Recorded for Muse Records in 1967 as Grant Green was on an extended recording hiatus -- it was his only record between 1965's His Majesty, King Funk, his only album for Verve, and 1969's Carryin' On, his return to Blue Note -- Iron City actually captures the guitarist in fine form, jamming on six blues and R&B numbers with his longtime cohorts, organist Big John Patton and drummer Ben Dixon. The trio members had long ago perfected their interplay, and they just cook on Iron City, working a hot groove on each song. Even the slow blues "Motherless Child" has a distinct swing in its backbeat, but most of the album finds the trio tearing through uptempo grooves with a vengeance. Green's playing is a bit busier than normal and he solos far more often than Patton, who lays back through most of the album, providing infectious vamps and lead lines. The two styles mesh perfectly with Dixon's deft drumming, resulting in a fine, overlooked date that showcases some of Green's hottest, bluesiest playing. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist :
1 Calls 6:10
Carla Bley
2 Turning 6:30
Paul Bley
3 King Korn 6:00
Carla Bley
4 Ictus 4:05
Carla Bley
5 Mr Joy 3:50
Annette Peacock
6 Kid Dynamite 3:40
Annette Peacock
7 Ida Lupino 5:20
Carla Bley
Credits :
Paul Bley - Piano
John Gilmore - Tenor Saxophone
Gary Peacock - Bass
Paul Motian - Drums
Billy Elgart - Drums on Nr. 5 & 6
Following their superb "chronotransduction," Escalator Over the Hill, composer Carla Bley and poet Paul Haines once again teamed up for Tropic Appetites, a somewhat different, but equally compelling effort. The instrumentation is scaled down to an octet and the lyrics revolve around trips to Southeast Asia, particularly Bali, made by Haines over the preceding years. Bley makes an inspired choice for lead vocalist by enlisting the extraordinary Julie Tippetts who had attained rock stardom in the late '60s (as Julie Driscoll) in Brian Auger's Trinity.
After a powerful introductory "overture" led by the still incendiary Gato Barbieri who, for contractual reasons, is referred to in the credits as "Unidentified Cat," the hothouse atmosphere of the recording is established by the next song, "In India," with its humid, surreal lyrics.Bley consistently provides rich, imaginative, and varied underpinnings for Tippett's crystalline vocal work. From the ferocious and angry "Enormous Tots" to the yearning "Caucasian Bird Riffles" to the delightful singsong "Funnybird Song" featuring priceless vocals from Howard Johnson and Bley's very young daughter Karen Mantler (who would go on to a career of her own), the music is strong and memorable throughout.
All of the musicians are in top form, but special mention should be made of the dream rhythm team of David Holland and Paul Motian. Their tonal colors and supple interplay is a major factor of the success of this album. Tropic Appetites is one of Carla Bley's greatest successes; one could only wish that she had continued in this vein rather than opting for the jazz-funk bands she led from 1980 forward. Brian Olewnick
Tracklist :
1 What Will Be Left Between Us And The Moon Tonight? 11:04
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
2 In India 1:10
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
3 Enormous Tots 6:05
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
4 Caucasian Bird Riffles 5:06
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
5 Funnybird Song 1:18
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
6 Indonesian Dock Sucking Supreme 8:54
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
7 Song Of The Jungle Stream 10:15
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
8 Nothing 3:34
Carla Bley / Paul Haines
Credits :
Cello, Acoustic Bass, Bass Guitar – Dave Holland
Drums, Percussion – Paul Motian
Producer – Carla Bley, Michael Mantler
Tenor Saxophone, Percussion – Gato Barbieri
Trumpet, Valve Trombone – Michael Mantler
Violin, Viola – Toni Marcus
Voice – Julie Tippetts
Voice, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Tuba [Tubas] – Howard Johnson
Voice, Recorder [Recorders], Piano, Electric Piano, Clavinet, Organ, Marimba, Celesta [Celeste], Percussion, Music By – Carla Bley
Having worked early on with everyone from Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus to Chet Baker and Jimmy Giuffre, Canadian pianist Paul Bley created a solid jazz base for his own distinctly sparse and plaintive style. In the '60s he gravitated toward free jazz, but with less of the freneticism of a Cecil Taylor and more as a melancholic minimalist who would leave his mark on such introverted tinklers as Keith Jarrett. Since the dawn of the '70s, Bley has elaborated on his brand of chamber jazz via a slew of independent jazz labels, including Steeplechase, Soul Note, Owl, and hatART. But it's on the German ECM label where he has scored some of his most impressive triumphs; this 1986 session ranks high among his many solo and group outings for the label. Nicely assisted by '60s cohort and drummer Paul Motian, guitarist Bill Frisell, and saxophonist John Surman, Bley ranges wide, from his own diffusely meditative opener ("Memories") and two wintry ballads by Carla Bley ("Seven" and "Closer") to a noisy workout by Surman ("Line Down") and a mercurial swinger from Motian ("Once Around the Park"). Adding to the wealth of quality material here are cuts by Frisell and Annette Peacock. Overcast and a bit icy as one might expect, but nevertheless Bley's Fragments makes for a consistently provocative and enjoyable listen. Stephen Cook Tracklist & Credits : 
