ABBEY LINCOLN — Who Used To Dance (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Abbey Lincoln, 65 at the time of this recording, still had a reasonably strong voice at this point in her career, and although she showed signs of mellowing now and then, she was still capable of performing fiery musical statements. This Verve release mostly emphasizes slow tempos and melancholy moods. The nostalgic "Who Used to Dance" (featuring Savion Glover's tapdancing) is a highlight, and "Street of Dreams" works well, although "Mr. Tambourine Man" is not too essential. Six different saxophonists (five of them altoists) appear on the date (usually one on a song), and despite the diversity in styles (from Steve Coleman to Frank Morgan), their subsidiary roles and respectful playing find them all sounding fairly similar. An interesting but not overly essential outing. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1        Love Has Gone Away    7:34
2        Who Used To Dance    9:43
3        Love Lament    7:10
4        Mr. Tambourine Man    6:52
5        When Autumn Sings    4:07
6        Love What You're Doin' Down There    8:24
7        Street Of Dreams    6:32
8        I Sing A Song    5:46
9        The River    4:57
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Frank Morgan (tracks: 3, 5), Justin Robinson (tracks: 9), Oliver Lake (tracks: 6, 9), Riley T. Bandy The III (tracks: 6, 8), Steve Coleman (tracks: 1, 6, 7)
Arranged By [Horns] – Randy Noel (tracks: 6)
Bass – John Ormond (tracks: 9), Michael Bowie (tracks: 1 to 8)
Cornet – Graham Haynes (tracks: 9)
Drums – Alvester Garnett (tracks: 2, 5, 6), Turu Alexander (tracks: 9)
Drums, Percussion – Aaron Walker (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
Piano – Marc Cary (tracks: 1 to 8), Rodney Kendrick (tracks: 9)
Tenor Saxophone – Julien Lourau (tracks: 4)
Vocals [Background Vocals Comments] – Arthur Green (tracks: 9), Bazzi Bartholomew Gray (tracks: 9)
Vocals, Arranged By – Abbey Lincoln
Words By, Music By – Abbey Lincoln (tracks: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9)

CASSANDRA WILSON — Traveling Miles (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A tribute album by Cassandra Wilson to Miles Davis seems like a very logical idea, but this CD is actually less than one would expect. Wilson's deep voice gives a downbeat feel to the music, her lyrics for such Davis-associated songs as "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," "Seven Steps to Heaven," "ESP," "Tutu," and "Blue in Green" are forgettable, and her interpretations smooth down most of the melodies, robbing them of their personality. Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" fare better, but most of the set (which includes three unrelated originals) is as boring as Cassandra Wilson's voice. Despite the presence of some notable all-stars (including Steve Coleman, Stefon Harris, Regina Carter, and Pat Metheny), this is a misfire. Scott Yanow

Tracklist :

1. Run the Voodoo Down – 4:36 

(Miles Davis, Cassandra Wilson) 

2. Traveling Miles – 4:52

(Wilson) 

3. Right Here Right Now – 5:57

(Marvin Sewell, Wilson)

4. Time After Time – 4:08

(Rob Hyman, Cyndi Lauper)

5. When The Sun Goes Down – 6:05

(Wilson)

6. Seven Steps" – 6:44

(Victor Feldman, Davis) 

7. Someday My Prince Will Come – 3:53

(Frank Churchill, Larry Morey) 

8. Never Broken – 5:13

 (Wayne Shorter, Wilson)

9. Resurrection Blues (Tutu) – 6:11 

(Marcus Miller, Wilson) 

10. Sky & Sea (Blue in Green) – 5:24 

 (Davis, Wilson) 

11. Piper – 5:03

 (Wilson) 

12. Voodoo Reprise – 4:15.

(Davis, Wilson, Angelique Kidjo)

Credits :

Cassandra Wilson – vocals, acoustic guitar

Doug Wamble – acoustic guitar

Eric Lewis – piano

Jeffrey Haynes, Kevin Breit – acoustic, electric, resophonic & e-bow guitars, electric mandolin, mandocello, bazouki

