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Jazz Articles about Dave Burrell
David Murray: Hope Scope
by Fran Kursztejn
There should be no doubt of David Murray's position. Since the death of Eddie Harris, he is the finest tenor saxophonist in jazz, arguably one of the most prolific bandleaders in the modern age. He stands among a rare few reedmen working to redefine the sonic quality of their instrument. Looking back at any of Murray's work, he is defined by a highly ambitious, omnitraditional palette and a blaring emotionalism that brings his searing intellect right home. He is a ...
Continue ReadingDave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979
by John Sharpe
A lot of hoohah gets thrown around about legendary lost dates, but few live up to the billing. But The Lost Session by pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Sam Woodyard assuredly does. During the summer of 1979, Burrell had a three-month stand at the Campagne Premiere Club in Paris, which allowed him to fully explore and refine the series of pieces that would ultimately comprise his solo masterpiece Windward Passages (Hat Hut, 1980). But here he did so in the ...
Continue ReadingDave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979
by Mark Corroto
Listeners would be hard-pressed to name another artist besides Dave Burrell who commands such mastery across jazz's entire timeline, from its ragtime origins to its most adventurous avant-garde territories. The pianist, born in 1940, brings equal authenticity to Jelly Roll Morton's classic compositions and completely free improvisation. His discography spans the works of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, while his versatility extends across calypso, reggae, stride piano, blues, bebop and opera. Burrell made his mark in ...
Continue ReadingMarion Brown: Three For Shepp To Gesprachsfetzen Revisited
by Alberto Bazzurro
Tre brani di Marion Brown e altrettanti di Archie Shepp compongono il primo dei due album riuniti, come sempre meritoriamente, in questo CD, provenendo da quello che rappresenta il debutto dell'altosassofonista georgiano su Impulse!, inciso il 1° dicembre 1966 (dopo un paio di ESP e un Fontana) e pubblicato l'anno seguente. La stessa Impulse!, come già aveva fatto con lo stesso Shepp riferendolo a Coltrane per Four for Trane, ricicla per l'occasione la stessa formula riferendo Brown al collega di ...
Continue ReadingArchie Shepp: The Way Ahead, Kwanza, The Magic of Ju-ju Revisited
by Stefano Merighi
In questa compilation dedicata ad un periodo importante di Archie Shepp, si dovrebbe iniziare l'ascolto dalla fine. Infatti, i quasi venti minuti di “The Magic of Ju-Ju," posti in chiusura del CD, sono dell'aprile 1967; il resto del repertorio è invece stato inciso nel biennio successivo. Pur non riuscendo a comprendere il criterio con cui si assemblano questi cataloghi sonori, è indubbiamente utile comparare alcuni lavori vicini eppure assai differenti di un autore come Shepp, all'epoca sugli scudi ...
Continue ReadingMarion Brown: Three For Shepp To Gesprachsfetzen Revisited
by Mark Corroto
It's not too late to catch up with alto saxophonist and composer Marion Brown. Thanks to this excellent reissue and remaster series, you can hear the innovative recordings from this master musician. This release follows his 1965/66 discs Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2019) and 1966/67 discs Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2020). Chris May's excellent liner notes posit an answer to Brown's relative obscurity. He essentially lays the blame on marketing. Record labels and ...
Continue ReadingMarion Brown: Three For Shepp To Gesprachsfetzen Revisited
by Chris May
"It is often those we hear the least that we should listen to the most." So wrote the Guadeloupean pianist Jonathan Jurion on the release of his album Le Temps Fou: The Music Of Marion Brown (Komos, 2019). Just why Marion Brown has become such a rarely acknowledged figure is unclear. He possessed all the qualifications needed to go large plus a few extras for good measure. He was a good-looking man. He dressed well (telling Dave ...
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