JCOA - Communication (1965)

JCOA - Communication (1965)

Track listing1."Roast" (Carla Bley) - 12:25
2."Day (Communications No. 4)" (Michael Mantler) - 2:25
3."Communications No. 5" (Michael Mantler) - 25:50

Personnel:
Michael Mantler - trumpet
Roswell Rudd - trombone
Steve Lacy soprano saxophone
Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone
Fred Pirtle baritone saxophone
Paul Bley - piano
Willie Ruff - french horn (track 1)
John Tchicai - alto saxophone (track 1)
Archie Shepp - tenor saxophone (track 1)
Eddie Gomez - bass (track 1)
Milford Graves - drums (track 1)
Ray Codrington - trumpet (tracks 2 & 3)
Robin Kenyatta, Ken McIntyre - alto saxophone (tracks 2 & 3)
Bob Carducci - tenor saxophone (tracks 2 & 3)
Kent Carter, Steve Swallow - bass (tracks 2 & 3)
Barry Altschul - drums (tracks 2 & 3)

Live album by Jazz Composer's Orchestra
Recorded December 29, 1964 & April 10, 1965
Genre Jazz
Length 40:40


Communication is the debut album by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra featuring compositions by Michael Mantler and Carla Bley performed by Paul Bley, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Roswell Rudd, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, Fred Pirtle, Willie Ruff, Ken McIntyre, Robin Kenyatta, Bob Carducci, Kent Carter, Steve Swallow, Milford Graves, and Barry Altschul. The album was released on the Fontana label in 1965.

http://www.multiupload.com/M9SDP6AR7D

The Ullmann Swell 4 - News? No News!

THE ULLMANN SWELL 4 - News? No News! (Jazzwerkstatt, 2010)

Gebhard Ullmann: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Steve Swell: trombone
Hilliard Greene: bass
Barry Altschul: drums

01. More Hello [05:18]
02. New York 5:50 [07:04]
03. Composite #1 [09:46]
04. Kleine Figuren #2 [05:23]
05. Planet Hopping On A Thursday Afternoon [07:03]
06. GPS #1 [05:27]
07. News? No News! [07:58]
08. GPS #2 [03:27]
09. Berlin 9:35 [07:39]
10. Airtight [10:01]

In these days of global jazz alliances, the partnership of downtown trombonist Steve Swell and German reedman Gebhard Ullmann won't raise too many eyebrows. More noteworthy is its endurance, spanning some six years since its auspicious inception with Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP, 2004). Swell is also a fixture in Ullmann's Basement Research band, another combo that shows similar staying power. News? No News!, a studio date on Berlin's Jazzwerkstatt imprint, constitutes a worthy successor to the CIMP, featuring an unchanged lineup completed by Hilliard Greene on bass and the illustrious Barry Altschul behind the drums. Democratic intent is signaled by division of writing duties with four pieces penned by each of the co-leaders along with two group improvisations rounding out a generous 69-minute program.

Both Swell and Ullmann are exciting soloists: the saxophonist's throaty tenor can barely contain his energy in the shrieks and cries adorning Swell's rumbustious shout-out, "More Hello," while his yelping bass clarinet at times recalls Eric Dolphy in its vocalized chuckle (adroitly echoed by Altschul), as on the fluent "GPS#2." A willing foil throughout, the trombonist's tender bluster and vivacious expressiveness both complement and challenge his partner.

One of the pleasures of this set is the interaction between the two horns, with an a cappella duet seeding the open debate of "Composite #1," while their clarion chorus places the cherry on top of the reedman's "Berlin." Greene's powers of propulsion and timbral variation are ably abetted by Altschul's crisp on-the-money drums in a pairing which is as tight as it is flexible. They plot the genial lope of Swell's "Planet Hopping On A Thursday Afternoon" and the urgent knotty rush of the closing "Airtight" with equal aplomb.

