The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady

Amazon.com essential recording
This 1963 recording occupies a special place in Mingus's work, his most brilliantly realized extended composition. The six-part suite is a broad canvas for the bassist's tumultuous passions, ranging from islands of serenity for solo guitar and piano to waves of contrapuntal conflict and accelerating rhythms that pull the listener into the musical psychodrama. It seems to mingle and transform both the heights and clichés of jazz orchestration, from Mingus's master, Duke Ellington, to film noir soundtracks. The result is a masterpiece of sounds and textures, from the astonishing vocal effects of the plunger-muted trumpets and trombone (seeming to speak messages just beyond the range of understanding) to the soaring romantic alto of Charlie Mariano. Boiling beneath it all are the teeming, congested rhythms of Mingus and drummer Dannie Richmond and the deep morass of tuba and baritone saxophone. This is one of the greatest works in jazz composition, and it's remarkable that Mingus dredged this much emotional power from a group of just 11 musicians. --Stuart Broomer

The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady,Charles Mingus,Grp Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Sacred Ground
Average customer rating:
Sacred Ground
David Murray & Black Saint Quartet
Manufacturer: Justin Time Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pilgrimage

Cornell 1964

Charles Mingus in Paris: The Complete America Recordings

ASIN: B000PY50ZQ
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Tracks:

Sacred Ground
Transitions
Pierce City
Banished
Believe In Love
Family Reunion
The Prophet Of Doom

Album Description

"Sacred Ground" is a fascinating and important new recording that grew from David Murray's involvement in the acclaimed documentary film, Banished, directed by Marco Williams. Although it's virtually unknown, more than a dozen counties in the U.S. violently expelled thousands of families between the Civil War and the Great Depression. The film - and this recording - explores not only these historical facts, but also the legacy of these events in the communities and for the descendants of the families.

After exploring the themes of the film he'd been asked to score, Murray was inspired - indeed compelled - to dig deeper, and to compose further music. David Murray enlisted poet Ishmael Reed, one of today's pre-eminent African- American literary figures. Reed wrote two poems, performed here by the great Cassandra Wilson.

David chose to record this using his Black Saint Quartet - sometimes called Power Quartet, on the group's first outing since the passing of the great John Hicks last year. Logically then, David enlisted pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, informally a Hicks student and admirer, and on drums the great Andrew Cyrille. Bassist Ray Drummond completes this first class group.

Tracks:

Solo Dancer
Duet Solo Dancers
Group Dancers
Trio And Group Dancers

Amazon.com essential recording

This 1963 recording occupies a special place in Mingus's work, his most brilliantly realized extended composition. The six-part suite is a broad canvas for the bassist's tumultuous passions, ranging from islands of serenity for solo guitar and piano to waves of contrapuntal conflict and accelerating rhythms that pull the listener into the musical psychodrama. It seems to mingle and transform both the heights and clichés of jazz orchestration, from Mingus's master, Duke Ellington, to film noir soundtracks. The result is a masterpiece of sounds and textures, from the astonishing vocal effects of the plunger-muted trumpets and trombone (seeming to speak messages just beyond the range of understanding) to the soaring romantic alto of Charlie Mariano. Boiling beneath it all are the teeming, congested rhythms of Mingus and drummer Dannie Richmond and the deep morass of tuba and baritone saxophone. This is one of the greatest works in jazz composition, and it's remarkable that Mingus dredged this much emotional power from a group of just 11 musicians. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

WoW.......2007-05-29

One of the greatest recordings I've ever heard. The horns just wail and the music is wonderful. Enjoy.

exuberant and powerful jazz........2007-02-21

you get a lot of sounds for your money on this short album (the whole thing clocks in at just over 38 minutes). an inventive set of mingus composition that may be his best (though i'm not completely committing myself, because he released several classic albums and my mood changes week to week). certainly this is a classic all jazz fans need. there is lots of wonderful wild aggressive playing on this recording, at times the players seem hyper with the joy of it all, and their exuberance is catchy, like a roomful of creative madmen unleashing an ecstatic fury that you want to be a part of. fun and challenging, this is the deep waters of jazz. don't miss the party.

