Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David S. Ware Quartets: Live in the World

109

David S. Ware Quartets: Live in the World

By

Sign in to view read count
David S. Ware Quartets: Live in the World
Thirsty Ear's generous Live in the World set presents tenor saxophone terror David S. Ware performing with his stellar quartet including pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker in three different concerts, on three discs, with three different drummers. The repertoire consists of Ware compositions and cover tunes personalized by the DSWQ.

The epic "Aquarian Sound, from 1992's Flight of the I, gives the 1998 Chiasso Switzerland show a portentous beginning. After the rhythm section warms up the riff, Ware's raw, soulful tone blazes across the soundscape. Susie Ibarra holds the percussionist's chair on this disc. Busy with brushes, she sculpts sound textures during Shipp's broad wanderings and Parker's bass bounce. Ware turns the sax inside out twice before Shipp shatters his granite chords into fast-rolling shards. Ibarra gets tribal with percussion, coloring Parker's slippery bowed solo.

A warm solo tenor torrent christens Logistic. After a characteristically dramatic intro, the mood unravels into tail-chasing Monkisms, probably inspiring the Monkish title. Ware makes brass dance with Ibarra and Parker stirring the pot. Shipp hammers the piano and creates Escher-esque melodic pathways. Mirroring Sonny Rollins' willingness to dig for gold in dismissible pop tunes, the Ware quartet offers its dynamic reworking of the sentimental trifle "The Way We Were.

Disc 2 fast forwards to 2003 Italy. Hamid Drake's multidimensional momentum fuels the high octane "Elder's Path. Ware jumps out in front, with Shipp following like a full bore thresher. The sax rolls playfully over Shipp's earnest downward pattern. Ware and Drake duet to open "Unknown Mansion. By the time Shipp and Parker join, Ware sits out, letting the piano lead. Ware spreads deep beauty over Shipp's rippling keys on "Sentient Compassion. Parker plays a tremulous arco solo, and Ware finishes with elegance.

Disc 3 revisits the DSWQ paying homage to Sonny Rollins, performing his "Freedom Suite live in Italy with drummer Guillermo E. Brown taking on the drumming duties. Pushing their performance beyond their AUM Fidelity studio recording of the same material, the inspired expansion documents the genius of this premier ensemble.

Ware-heads rejoice. Even the smart cover art depicting the elephant god Ghanesh with his trunk a saxophone works. After the mostly compositional collection released as Threads, Live in the World delivers a satisfying collection of the these formidable musicians creating live, with Ware, storming the gates of Heaven, leading the charge.

Track Listing

CD1: Aquarian Sound; Logistic; The Way We Were; Mikuro's Blues. CD2: Elder's Path; Unknown Mansion; Sentient Compassion; Co Co Cana; Manu's Ideal; Lexicon. CD3: Freedom Suite pt 1, 2, 3, 4; Stargazers.

Personnel

David S. Ware
saxophone, tenor

David S. Ware, tenor sax; Matthew Shipp, piano; William Parker, bass; Susie Ibarra: drums (CD1); Hamid Drake: drums (CD2); Guillermo E. Brown: drums (CD3).

Album information

Title: Live in the World | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Thirsty Ear Recordings

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.