Jazz

Muhal Richard Abrams George Lewis Roscoe Mitchell - Streaming (2006)

2011-10-14T08:20:33Z

Muhal Richard Abrams George Lewis Roscoe Mitchell - Streaming (2006)


1. Scrape	10:02			play
2. Bound	11:02
3. Dramaturns	18:27	
4. Soundhear	16:36
5. Streaming	17:35

Musicians:
    Muhal Richard Abrams - piano
    George Lewis - trombone
    Roscoe Mitchell – reeds, percussion, flute, saxophone

“Instead of treating the cut as an opportunity to vie for the spotlight, the three Chicago legends make themselves more or less indistinct, as if they were all part of the same droning, crackling instrument.” — Brent Burton, JazzTimes

“Even if you weren’t aware that the participants jump-started Chicago’s legendary collective the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), their interplay unfolds with such cohesion and suspense that you know you’re in the presence of masters.” — K. Leander Williams, TimeOut NY

Any new recording by Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell would be a notable occasion, but a recording by all three together is a genuine historical moment. All three are members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Muhal Richard Abrams (piano and percussion), a founder of the AACM, is a hugely influential musician who has been responsible for vastly expanding the boundaries of jazz. Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones and percussion) is well known as the founder of one of jazz’s most recognized groups: The Art Ensemble of Chicago. George Lewis (trombone and laptop) is a MacArthur genius grant recipient who is influential in his use of computer electronics. The three have worked together in the past, recording on each other’s albums such as Lewis’ Shadowgraph (Black Saint, 1977), Mitchell’s Nonaah (Nessa, 1978) and Abrams’ Spihumonesty (Black Saint, 1980). The trio most recently played together at the 2003 Venice Biennale and that concert provided at least part of the impetus for the three to collaborate again as a trio.

So how to describe this music? As George Lewis wrote in his liner notes for the CD, “What we hear are particular moments in time, in which improvisative musical experience proceeds directly from manifestations of trust and openness, and from visions of new models of community.” “Trust” and “open” are two words that Lewis often goes back to when describing the creative process behind this music. Unlike the composed pieces found on the trio’s previous recorded works, the five pieces found on this CD were openly improvised — each piece is a spontaneous creation. There were no prior agreements as to tempo, timbre, volume or length — any such rules would only restrict the open flow of ideas. The AACM draws a clear distinction between improvisation that is “open””as opposed to “free.” Perhaps it’s just a matter of semantics, but “free” improvisation as a genre is often thought to be an act of solipsistic self-absorption, where connection to your fellow musicians takes second place to the indulgence of the ego. “Open,” on the other hand, as George explained to us, implies boundless possibilities. Because there is a tacit agreement to converse in a non-hierarchical manner, each musician is entrusted to not impose his will in a manner that is destructive to open dialogue. With this trust, the dialogue is truly open – open for each musician to move around in space, use silence, softness and sustains without fear of someone else crowding in to fill your space. As George said, “Open is not a practice, but a possibility. All you are required to do is to bring your own experience, concentrate on what’s at hand and be prepared to evaluate, come up with solutions, view ideas from multiple perspectives and state ideas from multiple points of view.”

How then can a listener experience this music? It certainly would be difficult to listen to this music in a casual way. Because there are no familiar guideposts, the listener must concentrate to understand the dialogue. Who is leading with the exposition of an idea? How do the others respond? Listen for the mobility from one idea to another and the tension that is created when one musician is ready to move on and the others want to stay on point. Listen for texture, the use of space. Listen for how the musicians relate to one another, sometimes with deference, other times like friends engaged in a vigorous discussion. Just listen to the first couple of minutes of the first track “Scrape.” George is the first to make a statement, soon joined by both Roscoe and Muhal, each trying to get a word in edgewise. After a brief pause, Roscoe lets loose a cry, after which all three scramble to make their point. Roscoe then takes the lead in his statement, only to let go when Muhal reenters with a stentorian rumble. When one listens in this way, what is revealed is music with unpredictable dramatic twists and turns, like an operatic dialogue without cliches.