Mingus At the Top of His Game.......2007-01-13

Out of my Mingus Big Four (Mingus at Antibes; Oh Yeah; Mingus Ah Um; and this one), this is probably the weakest, though I love it all the same. Mingus' love of bizarre melodies and key signatures are best expressed on this album-long ballet; if you've got a thing for ensemble soloing (which is often fascinatingly chaotic) and great playing, this one's for you. Bonus points for the hilariously weird song titles, and the liner notes, written by Mingus' psychotherapist: all in all, one of Mingus' better albums.

Everything.......2006-12-27

This music is so emotional. I refuse to listen to this CD any other way than from start to finish. I get the same feeling from this piece as i do when listening to Rite Of Spring or Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. This is the kind of music that even at 40 minutes long never seems boring looses my attention. I'm so glad that i bought this CD.

Churning, intense.......2006-12-10

"Black Saint" opens with a bluesy sax solo over a distressed two chord pattern. The music slows, and then it's back to the churning. The rest of the CD continues this pattern in different ways. This isn't easy-time stuff, but it's excellent. Some have called this Mingus' best album. I still like Ah Um the best, but this might be next-best. Since this is a larger band, with 10 or 11 players (there's a few moments of flamenco guitar), the individual voices of the soloists get covered up to a certain degree. Everyone plays very well, and in true Mingus fashion many of the notes are slid into, not just played straight. The album is Mingus' long-form composition masterpiece. I recommend this to anyone who likes Mingus, the blues, or jazz big bands. As a bonus, the liner notes were written by Mingus' psychologist.

Average customer rating:

FABULOUS!
Eduardo Carlos Leon
Unique and pleasant.
Emotional, Powerful, Fizzy
Infernal Violins

Infernal Violins

Manufacturer: Analekta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Passion
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Diamond Music

ASIN: B00015EDL6
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Tracks:

Danse Macabre
Allegro Con Fuoco - Lento - Allegro Vivace - Andante
Allegro
I. Larghetto Affettuoso
II. Allegro Energico / III. Grave - Allegro Assai
Les Beautes Du Diable
Pantomima
Danza Ritual Del Fuego
Mephisto Waltz No.1
Le Diable Matou
Caprice No.24
Le Reel Du Diable
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Con Molto
Paint It Black / Sympathy For The Devil
Once Upon A Time... The Devil

Amazon.com

Angèle Dubeau is a remarkable violinist, and here, she and her all-woman, 12-strong (including herself) group, La Pieta, tackle some of the showiest---and most interesting---virtuoso pieces composed or transposed for solo violin and strings, in various combinations, and occasionally featuring a piano. The violin tone at the start of Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre has a warmth which stays with us throughout the disc, despite the fact that so many of the pieces are razzle-dazzle. Hearing the delicious can-can from the overture to Orpheus in the Underworld so thrillingly played, with as much emphasis on the piano as the violin, is a treat, and the "Fire dance" from El amor brujo positively throbs. There's great skill---even daring---in the Tartini "Devil's Trill" sonata and a Boccherini Sonata, but the string tone never turns strident. And as a complete surprise, Dubeau and her group offer an arrangement of The Rolling Stones' "Paint it Black" which teases and riffs before getting into the melody, then plays it in the lower reaches of the instrument, and is then joined by the piano, allowing it to reach upwards and jazzily improvise---and then she throws in a moment or two of "Sympathy for the Devil" (!) before it concludes with the original melody. There are other joys on this CD as well---this is not your everyday violin bon-bon recital. It's all highly recommended. --Robert Levine

Album Description

This mischievious recital celebrates works inspired by the Devil: from Tartini's Devil's Trill, written after the composer dreamt that he had sold his soul to the Devil, to the infernal whirlwinds of Saint-Saën's Danse Macabre and Dompierre's Les Beautés du diable, composed specifically for La Pietà. It also pays homage to Paganini, the famed violinist who once confided to a friend that the Devil led him by the hand. This program shows an impish sense of humor as well... it features a unique arrangement of The Rolling Stones' Paint it Black and Sympathy for the Devil! • Angèle Dubeau is one of Canada's most prominent recording artists. belonging to the exclusive group of Canadian classical soloists who can boast of having attained "gold" sales status. She is also the founder and director La Pietá. • This CD is packaged with a bonus DVD featuring video clips and live concert excerpts.

