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Bailey's Bundles
World Without End: John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and the Saxophone Summit
C. Michael Bailey
...wants to know if Gene Harris is playing "Summertime" in Heaven...Pianist Phil Markowitz opens the disc with his angular and edgy "Transitions." This is followed by Ravi Coltrane's "Thirteenth Floor." Joe Lovano introduces the stepwise theme on alto clarinet, a bass line recalling Jimmy Garrison's underpinning of "Acknowledgement" on Love Supreme (Impulse, 1965). Coltrane plays tenor while Dave Liebman plays c-flute and wood flute, giving the piece a world music feel
Randy Brecker's contribution to this installment of the Saxophone Summit is the Latin-flavored romp "Message to Mike." Dave Liebman provides his level best soprano speculations, fluid and slippery. The piece devolves gladly into the modern equivalent of the Dixieland vamp, with all instruments going which way. This is the most notable non-Coltrane composition on the recording.
The master is presented in the last three pieces. "Cosmos," originally released on Live in Seattle (Impulse, 1966), pits all three saxophonists on tenor for a Coltrane "sheets of sound" orgy that unexpectedly coalesces in the code. The title cut, from 1995's Stellar Regions (Impulse, recorded 1967) begins with a canon-like introduction by Coltrane and Liebman with Lovano playing continuo on an autochrome.
Randy Brecker returns for the disc closer, the title track from Expression (Impulse, 1967). Introduced by bassist Cecil McBee, "Expression" stands as the quintessential Coltrane offering. This is Coltrane channeled in his most uniquely spiritual form, his music. The Saxophone Summit brings the necessary gravity to the piece which justly closes this fine recording.
Tracks and Personnel
Gathering of Spirits
Tracks: Alexander the Great; The 12th Man; India; Peace on Earth; Tricycle; A Gathering of Spirits.
Personnel: Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone, kaval; Dave Liebman: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, Indian flute; Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, tarogato, African blackwood flute; Phil Markowitz: piano; Cevil McBee: bass; Billy Hart: drums.
Seraphic Light
Tracks: Transitions; The Thirtheenth Floor; Reneda; All About You; Message to Mike; Alpha and Omega; Our Daily Bread; Cosmos Seraphic Light; Expression.
Personnel: Dave Liebman: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, c-flute, Indian flute; Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, tarogato, African blackwood flute; Ravi Coltrane: tenor saxophone; Randy Brecker: trumpet; Phil Markowitz: piano; Cevil McBee: bass; Billy Hart: drums.