This collection of 19 shortish piano and drum duets has caused the same reaction in several different fans of Paul Bley, so probably shouldn't be dismissed as quickly as the performers seemed to each track go by. Initial listings inspire indifference, in some case sneers, as it seems the two veteran players and longtime musical parners are improvising as if facing a row of judges who have given them time limits. This image addresses the brevity of the tracks, but not the lack of any palpable urgency, a quality that it is assumed would be rampant in anyone addressing such a court.
Superficially, the set of musical miniatures brings to mind a classic Erroll Garner side, in which each in a series of two, three and four minute tracks opens up an entire musical cosmos as well as inviting in the apparition of romance and the smell of perfume. None of that happens at all here, the tracks basically having the flatness and relative lack of detail of the album's cover illustration. These performances have a lingering quality, however, certain moments eventually acquirng magic like illuminations, even though it is all mere residue under the fingers of players who seemingly can create beauty in their sleep. "West 107th Street" is music for an imaginary movie, "Love Hurts" almost manages to deny feeling, and "Batterie" in its millionth recording still puts new thoughts in the pianist's mind. Eugene Chadbourne
Tracklist & Credits : 
This 1987 date teams the iconoclastic pianist with guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Paul Motian, and British saxophonist John Surman. While it's easy to argue that, with Manfred Eicher's icy, crystalline production, this was a stock date for both the artists and the label, that argument would be flat wrong. Bley was looking for a new lyricism in his own playing and in his compositions. He was coming from a different place than the large harmonies offered by augmented and suspended chords and writing for piano trios. The other band members -- two other extremely lyrical improvisers in Surman and Frisell (who prized understatement as the veritable doorway to lyricism) and a drummer who was better known for his dancing through rhythms than playing them in Motian -- were the perfect foils. For the opening solos of "Interplay," Bley traipses around Frisell with a sparse elegance as the guitarist single notes his way into the heart of the piece's silence before Surman draws the entire band out of it with Bley painting the backdrops in the exit. Or there's Surman's "One in Four," written for Bley, in which the pianist moves ahead, stating large middle- and low-register chords as a melody, settling it in D minor and waiting for the band to fill in the pieces before expanding the textural palette to include his own sense of rhythm and a folk song melody in his solo. Breathtaking. The only dud is Frisell's skronk piece, "After Dark," which would have been fine for Naked City, but feels completely out of place here.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist & Credits : 
Memoirs serves as a tidy summation of Paul Bley's gifts as an individual and musical conversationalist. It helps that he converses with old friends. Paul Motian is, roughly, to the drums what Bley is to the piano, capable of sculpting icy, paradoxical emotions; on moment's notice, they can venture "out" where tonal centers and rhythmic pulses are not invited. And there, always, is the fundamental Charlie Haden, who demonstrates how a few well-placed notes and well-observed silences can lock a group texture into place. Josef Woodard Tracklist & Credits : 
Like a good wine, Paul Bley seems only to improve with age. Re-united with bassist Gary Peacock and percussionist Paul Motian (their last recording together for ECM was made more than two decades earlier), the trio revisits the quirky "Fig Foot," and explores colors, moods, and even a touch of blues on a set of all original compositions. Bley is especially effective exploring the lower sonorities, while Peacock's full-sounding bass throbs with joy. Motian is characteristically exquisite, his soft, layered, sensitive strokes prodding his colleagues. None of the pieces drift, as these three masters contribute a mature perspective that comes from varied experience. Remarkable interplay, chamber-free harmonies, and loose improvisations add up to some special sounds. Steve Loewy Tracklist & Credits : 
In 1999, a year after recording the splendid reunion album Not Two, Not One, Paul Bley’s highly innovative trio with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian took to the road with concerts on both sides of the Atlantic. When Will The Blues Leave documents a terrific performance at the Aula Magna di Trevano in Switzerland. Included here, alongside the angular freebop Ornette Coleman title track, are Paul Bley’s “Mazatlan”, brimming over with energy, Gary Peacock’s evergreen “Moor”, Gershwin’s tender “I Loves You Porgy” and much more. All played with the subtlety of master improvisers, recasting the music in every moment. ECM
Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, and Paul Motian had been musical associates for more than 30 years when they recorded the studio offering Not Two, Not One for ECM in 1998. They had recorded together as early as 1963 for the Paul Bley with Gary Peacock session issued by the label in 1970 (including three tracks from a 1968 session with Billy Elgart instead of Motian). They worked together again in 1964 in a studio quartet with altoist John Gilmore released by Improvising Artists in 1975. The three players worked in various duos in concert and studio until Peacock suggested the reunion for Not Two, Not One, which they supported with a transatlantic tour the following year. This music dates from a show in 1999 in Lugano, Switzerland.