Customer Reviews:

FABULOUS!.......2007-02-15

I ADORE this CD. I first heard it on the local classical music station and my ears picked right up. "What IS that?" It was so alive, so vibrant. The station only plays it about once a year, but each time it catches my attention. "Ah, that's Angele Dubeau." The selections are a mix of new and old. Two of the new pieces are by Francois Dompierre; his "Le Diable matou" is one of my favorites. I play this CD over and over and over...

I disagree with the reviewer who said you must love violin music to enjoy this. I do enjoy the violin, but I think the CD's power and reach go far beyond violin lovers.

The CD also includes a DVD of concert excerpts.

Give this CD a try. I'm so glad I did.

Eduardo Carlos Leon.......2007-02-01

The sound is tight and fresh.But take heed--only a person who love`s violin works would enjoy this c-d.And i would be one of those persons.ESP.Hot Women with violins!!!

Unique and pleasant........2006-12-23

It is refreshing to hear something new. The tracks are old favorites but the sound is new. Different. And in a good way.
Not the same old interpretations sped up or slowed down. But a genuine new groove down a familiar road.
She is a great violinist and has a knack for interplay with the rest of the band. It's not a flashy highly technical performance like you may expect from Perlman or Mutter. But not on the emotional ragged edge like Sonnenberg. But something in between with a new twist.

Emotional, Powerful, Fizzy.......2005-05-19

Long a stodgy devotee of baroque music, with the first few notes of this strong stuff I became an addict. Over and over again I play this CD, never quite anticipating the power and emotional bang of the music as it plays - even though I know the notes by now. If you ever studied Walter Piston's "harmony" the structures and transitions are back-of-the-book stuff, but the push is all elemental, basic, built-in, the familiar 1-4-5 with musical sequins, trampolines, backflips, and gelginite. Wow. And then some.

I'm so besotted, I had a couple of 13-year old boys (my son and a friend) listen to it in the car one day. They were bug-eyed after a couple of cuts, and not with horror. Now they ask for it, and yell with glee when the musical tension breaks over their heads in crashing chords.

Can I add a few more stars?

Infernal Violins.......2004-04-12

This music is fantastic. Because the violin she uses is a Stradovarius, the music pours like liquid velvet out of it. The choices of compositions are fantastic also. I think her interpretation of them along with the violin and her back-up group are what make this album so outstanding.

Average customer rating:

addendum
Great music, lackluster sound
A Jazz Classic From A Master of Progressive Jazz
A modern classic
Just read the other review

Ming
David Murray
Manufacturer: Black Saint
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Episteme

ASIN: B0000010WM
Release Date: 1993-09-07

Tracks:

The Fast Life
The Hill
Ming
Jasvan
Dewey's Circle

Amazon.com

That tenor saxophonist David Murray's Ming was recorded in the 1980s is no small feat, as that era was the dawn of the neoconservative movement. All who returned to jazz-band setups then seemed tracked for high dry-cleaning bills on their suits and a modicum of attention from the likes of Time and Newsweek, writing on the rebirth of jazz. But Ming was coming from an altogether different direction. Murray was a 25-year-old prodigy heavily schooled in the avant-garde fests he snagged in the World Saxophone Quartet and elsewhere. And so he took 1960s mainstream styles like hard bop and shot them through a kaleidoscope of complex group arrangements, spicing them severely with his inestimable chops, his awesome command of the tenor sax and bass clarinet, from their lowest depths to their most skating, tonal heights. In hindsight, his band on Ming looks like a jazz summit: pianist Anthony Davis sparring with alto saxist Henry Threadgill; trumpeter Olu Dara wrapping brass lines around cornetist Butch Morris's cryptic, limber bends and curves; George Lewis holding the low brass on trombone with drummer Steve McCall; and bassist Wilbur Morris pushing fast and hard, then dipping into a soul-laced bag while Murray indulges his best ballad chops. Ming is a classic that deserves its status. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

