What is jazz? Those three words form one of the toughest questions in music. Ask a hundred people and you are likely to get as many different answers. Few things have given me more pleasure in life than listening to the music we call jazz. Even after hearing several thousand recordings in over ...

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Article: Album Review

Cecil Taylor and Mat Maneri: Algonquin

Read "Algonquin" reviewed by Clifford Allen

by Clifford Allen
December 2, 2004

As much of a clich' as it may sound, the debate will always rage on some semblance of a definition of “jazz" versus “improvised music." It is never a debate that one really wants to get into, semiotically or aesthetically, but with each new improvised recording, the listener and historian both must consider not only whether ...

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Article: Album Review

Cecil Taylor: Conquistador!

Read "Conquistador!" reviewed by Colin Fleming

by Colin Fleming
October 17, 2004

More so than with any label, the greatest recordings on Blue Note, those that pull rank on the merely great and that we can most comfortably say will belong to all ages, seem to prove a burden for many listeners to embrace, no matter how enthralled they are by the sounds of Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, ...

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Article: Album Review

Cecil Taylor: Algonquin

Read "Algonquin" reviewed by Rex Butters

by Rex Butters
September 3, 2004

Spending taxpayer money wisely, the Library of Congress commissioned Cecil Taylor to write a work for violin and piano in 1999. The resulting Algonquin features the pianist alongside violinist Mat Maneri, recorded before an audibly appreciative audience. Clearly enjoying the company, Taylor plays it frisky, free and light. Maneri has a more youthful-sounding partner than on ...

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Article: Album Review

Cecil Taylor: The Owner Of The River Bank

Read "The Owner Of The River Bank" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
July 2, 2004

The single piece by Cecil Taylor lasts an hour. It was recorded during the second of two concerts given to celebrate the first ten years of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. This was part of the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia, in Southern Italy, on September 10, 2000. From the sounds of an orchestra ...

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Article: Album Review

Cecil Taylor & Italian Instabile Orchestra: The Owner Of The River Bank

Read "The Owner Of The River Bank" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
May 25, 2004

The Italian Instabile Orchestra played two concerts at the Talos Festival in Ruva di Puglia in 2000, celebrating its tenth anniversary. Cecil Taylor wrote the music, if it can be called writing, for he brought in paper with symbols, words and shapes to the rehearsals. This work in progress began to ferment over the next three ...