Some of the material will be familiar to longtime fans of the pianist and/or bassist, though it has all been thoroughly reworked. A fine example is Bley's "Mazatlan." It was first recorded for Touching from 1965. Already a free-ish number whose intro is framed by bop changes, this version commences with a quick thematic piano statement followed by a brief, swinging, elegant solo by Motian. During the ensemble play, Bley paints the middle and upper registers with his pointillistic brush as Peacock rumbles along the neck of his upright bass exchanging fours and eights with him, investigating the harmony as Motian carves out the space between. "Flame" is a delightful improvisational extrapolation on the jazz ballad form -- particularly for Peacock and Bley. "Told You So," a long Bley piano solo, commences as a stride blues before opening onto Eastern modalism, then a children's lullaby before returning to blues and spreading them incrementally across the body of the entire improvisation. Peacock's "Moor" is a chestnut that made its first appearance on the 1970 album; it has also graced his catalog several times since. This one is drenched in a modernist appropriation of bop. Motian's hi-hat and cymbals, accented by his snare as bassist and pianist, dig through the tune's head, engaging in a call-and-response dialogue before branching off toward free play. This version of "Dialogue Amor" -- that originally appeared on Not Two, Not One -- is looser, with Motian's ride cymbal haunting the foreground as Bley articulates melodic fragments that Peacock instinctively embellishes before guiding toward development, leaving Bley to quote from Charlie Parker's "Ornithology" in his solo. Ornette Coleman's title track is a hard-swinging post-bop exploration led forcefully by the rhythm section and artfully illustrated by the pianist. George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy," taken solo by Bley, traverses the New Orleans piano tradition, Tin Pan Alley, the New York cabaret lineage, and even the songbook of Stephen Foster in its elegant and canny illustration of lyric harmony and textural space to close the set. When Will the Blues Leave is a remarkable archival document that underscores how much potential this trio displayed, and what they might have accomplished had they played together more often.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist & Credits : 
A fascinating reissue that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz,
folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album
that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam
War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the
real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote
several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of
particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown,
the standout of "El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la
Quince Brigada," a 21-minute marathon. Reissue producer Michael Cuscuna
has done his best with the mastering here, but listeners will note a
roughness to the sound -- one that is in keeping with the album's tone
and attitude. Steven McDonald
Tracklist :
1 The Introduction 1:15
Carla Bley
2 Song of the United Front 1:52
Bertolt Brecht / Hanns Eisler
3 El Quinto Regimiento (The Fifth Regiment)/Los Cuatro Generales (The Four G 20:58
Carla Bley / Traditional
4 The Ending to the First Side 2:07
Carla Bley
5 Song for Ché 9:29
Charlie Haden
6 War Orphans 6:42
Ornette Coleman
7 The Interlude (Drinking Music) 1:24
Carla Bley
8 Circus '68 '69 6:10
Charlie Haden
9 We Shall Overcome 1:19
Guy Carawan / Frank Hamilton / Zilphia Horton / Pete Seeger / Traditional
Credits :
Bass, Producer – Charlie Haden
Clarinet – Perry Robinson
Cornet, Flute [Indian Wood Flute, Bamboo Flute] – Don Cherry (tracks: 3, 5)
French Horn, Wood Block [Hand Wood Blocks], Bells, Reeds [Crow Call], Whistle [Military Whistle] – Bob Northern
Guitar, Kalimba [Thumb Piano] – Sam Brown (tracks: 1, 3 to 7)