addendum.......2007-05-29

in response to Pharoah S. Wail, an Amazon customer/reviewer whose writing/commentary is typically right on the mark, it must be noted that both the title and the content of his review for Ming are, in this writer's estimation, at least, somewhat off. first, Pharoah notes that Ming is "Great music" with "lackluster sound." to be sure, Black Saint recordings are not particularly known for their high-fidelity, so to speak. still, one must not forget, however, that Black Saint/Soul Note/etc were small, indie-type labels with nowhere near the resources available to them that majors both had and, indeed, continue to have. as such, it is somewhat spurious to compare Ming's sound to that of Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth, originally recorded as it may have been in 1961 or so, which was/is on Impulse!, a major. technology certainly changed for the better between 1961 and 1980, for sure, but what Impulse! had to work with in 1961 was simply the very best, the state of the art. this was, in all likelihood, not what Black Saint had going for them. as is, nor should Ming, for that matter, be compared sound-wise to Octet Plays Trane either, for recording technology evolved considerably, more than it actually did in many repsects between 1961 and 1980, multitracking notwithstanding, in the years between Ming's recording and Octet's. finally, this writer must also note that when compared to those recordings in his collection, regardless of and/or across genres and decades, that truly have lackluster sound, Ming sounds positively vibrant. a great recording in all respects, Ming is certainly worth your checking out.

Great music, lackluster sound.......2001-01-27

My main (and really only) complaint with this album is the sound. This is quite a flat recording. Most recently I popped this cd in after listening to the Oliver Nelson album, The Blues And The Abstract Truth, which was recorded in 1961. As far as sound-quality is concerned, that cd kills this one. It was almost difficult to listen to the sound-quality of this cd after listening to that one. The "presence" on this cd just isn't very full. You can hear everyone but the fullness and the richness of the instrument-tone just isn't there. Whereas on Blues And The Abstract Truth the sound is so full and rich you could trick yourself into thinking you're in the room with the musicians, the sound on this cd is as if you're listening to them from down the hall.

Musically though, yes, this is a very good cd. The rhythm section, Davis and Morris in-particular, is outstanding. This cd does illustrate just how all-around great of a musician Murray is though. Especially from the writing/composing aspects. He's more than just a blower, he has great compositional idea's that allow his band members the space to make their own individual statements while still retaining an "ensemble" sound.

If this cd had the sonic-quality of, say, Octet Plays Trane, it'd be a truly great cd.

A Jazz Classic From A Master of Progressive Jazz.......2000-12-12

David Murray's "Ming" is simply one of the best jazz albums of all time; a contemporary and progressive album that is also rooted in jazz traditions. It remains the perfect introduction to a gifted musician who is sadly unappreciated today.

The Oakland-born Murray arrived in New York City in 1975 at age 20 and quickly established himself as a force on the "Loft Jazz" scene, a brief but important jazz movement. Rather than seek their fortune with the jazz fusion that was popular at the time, Murray and his loft co-horts sought to consolidate the ideas of the avant garde and free jazz movements of the Sixties and Seventies while adding their own ideas. It was an exciting period, and David Murray soon emerged as a rising star.

Murray's intense early recordings in small group formats show a musician heavily influenced by John Coltrane, but also with a flair for striking original composition. Working with only a rhythm section was limiting, however, and the saxophonist became interested in pursuing his ideas with in a larger group.

David Murray was all of 25-years old when he recorded "Ming" (named for his second wife) in 1980. It was the first recording to feature his Octet (eight piece group), which was soon to become one of the most acclaimed groups in jazz. Murray's writing and arranging talents were readily apparent on "Ming," a welcome addition to a jazz scene that had de-valued such strengths for a number of years. The Octet also featured such other young talents as Olu Dara, Anthony Davis and Henry Threadgill, soon to become major figures on their own.

