Live in Berlin - Black Saint Quartet
| Live in Berlin - Black Saint Quartet | ||||
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| Live album by David Murray | ||||
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Publication |
2008 |
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| Label (s) | Jazz workshop | |||
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Format (s) |
CD / DVD |
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Title (number) |
5 |
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running time |
72:16 |
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| occupation | ||||
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Studio (s) |
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Live in Berlin - Black Saint Quartet is a jazz album by the David Murray Quartet with pianist Lafayette Gilchrist , bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Hamid Drake , recorded during the Long Night of Jazz in Berlin's Radialsystem V venue on November 17th 2007 and released in 2008 on the Jazzwerkstatt label.
The album
The tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist David Murray had worked with various bands in his career so far; One of the longest-lived is his Black Saint Quartet , which in the late 2000s consisted of Lafayette Gilchrist on piano, Jaribu Shahid on bass and Hamid Drake on drums. Gilchrist, who had played with Murray in 2000, succeeded John Hicks, who died in 2006 .
The opening number Dirty Laundry , initially titled Kiama (Kenyan: "Council of Elders"), was dedicated to Murray Barack Obama , the then candidate in the 2008 presidential election . Murray had previously worked with Amiri Baraka on a jazz opera, from which the piece Sacred Ground originates, which was also the title track of the previous album . The composition Banished comes from the music for a documentary of the same name by Marco Williams about racism in the southern states . Murray's Steps , a composition Murray wrote for his 1980s octet , refers to John Coltrane's Giant Steps . The final track Waltz Again (also Walter's Waltz from the album Ming's Samba 1988) pays homage to his father Walter.
The focus is on Murray's extensive playing, "his penchant for long kaleidoscopic solos". This can already be seen in Dirty Laundry , which Murray allows to develop extensively, followed by solo contributions by Gilchrist and Hamid Drake.
In the following Banished bassist Shahid creates a “slow and sad groove ” with the bowed bass . Murray rises out of it with the bass clarinet, keeps the mood cloudy and contemplative. ”This continues into the ballad Sacred Ground , which is characterized by gospel echoes.
In the liner notes , the journalist Christian Broecking pointed out the “chord progressions in the John Coltrane- inspired Murray's Steps and in the composition Waltz Again dedicated to his father ” and compares it with Murray's earlier play: “even the most indomitable screams of his Tenro saxophones, those Murray Moments of yore, are now sensitively layered into the basic structure of his classic quartet sound. "
review
Phil Johnson discusses the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the quartet's music in his review in The Independent ; "Anger and anguish find expression in Murray's wistful ballads and heroic honks ." The author also highlights the performance of the younger pianist Lafayette Gilchrist. As his favorite on the album, he lists Sacred Ground , a "devastatingly intense long-runner".
Bill Shoemaker goes to the play of the pianist Gilchrist, who has similar authoritative qualities as his predecessor John Hicks and uses "wild voicings extending over three or even four octaves ":
- "He outlines the harmonic movement of a given piece by combining snippets of the melody and chromatic asides, often sending his hands in opposite directions to widen or pinch pitch relationships; and he has impeccable timing for the dramatic groundswell and the decaying utterance. "
The author counts the ballad Sacred Ground as one of Murray's best compositions alongside Ming . He also emphasizes the wealth of ideas of the rhythm group Gilchrist, Shahid and Drake, “They model the pieces from chorus to chorus, phrase to phrase, and from beat to beat. There is a constant flow of ideas among the three, whether Murray is playing or not; this develops glowing moments that shape the direction of the piece ”.
- They are flash points in the pieces that Murray unfailingly hits with an exclamatory phrase or textures. Their precise detailing lets Murray revel in his altissimo, confident that the inevitable quaver or screech will be sufficiently buttressed by their cross rhythms, thus registering as incisive vocal qualities. This band is a juggernaut; Live In Berlin makes a slam-dunk case .
Mischa Andriessen came to the conclusion: The CD shows the band in good shape, but you can't get rid of the feeling that Murray can do even better. He won't make new fans with the record, but he won't lose the old ones either.
List of titles
- Live in Berlin - Black Saint Quartet (Jazzwerkstatt JW035)
- Dirty Laundry - 14:57
- Banished - 6:10
- Sacred Ground - 5:20 pm
- Murray's Steps - 15:57
- Waltz Again - 17:10
- All compositions are by David Murray.
Web links
- Meeting at Vortex.jazz
- Review of the album in All About Jazz
- Phil Johnson's album review in The Independent
- Meeting at jazzenso (Dutch)
- David Murray on Myspace
Remarks
- ↑ Christian Brocking mentions that before his death Hicks gave his successor Lafayette Gilchrist a hundred-page music book entitled The David Murray Power Quartet Book .
- ↑ On the soundtrack for the film, Murray worked alongside his own quartet with the poet Ishmael Reed and the singer Cassandra Wilson .
Individual evidence
- ^ Note from Bret McCabe in the Baltimore Citypaper 2005
- ↑ a b Review of Mischa Andriessen's album at jazzenso (Dutch)
- ↑ Marco Williams: Banished
- ↑ a b c Review of the album in All About Jazz ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Christian Broecking, Liner Notes.
- ^ Review of Phil Johnson's album in The Independent
- ↑ Meeting in Point of Departure