Percussion – Andrew Cyrille (tracks: 8), Paul Motian
Tambourine, Arranged By – Carla Bley
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Gato Barbieri
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Trumpet – Michael Mantler
Tuba – Howard Johnson
These valuable recordings document the great pianist Lennie Tristano during his later years, when public appearances were rare and recordings only an infrequent event. Tristano is heard playing at the Half Note on two separate occasions. Warne Marsh is on tenor, altoist Lee Konitz is a major asset to the selections from 1964, and the rhythm sections include either Henry Grimes or Sonny Dallas on bass and Paul Motian or Nick Stabulas on drums. The recording quality is decent if not admirable, but it is the music (six explorations of common chord changes and a 50-second "Everything Happens to Me") that is wonderful. Tristano, Marsh, and Konitz constantly create new melody lines and make highly original music. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1. Continuity 4:11
(Tristano)
2. She's Funny That Way 3:54
(Daniels/Whiting)
3. My Baby 5:35
(Tristano)
4. Everything Happens to Me 0:53
(Adair/Dennis)
5. . Subconscious Lee 5:56
(Konitz)
6. 317 East 32nd 9:53
(Tristano)
7. Background Music 7:42
(Marsh)
Credits :
1-4
Bass – Henry Grimes
Drums – Paul Motian
Piano – Lennie Tristano
Tenor Saxophone – Warne Marsh
5-7
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Bass – Sonny Dallas
Drums – Nick Stabulas
Piano – Lennie Tristano
Tenor Saxophone – Warne Marsh
Notas.
Tracks 1-4: Recorded October 1958 at The Half Note, New York, NY
Tracks 5-7: Recorded June 1964 at The Half Note, New York, NY
The music on this two-CD set has a strange history. Pianist Lennie Tristano had a rare reunion with altoist Lee Konitz and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh (his two greatest "students") during an extended stay at the Half Note in 1959. Tristano took Tuesday nights off to teach and Bill Evans was his substitute, but the pianist had a couple of those performances recorded for posterity. While listening to his tapes years later, he was so impressed with Marsh's playing that he sent edited versions (comprised entirely of the tenor man's solos) to Marsh, and somehow they ended up being released in that form by the Revelation label. In 1994, the unedited music was finally issued by Verve; the consistently exciting playing by Konitz, Marsh, and Evans (with backup by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Paul Motian) makes one wonder what took so long. They perform a dozen extended standards (or "originals" based on the chord changes of familiar tunes) with creativity and inspiration. In fact, of all the Konitz-Marsh recordings, this set ranks near the top. Scott Yanow
Tracklist 1 :
1 Palo Alto 9:13
Lee Konitz
2 How About You? 9:15
Ralph Freed / Burton Lane
3 My Melancholy Baby 6:54
Ernie Burnett / George Norton
4 Scrapple from the Apple 7:53
Charlie Parker
5 You Stepped Out of a Dream 7:39
Nacio Herb Brown / Gus Kahn
6 317 East 32nd Street 7:44
Lennie Tristano
Tracklist 2 :
1 April 8:44
Lennie Tristano
2 It's You or No One 8:09
Sammy Cahn / Jule Styne
3 Just Friends 5:40
John Klenner / Sam M. Lewis
4 Baby, Baby All the Time 8:31
Bobby Troup
5 Lennie-Bird 8:39
Lennie Tristano
6 Subconscious Lee 7:41
Lee Konitz
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Producer [Original Recordings] – Lee Konitz
Bass – Jimmy Garrison
Drums – Paul Motian
Piano – Bill Evans
Tenor Saxophone – Warne Marsh