Murray's greatest strength, though, is as a tenor saxophonist. Arguably the greatest voice on the instrument since John Coltrane's death in 1967, "Ming" was the first recording to fully display both the fierce and tender side of Murray's playing. This recording is the first full realization of Murray's talents and ambitions and twenty years later, its lost none of its power. His compositions also stand up well, exhibiting the influence of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus at times, but never in an imitative manner.

Sadly, David Murray has never gotten the acclaim in America that he deserves. The intelligent and progressive music he offered was swept aside in favor of the reactionary school led by Wynton Marsalis and others who, while talented and well-schooled, were less adventurous in their music. Murray remains vital and active as of this writing, living in France and revisiting his homeland only once or twice a year. Luckily, he has always been appreciated in both Europe and Asia, and he still records frequently. "Ming" is both challenging and beautiful, and is the perfect place to start for anyone curious about David Murray.

A modern classic.......2000-07-05

This album is straordinary, like "Home", always by D. Murray's octet. Its music is the synthesis of several decades of jazz, a perfect mixture of melody, swing, improvisation, free-jazz idiom. The songs are beautiful, the playing superb, the group interrelation perfect. This is an essential purchase for serious jazz lovers.

Just read the other review.......2000-05-11

This is one of the best jazz albom ever recorded, Its big band, small combo kind of thing with great player at there peak form

Average customer rating:

Mr. Isserlis...
Universal Music- I had to grab it
Other artists take note - THIS is how recitals are done.
A Masterpiece
Very Enjoyable Listening

Cello World

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Why Beethoven Threw the Stew: And Lots More Stories about the Lives of Great Composers
Steven Isserlis plays Works for Cello and Orchestra

ASIN: B000009W8U
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

Andante con Variazioni
Violin Sonata No. 3: Intermezzo
(Nocturne et) Scherzo
La Captive, Op. 12
Morceau de concours
Donkey & Driver
The Swan
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The Child Lived
Lied
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Inner World

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Isserlis..........2005-07-26

What a mix of pieces of which to compare and contrast. Through it all, Steven Isserlis takes us on a wide and varied journey! He truly is one talented artist. Well worth the money. Get a copy and give thanks!

Universal Music- I had to grab it.......2004-09-06

I was just listening to anything "interesting" in cello music & just took this like any other cd. I was hooked from the onsert.The tone of Isserlis is awesome, Beethoven's "Andante con Variazion" with harpschord accompanyment is just great. I continued to listen and things started hitting up when I heard a sorrowful soprano voice by Felicity Lott in Berlioz's "La Captive" song & the piano, cello move around it Oh! my God then & then I decided to purchase it, actually i had decided to purchase "Folk Cello" by Rautio & Ylonen(not available on Amazon, US)then i ended up using my last penny for Isserlis CD.The soprano returns again on Taverner's "The child Lives" with the same impact Wow !what a voice.This was very good for me because I like opera very much & to find it in this setting with the cello & piano was a bonus.ALL tracks in this cd are the greatest ever with a variety of styles from different composers but one song that really captured my imagination was Leonard's "Donkey & Driver" especially at the end. According to the story (as written by artist):there was this donkey trotting merrily along the road when its driver decides to sing a very beautiful sorrowful song well this is said to be a very busy donkey with people to see & their cultures clash then who wins? well listen to the song especially the last part when the cello mimics the sound of the donkey a rebelious one at that.All songs background are also included, the interpretations of the soprano songs in English are also included. Also check out the last song which was enhanced by isserlis when he says he was "hooked" by Carl vine's "Inner world" as played by David Pereira the dedicatee of the work.This is one of the most trilling cello renditions I like the warmth, the tone that is almost humanically lyrical.Well I guess if u love cello & u dont have this then u are missing out.