Lonnie Plaxico – acoustic bass

Marcus Baylor – drums, percussion

Marvin Sewell – acoustic, classical & electric guitars, bazouki

Mino Cinelu – percussion

Perry Wilson – drums

Vincent Henry – harmonica

Dave Holland – bass

Olu Dara – cornet

Steve Coleman – alto sax

Pat Metheny – classical guitar

Angelique Kidjo – vocals

Regina Carter – violin

Stefon Harris – vibraphone 

SAM RIVERS WINDS OF MANHATTAN - Colours (1983) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Stomping, swinging arrangements. Exuberant 11-piece orchestra supervised and spurred by Rivers. Ron Wynn
Tracklist :
1    Lilacs    5:44
2    Colours    5:01
3    Spiral    8:36
4    Matrix    7:53
5    Revival    1:58
6    Blossoms    11:24
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Bobby Watson, Steve Coleman
Baritone Saxophone – Jimmy Cozier, Patience Higgins
Clarinet – Nat Dixon, Talib Kibwe
Flute – Bobby Watson, Chris Roberts, Jimmy Cozier, Marvin Blackman, Nat Dixon, Patience Higgins, Sam Rivers, Steve Coleman, Talib Kibwe
Oboe – Bill Cody
Piccolo Flute – Eddie Alex
Sopranino Saxophone – Talib Kibwe
Soprano Saxophone – Chris Roberts, Marvin Blackman, Sam Rivers
Tenor Saxophone – Bill Cody, Eddie Alex, Marvin Blackman, Nat Dixon, Sam Rivers, Talib Kibwe

SAM RIVERS' RIVBEA ALL-STAR ORCHESTRA - Inspiration (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Prior to Inspiration, Sam Rivers hadn't recorded for a major label in nearly 20 years, and he hadn't cut a studio session in two decades. That doesn't mean he was inactive; he was teaching, playing, and giving concerts but never recording. Aware that many of Rivers' big-band compositions -- not only his recent material, but some earlier works as well -- had never been given the proper treatment, saxophonist Steve Coleman helped arrange a recording contract with BMG, with the end result being the astonishing Inspiration album. The compositions on Inspiration are as old as 1968's "Beatrice" and as new as 1995's "Solace" (incidentally, both of those pieces are tributes to his wife Beatrice, who also provides half of the name of the featured big band, the Rivbea All-Star Orchestra). Remarkably, all of the compositions not only sound fresh, they sound visionary -- still ahead of their time. It's not only because the stellar musicians give vibrant, unpredictable performances, although that undeniably helps; Rivers' writing is the real key. His writing for big band is utterly original, blending big-band, bop, and avant-garde traditions together in unique, surprising ways. The dissonance never sounds irritating -- it sounds melodic -- and the complex themes are strangely inviting. Similarly, Rivers' playing is robust, swinging between intense bursts of sound and beautiful lyricism, and sometimes combining it all at once. His 16 colleagues -- including such luminaries as Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Chico Freeman, and Ray Anderson -- follow suit, delivering wonderfully shaded, invigorating performances. Inspiration truly is a revelation, proving not only that Rivers retains all his creative power at the age of 75, but that avant-garde jazz can be as inviting as any other style without sacrificing any of its depth or daring. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist :
1    Vines    13:36
2    Nebula    11:18
3    Beatrice    10:36
4    Inspiration    9:41
5    Solace    11:01
6    Whirlwind    5:43
7    Rejuvenation    8:32
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Greg Osby, Steve Coleman
Baritone Horn – Joseph Daley
Baritone Saxophone – Hamiet Bluiett
Bass – Doug Mathews
Drums – Anthony Cole
Producer – Steve Coleman
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Written-By – Sam Rivers
Tenor Saxophone – Chico Freeman, Gary Thomas
Trombone – Art Baron, Joseph Bowie, Ray Anderson
Trumpet – Baikida Carroll, James Zollar, Ralph Alessi, Ravi Best
Tuba – Bob Stewart