Lee Konitz's Evidence release has seven selections from the veteran altoist that utilize different all-star personnel. The performances all have a similar commitment to relaxed and melodic freedom, but some work better than others. "I Hear a Rhapsody" (featuring a haunting vocal by Helen Merrill) precedes a more abstract "Rhapsody" (titled "Lo-Ko-Mo-And Frizz") which has wandering interplay by Konitz (on alto, soprano, and tenor), Joe Lovano (switching between tenor, alto clarinet, and soprano), guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Paul Motian. Jay Clayton's beautiful voice and adventurous style is well displayed on "The Aerie," and baritone great Gerry Mulligan sounds reasonably comfortable on a free improvisation with Konitz and pianist Peggy Stern, but a fairly straightforward vocal by Judy Niemack on "All the Things You Are" is followed by an overlong (19-minute) exploration of the same chord changes (renamed "Exposition") by the quartet of Konitz, clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Paul Bley, and bassist Gary Peacock; their different approaches never really mesh together, and this selection is a bit of a bore. The final performance, an extroverted duet by Konitz (on soprano) and flügelhornist Clark Terry (titled "Flyin': Mumbles and Jumbles") adds some badly needed humor to the set. While one can admire Lee Konitz for still challenging himself after all this time, some of the dryer material on the CD (especially the two quartet numbers) should have been performed again; maybe the next versions would have been more inspired. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1 I Hear a Rhapsody 4:31
Jack Baker / George Fragos / Dick Gasparre
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Piano – Peggy Stern
Vocals – Helen Merrill
2 Lo-Ko-Mo-And Frizz 12:05
Bill Frisell / Lee Konitz / Joe Lovano / Paul Motian
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Drums – Paul Motian
Guitar – Bill Frisell
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone – Joe Lovano
3 The Aerie 7:11
Peggy Stern
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Bass – Ben Allison
Drums – Jeff Williams
Piano – Peggy Stern
Vocals – Jay Clayton
4 Trio, No. 1 8:52
Lee Konitz / Gerry Mulligan / Peggy Stern
Baritone Saxophone – Gerry Mulligan
Piano – Peggy Stern
Soprano Saxophone – Lee Konitz
5 All the Things You Are 5:07
Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern
Guitar – Jean François Prins
Soprano Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Vocals – Judy Niemack
6 Exposition 19:00
Paul Bely / Paul Bley / Jimmy Giuffre / Lee Konitz / Gary Peacock
Bass – Gary Peacock
Clarinet – Jimmy Giuffre
Piano – Paul Bley
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
7 Flyin': Mumbles and Jumbles 5:55
Lee Konitz / Clark Terry
Flugelhorn, Scat – Clark Terry
Soprano Saxophone, Scat – Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz continues to record at peak form, as clearly evidenced by this trio with Steve Swallow on electric bass and Paul Motian on drums. All of the nine pieces are originals by members of the trio, the exceptions being a compelling version of "Come Rain or Come Shine" and a gorgeous take of Jobim's "Luiza." As to be expected, these three veterans mesh well together. While there are few extraordinary moments, there is plenty of well-played, emotionally satisfying jazz, the way Konitz has been doing it for a lifetime. You might confuse his pinched alto for a soprano at times, but there is no questioning his immaculate phrasing. Konitz has always shined best with a repertoire of standards, and the choice of tunes here is slightly less interesting. Motian is a good choice on the sticks, while Swallow remains an acquired taste. Steve Loewy
Tracklist :
1 It's You 05:08
Lee Konitz
2 Come Rain or Come Shine 5:36
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
3 Thingin' 7:53
Lee Konitz
4 Luiza 4:13
Antônio Carlos Jobim
5 From Time to Time 3:21
Paul Motian
6 Ladies' Waders 5:44
Steve Swallow
7 Johnny Broken Wing 6:50
Paul Motian
8 Eiderdown 6:16
Steve Swallow
9 A Minor Blues in F 5:36
Lee Konitz
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Drums – Paul Motian
Electric Bass – Steve Swallow
"An incredible encounter. A moment suspended in time. I don't have the words to describe what happened on those cold days in December 2009. Singular emotions, beyond anything language can express. A waking dream… or the awakening of a dream?
