rating:

Awesome
formulate a tragedy ~ awesome
Absolutely amazing
Amazing

Formulate a Tragedy
All Parallels
Manufacturer: Law of Inertia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0006FO8YI
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Tracks:

Work
Lousy Reasons
World We Be Living In
Marrow
Such Fragile Things
Weight of the World
Damaged Goods
Vapors
You Won't Feel a Thing
All Nighter
Push
Lost Wager

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2005-02-23

I was first a fan of All Parallels when they released the songs "Day Like This" and "Drive My Hearse".

I loved those songs when I heard them but at the first listen of this album I was not impressed. Second listen, I fell in love and haven't stopped listening since.

This album is perfect.

Not convinced?
Got to http://www.purevolume.com/allparallels and give a few songs a listen.

formulate a tragedy ~ awesome.......2004-12-16

great cd, it will rock you!
every track is great!
this one is a must have!!!

Absolutely amazing.......2004-12-13

I used to see these guys in Boston. They just keep getting better and better. Original tracks that rival anything going on in the hard rock scene today. Check out their website at www.allparallels.com

Amazing.......2004-12-05

This cd was full of great tracks. I read about them on theprp.com and had to get it. You wont be dissapointed.

Average customer rating:

Parallels
Lee Konitz
Manufacturer: Chesky Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Modern Post Bop | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000075A65
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Tracks:

How Deep Is the Ocean?
For Hans
Skylark
Lt
317 East 32nd Street
Palo Alto
Eyes
Subconscious Lee

Average customer rating:

A master in congenial company

Parallels
Lee Konitz
Manufacturer: Chesky Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Modern Post Bop | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005JH7K
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Tracks:

How Deep Is The Ocean
For Hans
Skylark
LT
317 East 32nd
Palo Alto
Eyes
Subconscious Lee

Amazon.com

The Chesky label, known for its audiophile recordings whereby spontaneous music is captured faithfully by high-resolution technology, seems perfectly suited to altoist Lee Konitz. Having mastered an effortlessly smooth alto sound over the past four decades, Konitz can be counted on to deliver flawless performances of tunes played countless times, altered subtly to fit the mood of the date. On this occasion, supported by the longtime Phil Woods rhythm team of drummer (and coproducer) Bill Goodwin and bassist Steve Gilmore, the mood is decidedly relaxed. Tunes such as Lennie Tristano's "317 East 32nd" and Konitz's own pun-laden titles such as "Palo Alto" and "Subconscious Lee" are taken at slow- to mid-tempo, and though they lack fire and risk-taking, they nonetheless exude the comfortable assuredness of music played among friends. Young tenorist Mark Turner, who has developed a remarkably close likeness to Konitz's sound, brings some punch and pizzazz to the session; he's an inspired addition to the recording. --Wally Shoup

Customer Reviews:

A master in congenial company.......2001-08-16

This one's grown on me a lot--indeed, perhaps of Konitz's recent "mainstream" discs this is one I'm fondest of, even more than rather more attention-grabbing discs like _Three Guys_ or _The Sound of Surprise_. Lovely sound on this disc, from a recording in a church by the audiophile label Chesky. The band has the fine guitarist Peter Bernstein--no surprises from him, as he works a seam somewhere in the vicinity of Wes Montgomery & Grant Green, but he does it well--& the frequently-encountered team of Steve Gilmore on bass & the wonderfully sly drummer Bill Goodwin. The session is split into two parts. The first half has the more interesting repertoire: a brisk reading of "How Deep Is the Ocean", a welcome & unexpected rendition of "Skylark" (one of Carmichael's most demanding tunes); & two originals, neither of them apparently based on standard chord-changes: the angular "For Hans" (dedicated to the saxophonist Hans Koller, who contributed the cover-art), & a slinky minor-key tribute to Tristano, "LT". The second half of the album brings on the young tenor player Mark Turner, whose playing is informed like most younger players by Coltrane but who has entirely immersed himself in Warne Marsh's oeuvre too. Together he & Konitz run down three Tristanoite chestnuts ("317 East 32nd"--compare this to Turner's reading with Joshua Redman on Turner's self-titled Warner debut--, "Palo Alto", & "Subconscious Lee") & a themeless improvisation based on "Star Eyes". There's real sparkle in the interplay here: Konitz's soloing nowadays is pared down & relaxed, a far cry from the overwhelmingly intricate lines he was essaying on classic early albums like _Motion_, but nonetheless the saxophone pairing has much of the empathetic but jousting quality of the classic Marsh/Konitz recordings.

A lovely album. On the whole the greatest Konitz performances in recent years have come in less comfortable situations--check out the superb disc on Palmetto of French impressionist music for Konitz & string quartet, for instance, or the excellent free-ish disc _Rhapsody_. But there's a place for the kind of comfortable but alert jazz he produces in less unusual contexts too, & this is a highly worthwhile disc.

Music:

Music