Streaming joins Pi Recording’s releases from The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton and The Revolutionary Ensemble in our continuing commitment to document the music of the AACM. We are proud to have Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell join that esteemed group. --- pirecordings.com

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Muhal Richard Abrams – Blues Forever (1993)

2011-10-09T18:23:34Z

Muhal Richard Abrams – Blues Forever (1993)


1.    "Ancient and Future Reflections" - 6:46
2.    "Du King" (Dedicated to Duke Ellington) - 2:00
3.    "Chambea" - 7:30
4.    "Duet for One World" - 4:53						play
5.    "Blues Forever" - 9:01
6.    "Cluster for Many Worlds" - 5:02
7.    "Quartet to Quartet" - 7:09

Personnel
    Muhal Richard Abrams - piano, conductor
    Baikida Carroll - trumpet, flugelhorn
    Craig Harris - trombone
    Wallace Laroy McMillan - baratone saxophone, flute
    Jimmy Vass - alto saxophone, flute
    Eugene Ghee - tenor saxophone, clarinet
    Vincent Chancey - french horn
    Howard Johnson - tuba, baritone saxophone
    Jean-Paul Bourelly - guitar
    Michael Logan - bass
    Andrew Cyrille – drums

Tremendous large orchestra session, with Abrams heading a crew that includes the cream of '70s and '80s improvisers, plus some '60s survivors. Although every arrangement doesn't click, the band successfully romps and stomps through enough cuts to show that the big band sound doesn't just mean "ghost" groups recreating dusty numbers from the '30s and '40s. --- Ron Wynn, allmusic.com

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The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra - Jazz Masters 96 (1997)

2009-10-19T16:57:39Z

The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra - Jazz Masters 96 (1997)


1 	Plus Equal Minus Balance 	11:13
2 	Cycles Five 	7:55
3 	Bloodline 	15:24
4 	Septone 	6:32
5 	Blu Blu Blu 	9:17
6 	Petsrof 	6:29
7 	One For The Whistler 	6:51
8 	Stretch Time 	13:24

    Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Robert De Bellis
    Alto Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet – John Purcell
    Baritone Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet – Patience Higgins
    Bass – Brad Jones, Lindsey Horner (tracks: 2, 4, 6)
    Drums – Thurman Barker
    French Horn – Mark Taylor (3)
    Guitar – David Fiuczynski
    Piano, Synthesizer, Bells, Conductor, Producer, Composed By – Muhal Richard Abrams
    Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Eugene Ghee
    Trombone – Alfred Patterson
    Trumpet – Jack Walrath
    Tuba – Joe Daley
    Vibraphone, Timpani – Warren Smith
    Wind [Whistler] – Joel Brandon

Composer, arranger, and pianist Muhal Richard Abrams is largely a self-taught musician who was deeply influenced by the bop innovations of the late Bud Powell. Abrams has been a beacon in the jazz community as a co-founder (and first president), in 1965, of Chicago's legendary vanguard music institution, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). While Abrams is well-known as a mentor to three generations of younger musicians -- born in 1930 he was a decade older than his closest peer in the AACM -- as a bandleader and professor at the Banff Center, Columbia University, Syracuse University, and the BMI Composers' Workshop, he is not always recognized for his substantial contribution as a player and recording artist. Abrams' first gigs were playing the blues, R&B, and hard bop circuit in Chicago and working as a sideman with everyone from Dexter Gordon and Max Roach to Ruth Brown and Woody Shaw. But Abrams' own recordings reveal his strength as an innovator. His 1967 debut, Levels and Degrees of Light on Chicago's Delmark label, set the course for his own career and that of many of his AACM contemporaries, including Henry Threadgill, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Leo Smith, and Anthony Braxton. Abrams is also a conduit for the tradition. Though his music is noted for its vanguard edginess, he nonetheless bridges everything in his playing from boogie-woogie to bebop to free improv, as evidenced by Sightsong and Rejoicing With the Light, both on the Black Saint label. Abrams has been a composer that moves through the classical tradition as well. Novi, his first symphony for orchestra and jazz quartet, has been performed at various festivals, and the Kronos Quartet performed his String Quartet, No. 2. ---Thom Jurek, Rovi

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