They entered the studio one by one. We got going very soon. The mood was joyful. On Lee’s sweater, a cat swathed in a scarf. Paul, true to form, in sneakers and dark glasses. Gary, with an infinitely gentle smile. We took out the instruments. Paul fixed the cymbals on the drum kit. Silence. "Begin anywhere," John Cage would say. Leap into space: first sound, second sound, off we go. Producing a sound is a way of expressing one's existence in the world. The sound rends the silence. The silence is not the same afterwards. It is still heavy with sound, as if marked by its emotion. Sound as an identity, a genetic code. The sound of each instrument speaks of itself." Alexandra Grimal
Tracklist :
1 Horus 3:13
Written-By – Gary Peacock
2 Breathing Through 2:19
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
3 Awake 4:05
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
4 If This Then... 4:23
Written-By – Gary Peacock
5 Owls Talk 4:57
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian
6 Petit Matin / Envol (4:37)
6.1 Petit Matin
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal, Gary Peacock
6.2 Envol
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
7 Moor 4:26
Written-By – Gary Peacock
8 Mélodie Pour João 3:55
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
9 Blows II 4:24
Written-By – Lee Konitz
10 December Green Wings 4:20
Written-By – Gary Peacock
11 A.H. 3:52
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
12 Dance 5:19
Written-By – Paul Motian
13 Awake (Alternate Take) 3:24
14 Indicible 2:28
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal, Gary Peacock
15 Éclipse 4:00
Written-By – Alexandra Grimal
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Bass – Gary Peacock
Drums – Paul Motian
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Producer [Artistic] – Alexandra Grimal
"Boring" feels like such a pejorative description. It's better to call this all-star summit conference of sleepy time jazz players, led by alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and including pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Charlie Haden, in addition to Paul Motian on drums, "stately," "refined," or "relaxed". The fact that the tunes -- all standards -- are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and go on at least five, and in one case, ten minutes too long in order to make room for just one more lugubrious bowed bass solo from Haden or one more slow-motion Mehldau keyboard interlude, should not be taken as prima facie evidence of the emptiness of this sort of pseudo-event, all too common in New York jazz clubs. After all, the live audience eats it up, as can clearly be heard. But is this album of any value to jazz as a whole? It is not. This is the sound of three men whose reputations rest on work done decades earlier, and one younger man whose reputation is difficult to explain, delicately tiptoeing through six pieces, some of which have been recorded hundreds if not thousands of times already. It is as far as possible from the sound of jazz moving forward, or preserving the creative vitality that is supposedly the heart of the genre. If all you want is to hear four accomplished musicians playing standards, this album provides an hour's worth of that. If you want more from jazz, you're out of luck. Phil Freeman
Tracklist :
1 Loverman 11:56
James Davis / Jimmy Davis / Roger "Ram" Ramirez / Roger Ramirez / James Sherman / Jimmy Sherman
2 Lullaby Of Birdland 10:16
George Shearing
3 Solar 11:39
Miles Davis
4 I Fall In Love Too Easily 10:17
Sammy Cahn / Jule Styne
5 You Stepped Out Of A Dream 11:49
Nacio Herb Brown / Gus Kahn
6 Oleo 15:19
Sonny Rollins
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz
Double Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Paul Motian
Piano – Brad Mehldau
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Though he is hardly a household name, Japanese pianist Masabumi "Poo" Kikuchi has played, recorded, and toured with dozens of musicians since his career began in the early 1960s. He is well-known to ardent jazz fans as a member of Tethered Moon, the decades-old trio that featured him alongside the late drummer Paul Motian and double bassist Gary Peacock, and Motian's Trio 2000. Kikuchi is rightly regarded as a unique and even iconoclastic stylist. Sunrise is his ECM debut. It's also the last studio session Motian played on. It's a collectively improvised trio album recorded in 2009 with Motian and double bassist Thomas Morgan. Most of these ten tunes are mid-length, four, to just-under-seven minutes, with one over and one brief interlude at two. This is a quietly astonishing recording, because it is, essentially, a freely improvised rubato suite based on the ballad -- pillared at beginning, middle, and end (with selections that have the word "Ballad" in their titles). It showcases an approach to the form that is mysterious, intuitive, and purposely unsystematic. Key changes and slight tempo variations occur suddenly, and then vanish as if their appeal has been exhausted, only to return at a later time -- or not. Kikuchi's touch reveals no hesitation in his ideas. His harmonic statements are instinctive, canny, sometimes spare, sometimes subtly dissonant, but always compelling; they never force their way. Motian's unshakeable and melodic sense of time is present at each moment, seemingly anticipating the many shifts, and Morgan's bass playing shimmers rather than pulses. It asserts pointillist moments in shapes and shades in accordance with the pianist's impeccable sense of direction and his centering presence. Singling out an individual tune is futile since all of this music is of a piece, full of subtlety and elegance, but nearly radical in its lyric invention and rhythmic flow. Sunrise is, like its title, a gradually unfolding, poetic stunner.