Other artists take note - THIS is how recitals are done........2001-06-29

'Cello World' is a model recital disc, conceived as a recreation of a typical turn-of-the-20th-century programme of short 'encore pieces'. Naturally, the bulk of the pieces privelege the essence of the cello, its deep, meditative, wistful melancholy - Schumann's sleepy 'Intermezzo', Villa-Lobos' evocative 'Song of the Black swan', Dvorak's romantically sad 'Romantic Piece no. 4', Rachmaninoff's rich 'Lied', Scriabin's atypically accessible 'Romance'.

this low-key mood is interleavened with moments of pure play - Beethoven's mischievous 'andante con Variazioni', a delightful tussle between (transcribed) cello and harpsichord that evokes a blithe aristocratic 18th century world rather than the composer's usual Romantic intensity; Popper's impish 'Dance of the Elves', Seiber's lovely Kreisler pastiche 'Dance Suite'.

There a couple of musical jaw-breakers to 'enlighten' the conservatism of the presumed audience - Tavener's sub-Gorecki 'The Child Lived', and the galloping epic 'Inner World' by Carl Vine, actually played by David Pereira, recorded on amplified CD, full of distorted computer echoes, and a lot more exciting and accessible than it should be.

Most cherishable for me is a little Francophone section near the start - Debussy's unexpectedly sprightly '(Nocturne et) Scherzo'; Berlioz's lyrically lilting 'La Captive', sung by Felicity Lott, for today at least the most beautiful song ever written; Faure's characteristically soulful 'Morceau de concours' (written as a Conservatoire sight test!); Leonard's deliciously funny 'Donkey and Driver', the cello playing the obstinate animal; and Saint-Saens' 'The Swan', a watery dream that defies over-familiarity.

A Masterpiece.......2000-09-10

There cannot be many greater British 'cellists than Steven Isserlis. He commissioned and premiered John Tavener's "The Protecting Veil" in 1989, to huge acclaim, and has championed for many years the 'cello music of Saint-Saens and Schumann. His playing is very energetic and intense (a 'cellist friend of mine noted that you can hear his fingers stopping the strings!) and his musicality shines as brightly as a precious jewel.

It is therefore very good to find this disc. It covers an eclectic range of styles: a set of Beethoven variations (with harpsichord accompaniment) opens the programme, whereas the last track is a strange and colourful work by Carl Vine with electro-acoustic effects produced by an amplified CD; we are also treated to a set of jazzy variations by Matyas Seiber and the wistful "Song of the Black Swan" by Villa-Lobos. Some tracks show the 'cello as a solo instrument, accompanied (these include "Romances" by Scriabin and Rachmaninov, and a "Nocturne" by Debussy) and otherwise (for instance the intriguing "Chonguri" for plucked strings by Sulkhan Tsintsadze). There is a dazzling display in the form of David Popper's "Elfentanz," but there is also a sober and calm use of the instrument in Tavener's "The Child Lived" (which features fine singing from Felicity Lott and shows how far the ''cello soundscape' has affected the composer since he was first approached by Isserlis). There is even a piece by one of Isserlis' relatives, and to hear him perform it is reminiscent of Julian Lloyd-Webber's recordings of music by his father and brother.

Everything about this disc is a joy. The music is good, the performance sparkles, the programme works despite being so varied, and the notes (by Isserlis himself) are witty and delightful to read. Highly recommended!

Very Enjoyable Listening.......2000-02-12

This cd relaxes me when I am working at the computer or driving the car. It covers a wide range of tempos but always pleases. A good cello lover's collection. Some pieces almost make me cry they have so much feeling.

Average customer rating:

Unforeseen Blessings
The Leaders
Manufacturer: Black Saint
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000010Z1
Release Date: 1993-02-04

Tracks:

In A Minute
Hip Dripper
Sun Precondition Five
The Search
Lightish
Sun Precondition Six
Peacemaker
Wait A Minute
Agadir
Heaven Dance
Now A Moment
Lucia
Blueberry Hill

Average customer rating:

Labels are not definitive

The Hearinga Suite
The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra
Manufacturer: Black Saint
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000010Y9
Release Date: 1993-09-08

Tracks:

Hearinga
Conversations With The Three Of Me
Seesall
Aura Of Thought - Things
Oldfotalk
Finditnow
Bermix

Customer Reviews:

Labels are not definitive.......2001-03-28

The music on this recording is not easy listening. Nor is the listener encouraged to believe that it was ever meant to be. This communication searches, explores but never arrives. This is not to say that this is a mass of dissonant, rhythmic trash. No, these vibrations populates a cottage of high level consciousness. It is difficult to paint a clear picture of this music. Labels are ill suited to describe its content. It simply is empyreal music.