SAM RIVERS' RIVBEA ALL-STAR ORCHESTRA - Culmination (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Sam Rivers' second recording with his Rivbea All-Star Orchestra for RCA is similar to his first one in that he uses an impressive 17-piece band full of top avant-gardists to interpret the dense arrangements of his originals. The music, which is frequently atonal, has so much going on at times that it will take several listens to comprehend everything; it certainly does not lose one's interest! The only fault to this stimulating set is that the soloists are not identified. Although one may recognize the various saxophonists (Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Chico Freeman, Gary Thomas, and Hamiet Blueitt) and trombonist Ray Anderson, most of the brass players will be more difficult to determine. This very adventurous music is remarkable in ways and well worth acquiring by free jazz collectors. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Spectrum    7:22
2    Bubbles    8:27
3    Revelation    10:36
4    Culmination    8:12
5    Ripples    13:38
6    Neptune    5:53
7    Riffin'    6:26
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Greg Osby, Steve Coleman
Baritone Horn – Joseph Daley
Baritone Saxophone – Hamiet Bluiett
Bass – Doug Mathews
Drums – Anthony Cole
Painting – Scramble Campbell
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Written-By – Sam Rivers
Tenor Saxophone – Chico Freeman, Gary Thomas
Trombone – Art Baron, Joseph Bowie, Ray Anderson
Trumpet – Baikida Carroll, James Zollar, Ralph Alessi, Ravi Best
Tuba – Bob Stewart

DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET — Jumpin' In (1983) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Bassist Dave Holland leads one of his most stimulating groups on this superlative quintet date. With the young Steve Coleman on alto and flute, trumpet great Kenny Wheeler, trombonist Julian Priester, and drummer Steve Ellington in the band, Holland had a particularly creative group of musicians in which to interpret and stretch out his six originals; Coleman also contributed one composition. This set, which has plenty of variety in moods, tone, colors, and styles, is one of Holland's better recordings. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Jumpin' In    7:41
Dave Holland
2    First Snow    6:28
Dave Holland
3    The Dragon And The Samurai 8:25
Steve Coleman
4    New-One    7:37
Dave Holland
5    Sunrise    5:26
Dave Holland
6    Shadow Dance    5:22
Dave Holland
7    You I Love    7:56
Dave Holland
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Steve Coleman
Bass, Cello – Dave Holland
Design – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Steve Ellington
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Trombone – Julian Priester
Trumpet, Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet], Cornet, Flugelhorn [Fluegelhorn] – Kenny Wheeler 

DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET - Seeds of Time (1985) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

In the mid-1980s, bassist Dave Holland led his finest group, a quintet with up-and-coming altoist Steve Coleman, trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and (on this date) drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith. The all-star musicians pack plenty of music and concise solos into each performance (nine originals), and the unique group carved out its own niche, not quite free but certainly unpredictable. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Uhren 4:53
Composed By – Steve Coleman
2    Homecoming 6:01
Composed By – Dave Holland
3    Perspicuity 3:42
Composed By – Doug Hammond
4    Celebration 5:11
Composed By – Julian Priester
5    World Protection Blues 7:00
Composed By – Doug Hammond
6    Gridlock (Opus 8) 8:23
Composed By – Steve Coleman
7    Walk-a-way 3:55
Composed By – Holland, Smith
8    The Good Doctor 5:54
Composed By – Kenny Wheeler
9    Double Vision 7:09
Composed By – Dave Holland
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Steve Coleman
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Double Bass – Dave Holland
Drums, Percussion – Marvin "Smitty" Smith
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Trombone – Julian Priester
Trumpet, Cornet, Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet], Flugelhorn – Kenny Wheeler

DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET - The Razor's Edge (1987) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Dave Holland's mid-1980s band played inventive music that was between post-bop and the avant-garde. The group acted as a launching pad for altoist Steve Coleman, gave publicity to the always-underrated trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, and in 1987 also featured trombonist Robin Eubanks and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith. The group's three ECM releases are well worth exploring, and this set gives listeners a strong example of their work. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Brother Ty 4:34
Written-By – Doug Hammond
2    Vedana 4:53
Written-By – Dave Holland
3    The Razor's Edge 7:52
Written-By – Dave Holland
4    Blues For C.M. 9:15
Written-By – Dave Holland
5    Vortex 8:11
Written-By – Steve Coleman
6    5 Four Six 4:26
Written-By – Kenny Wheeler
7    Wights Waits For Weights 5:25
Written-By – Steve Coleman
8    Figit Time 6:17
Written-By – Doug Hammond
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Steve Coleman
Bass – Dave Holland
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Marvin "Smitty" Smith
Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Cornet – Kenny Wheeler
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Trombone – Robin Eubanks
 