|This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa'|
Tracklist :
1 Ballad 1 5'38
(Thomas Morgan, Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi)
2 New Day 4'46
(Masabumi Kikuchi, Thomas Morgan, Paul Motian)
3 Short Stuff 2'11
(Thomas Morgan, Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian)
4 So What Variations 5'27
(Thomas Morgan, Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi)
5 Ballad 2 7'13
(Masabumi Kikuchi, Thomas Morgan, Paul Motian)
6 Sunrise 5'48
(Thomas Morgan, Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi)
7 Sticks And Cymbals 6'17
(Paul Motian, Thomas Morgan, Masabumi Kikuchi)
8 End Of Day 4'47
(Paul Motian, Thomas Morgan, Masabumi Kikuchi)
9 Uptempo 4'05
(Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian, Thomas Morgan)
10 Last Ballad 5'22
(Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi, Thomas Morgan)
Credits :
Masabumi Kikuchi Piano
Thomas Morgan Double-Bass
Paul Motian Drums 
“A long story” marks the international debut of Israeli-born pianist Anat Fort, in the company of three exceptional improvisers. The opening tune “Just Now” – an almost classical ballad that feels like a standard-in-the-making – demonstrates, right from the outset, Fort’s striking compositional gifts. Her pieces provide her fellow musicians with ample solo space; more crucially they also experiment analytically with different models of musical interaction in the ensemble. Elegantly carved tunes, their boldly melodic contours give way to adventurous improvised playing from all parties, with veteran clarinet innovator Perry Robinson, also making his ECM debut here, in particularly strong form.
Although Anat counts Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley (and “much of the music on ECM”) among her formative influences, her music also subtly but clearly indicates her geographical origins. Born near Tel Aviv she studied classical piano as a child and began writing her own music and improvising from an early age, open to all the musical sounds of her environment. In the mid-1990s she came to the USA to study jazz, wanting to balance a natural tendency towards freer playing with a firm grounding in the tradition. Her teachers have included jazz greats Rufus Reid and Harold Mabern. In the last several years she has been a presence on NYC’s alternative jazz scene, but is also a highly regarded player in her homeland. She now splits her time between Israel and the US. Her most recent commission is the creation of five new arrangements of Israeli music for the Tel Aviv opera house.
The “long story” the album title refers to is more than a metaphor for the sometimes complicated paths music has to take from the composer’s mind to the listener’s ear. It rather concretely denotes the circuitous route by which this quartet – and eventually the record – came into existence. As Anat explains it in her liner notes: “I guess it had to be a long story: from the first time I heard Paul Motian on a Bill Evans record and was blown away I have dreamt of playing with him. Years later I met Ed who had been in many of Paul’s bands and we started playing together. It was around that time when I met Perry, too, and one day it all became clear: I had to make a record with Paul, and I couldn’t think of two better partners than Ed and Perry. I decided to throw the ball and ask him if he would do it. The request was odd, though not unheard of in the jazz world. At that point, Paul has never heard me or my music before, while I felt that through his music, he has been one of my strongest mentors for years.”
Paul Motian: “It was Ed Schuller that called me to take part in Anat Fort's recording. My first reaction was ‘no’ because I didn't know her music. Ed talked me into doing the session and then I was very pleasantly surprised at how great the music was – all Anat's music with a sort of middle Eastern Flavor – I liked the music so much that I recommended it to ECM. And I love the way the album came out!". ecm
Tracklist :
1 Just Now, Var. I 4:14
Anat Fort
2 Morning: Good 7:22
Anat Fort
3 Lullaby 5:59
Anat Fort
4 Chapter Two 3:43
Composed By – Anat Fort, Perry Robinson
5 Just Now, Var. II 3:59
Anat Fort
6 Not A Dream? 5:24
Anat Fort
7 Rehaired 5:55
Anat Fort
8 As Two / Something 'Bout Camels 5:52
Anat Fort
9 Not The Perfect Storm 7:21
Anat Fort
10 Chapter One 4:14
Anat Fort
11 Just Now, Var. III 2:14
Anat Fort
Credits :
Clarinet, Ocarina – Perry Robinson
Double Bass – Ed Schuller
Drums – Paul Motian
Piano – Anat Fort
Producer – Anat Fort, Manfred Eicher
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