Jazz Articles about Buster Williams

Bennie Maupin: The Jewel In The Lotus

by Budd Kopman
December 30, 2007

For the collector, a first-time issue on CD of any of ECM's early releases is most welcome. Which ones are chosen for release--and when they are issued--may well appear to be arbitrary to the outsider, despite a certain plan internal to the label.That The Jewel In The Lotus, first released in 1974, has finally been issued on CD is worth celebrating for two reasons: first, the music is of the highest quality; and second, Bennie Maupin has not ...

Bennie Maupin: The Jewel in the Lotus

by AAJ Italy Staff
December 3, 2007

Non mi stupirebbe che, in una delle tante trasmissioni televisive che si occupano di misteri, proponessero un servizio sul perché The Jewel in the Lotus di Bennie Maupin sia rimasto per così tanto tempo privato dell'onore della ristampa in CD. Artista appartenente alla scena di Detroit, Maupin ha attraversato in modo poco appariscente, ma in realtà intenso, le vicende del jazz contemporaneo a partire dalla seconda metà degli anni Sessanta, comparendo a fianco di Marion Brown, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, ...

Bennie Maupin: The Jewel in the Lotus

by John Kelman
October 31, 2007

Of the ECM titles that have remained unavailable on CD, woodwind multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin's The Jewel in the Lotus (1974) has long been considered a holy grail for collectors in search of a vinyl copy, and a title that's been on many fans' wish lists for release on CD. Well, it's finally happened and it's been worth the wait. Those familiar will recognize it as still classic thirty years on; for those unfamiliar with its magic, it's time to get ...

Chip White: Harlem Sunset

by Nic Jones
September 9, 2006

Chip White has a hell of a band here, but the fact that he provided it with almost an entire programme of stimulating material is what makes this a disc worth frequently returning to. Additionally, the quartet of White, Gary Bartz, Steve Nelson and Buster Williams offers such a captivating reading of “I Want To Talk About You" that the overall effect is one of enduring pleasure, and that's only enhanced by the presence of Claudio Roditi's “We (To Kristen ...

Buster Williams: Griot Libert

by Brandt Reiter
August 15, 2005

All great jazz essentially tells the same story: “This is what it's like to be alive, right here, right now. First-call bass vet Buster Williams' latest disc, Griot Libertè, while no exception, tells an additional one: he loves his wife. Using her recovery from a serious illness as a jumping off point, Williams leads a crack quartet with vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist George Colligan, and drummer Lenny White through a post bop program of six excellent self-penned originals and two ...

Buster Williams: Griot Libert

by John Kelman
July 20, 2004

The instrumental lineup may mimic the Modern Jazz Quartet and, to be sure, Buster Williams' choice of vibes as the other front-line instrument was so that he could similarly “express a certain softness in [the] music." But that's where the comparison ends. Griot Libertè may also swing on the light side like MJQ, but the musical choices are far more weighty.

Opening with the modal workout “Nomads," Williams is quick to establish his dark and meaty tone, placed high in ...

Chip White: Harlem Sunset

by Glenn Astarita
December 1, 1999

Harlem Sunset is the impressive debut recording from powerhouse drummer Chip White originally released in 1994 on the Postcards label which is now brought to us by way of Arkadia Records. Here, White shines as a composer, offering a series of compositions that convey an at times, hard-edged tenderness featuring killer support from an estimable bunch comprising saxophonist Gary Bartz, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Steve Nelson bassist Buster Williams and trumpeter Claudio Roditi. The proceedings get off to a furious ...