One can appreciate this work ,and not be well versed in the language of jazz. It is very symphonic in many ways. Unexpected keyboard timbres are used effectively. Your attention is demanded gently as the sublities of expression may be losted. Mr. Abrams is a musician's musician. This set of orginals offers its listener the chance to soar. Your transport are the mediums of rhythm, harmony, melody and mental imagery.

Tracks:

My Love Is In America - Mother's Delight
Sibylla & Agatha
Helen Douglas Waltz
Cuimhne an Phiobaire - The Misty Maids of Galway - The Absent Minded Woman
Mrs. Whittes Nothing - Queen Elizabeth, Her Galliard
Sparrows And Cats
The Alchemist
O Ecclesia
The Celt
Nancy's Waltz
Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair - My Lady Carey's Dompe
Carolyn Anderson Surrick: Far, Far Beyond Yon Mountain - Ellen's Waltz
Mrs. Judge's Lament - Mrs. Judge
The Oyster Catcher And The Actress
Bist du bei mir
Mizzie Mine

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely enjoyaable.......1999-05-02

Both my husband and I enjoy this CD. We love the music of this time period. Have given it as a gift and all the recipients have felt the same.

The best at what they do!.......1998-12-08

I just got back from a Hamilton College performance of this group and was very impressed. Not only do they master the old but they write the new! Keeping to the style of those they play of course. Of all the CDs that they have made, this is their most famous and covers the 11th to the 20th century. I can fall asleep to it, I can write a paper to it, or just enjoy it by itself.

Average customer rating:

This is unbelievable!
Mixed Blessings

Homage to Charles Parker
George Lewis
Manufacturer: Black Saint
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Traditional Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B0000010W6
Release Date: 1995-07-19

Tracks:

Blues
Homage To Charles Parker

Customer Reviews:

This is unbelievable!.......2003-04-06

Truly, I can't come to terms with how an album can be so mis-appreciated by customers. The praise "Five stars" literally gets toss around like a can of worms intended for rabid dogs that should be held in line to be shot.
This album, however rabitic, enters that qualitative realm of furious improvisation on its own aesthetic terms, like the Ornette Coleman of old. Yet, Lewis approaches with an emotional legato reminiscent of Lester Young's tonal sincerities, layering profound lines with a quickness and prescient jive that recalls Coltrane's sheets of sound too. That is why critics have hailed this work, not only an essential modern record, but one of the top jazz/improvised records created since the 1960's. Please refute the lacklustrous rating given by others who can't tell the difference between 4/4 time and 5/8ths.
A Monument in its own right, as well as a brilliant spangle to Parker, Lewis, here, makes the mortal-gone appeal, and breathes tonant clarionisms the likes of several heavens

Mixed Blessings.......1999-12-24

This album is, quite unfortunately, a mixed bag. The album is only two cuts.

First is "Blues", which is very much in the style of "free jazz". There are some good moments, but overall the piece is just average. Highlights are limited to the quite amazing sounds Lewis is able to generate from his tenor trombone.

Second is "Homage to Charles Parker." This piece is worth five stars on its own -- it's beautiful. The piece is mostly Anthony Davis on piano and Lewis on tenor trombone. Its far more "conventional" than "Blues," and much more accessible. See if you can hear the ever-so-subtle nods to Parker's music.

If you don't mind spending the money for one long, landmark composition/improvisation, get this album.

Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music
Average customer rating:
Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music
World Saxophone Quartet
Manufacturer: Black Saint
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000010Y2
Release Date: 1993-09-07

Tracks:

One/Waltz/Time
Great Peace
Kind'a Up
Paper Works
Open Air (For Tommy)
Georgia Blue

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