Such refined but not rote interplay remains one of the defining characteristics of this band and, when allied to their unpredictable charts, makes for a winning combination. Ullmann's "New York" evokes the opening of Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963) in its braying theme over two-speed bass throb and driving drums, while the confident swagger of his "Berlin" transmutes by way of involved exploration into a more wistful conclusion, reflecting the range and ingenuity of the arrangements.

Even the improvisations have satisfying structure, as with "GPS #1" where a measured group discourse of breathy harmonics and whispered asides is sandwiched between Greene's wavering arco whale song and a tolling bass and drum duet finale, confirming an early contender for those year-end best-of lists. (from AAJ)

HERE

Jon Irabagon - Foxy

Jon Irabagon: tenor saxophone
Peter Brendler: bass
Barry Altschul: drums

The tacky art work on the cover may deter some of you, thinking that this the umpteenth easy listening jazz CD that has nothing but low quality to offer. A closer look and you will see the references to the first sax trio ever, with Sonny Rollins on the cover dressed as a cowboy in a desert landscape, here somewhat improved by a blonde babe in the dunes.

The content is some of the most fabulous high energy free boppish sax trios that you will hear in a long time. Jon Irabagon blows his lungs out, together with the rest of his organs and his brains for a eighty-minute long unrelenting piece supported with an equally muscular effort by Peter Brendler on bass and Barry Altschul on drums.

When is say "relentless", I mean "relentless": blowing like this for a few minutes will exhaust the most experienced among saxophonists, but the physical power that Irabagon demonstrates here is worthy of a gold medal in various olympic disciplines combined. In that sense it is a great sequel to his previous "I Don't Hear Nothing But The Blues" with Mike Pride on drums, only even more energetic.

The music itself is not adventurous, nor is it new, quite to the contrary, the trio brings phrases and rhythms from the great bop tradition, including blues, but then full of power, adding all the techniques developed in the past decades, driving the music often into wilder ranges, with shifting rhythms and tempi, although the latter is mostly of the high speed genre, with one exception, the "Foxy (Radio Edit)" on which the speed slows down a bit, and this by itself is great fun, as if the speed would be too high for the radio audiences, then it picks up again to end full blast with the ten-minute last track, "Moxie".

Despite being one lengthy track, it is somewhat arbitrary cut into twelve titles, with obvious recognisable phrases coming back in several pieces. That the music is all about raw energy and forward drive is best illustrated by "Roxy", on which Irabagon keeps blowing the same three notes on and on and on and on for minutes on end, like a railroad worker swinging down his hammer. It's all about the drive.

It is not high art, but it is high entertainment. Not ground-breaking, but at moments hard to believe how so much energy can be kept up for such a long time. Really hard to believe. Great fun! (from Free Jazz)

2010 FOXY (part1/part2)

Anthony Braxton - The Montreux/Berlin Concerts

Anthony Braxton: sopranino, alto & contrabass saxophones, clarinet & contrabass clarinet, flute
George Lewis: trombone
Kenny Wheeler: trumpet
Dave Holland: bass
Barry Altschul: drums, percussion, gong

Anthony Braxton has recorded so extensively during the '80s and '90s that it is potentially foolhardy to call any of his recordings "definitive," but this two-LP set comes close. Braxton (mostly on alto and clarinet but also playing contrabass clarinet, flute, and sopranino) is heard with two of his best quartets on these live performances. Featured are either trumpeter Kenny Wheeler or trombonist George Lewis along with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul in exciting group improvisations based on six of Braxton's difficult compositions. There is a surprising amount of humor on one of these selections, and the interplay between these masterful musicians (making expert use of space and dynamics) sometimes borders on miraculous. The fourth side of this two-fer contains a lengthy performance of Braxton and Lewis playing with the Berlin New Music Group that is of slightly lesser interest; the CD reissue leaves out that selection. In either form, this music is highly recommended and by itself demonstrates the greatness and uniqueness of Anthony Braxton's music. This important set (other than side four) has been reissued on CD.(from AMG)

1975 THE MONTREUX/BERLIN CONCERTS (LP1/LP2)