DAVE HOLLAND TRIO - Triplicate (1988) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Very much a co-op trio, this ECM date matches together bassist Dave Holland, his old associate Jack DeJohnette and altoist Steve Coleman, who spent time in both of their bands. For the well-rounded date, the band performs one song apiece by Coleman and DeJohnette, four by Holland, a traditional "African Lullaby," Charlie Parker's "Segment" and Duke Ellington's "Take the Coltrane." Steve Coleman, who always had an original sound, really excels in this sparse setting. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Games 5:07
Steve Coleman
2     Quiet Fire 5:50
Dave Holland
3     Take the Coltrane 6:27
Duke Ellington
4     Rivers Run 9:18
Dave Holland
5     Four Winds 4:22
Dave Holland
6     Triple Dance 8:08
Dave Holland
7     Blue 6:08
Jack DeJohnette
8     African Lullaby 3:11
Dave Holland / Traditional
9     Segment 6:38
Charlie Parker
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Steve Coleman
Bass – Dave Holland
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Jack DeJohnette

DAVE HOLLAND QUARTET - Extensions (1989) APE (image+.cue), lossless

For this tight and enjoyable quartet date, bassist Dave Holland spread the composing opportunities around, his sidemen accounting for four of the six pieces. Arguably, none of these musicians ever sounded better, or more adventurous, than when performing in Holland's bands. While the leader himself retreated a good deal from his more routinely avant-garde recordings of the '70s, he appeared unwilling to allow his younger compadres to simply coast, instead evoking probing and thoughtful playing from them. Altoist Steve Coleman derives particular benefit from Holland's supervision, sounding far more fluid and confident than own his own rather more stilted albums. The pieces follow a general head-solos-head format, though with substantial elasticity and enough variation that no sense of sameness settles in. Holland, of course, is masterful throughout, and one can easily imagine simply listening exclusively to his basslines, the amazing imagination they convey, and being very satisfied. One of his better albums from this period, Extensions should please any Holland fan, and is an agreeable and non-threatening jumping in point for the curious. by Brian Olewnick  
Tracklist :
1     Nemesis    11:36
Kevin Eubanks
2     Processional    7:21
Dave Holland
3     Black Hole    10:15
Steve Coleman
4     The Oracle    14:37
Dave Holland
5     101° Fahrenheit (Slow Meltdown)    4:56
Steve Coleman
6     Color of Mind    10:11
Kevin Eubanks
Credits :
Bass – Dave Holland
 Drums – Marvin "Smitty" Smith
 Guitar – Kevin Eubanks
 Producer – Manfred Eicher
 Saxophone – Steve Coleman

STEVE COLEMAN - Invisible Paths : First Scattering [2007] Tzadik / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For a musician as engaged with the history, lineage, and future possibilities of jazz, it's rather remarkable that composer, saxophonist, and bandleader Steve Coleman hasn't recorded a solo album before now. Better later than never. In his liner notes, Coleman states: "As always my concern was to create music that would express my total range of beliefs regarding the universe and our relationship to it. The resulting music would be a sonic commentary or expression of Nature and Life....I realized that these musical ideas would in some ways have more clarity than my work within an ensemble, and in other ways be more obscure....I realized that the forms that lie at the basis of the sounded music would normally not be able to be perceived." This is not so pretentious: painter Mark Rothko held views very similar to this, resulting in his own singular method of painting that used few colors and shapes, but communicated and invoked strong, even universal emotions in the viewer that would not and could not come into play in more conventionally image-based work. Coleman also regards the possibility of new meanings and invisible paths that can and do come into play when the articulated sounds of the music engage the imagination of the listener, creating a third entity that comprises both -- hence a new meaning. Add to this his eternal sense of cyclical time that comes from Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions, and what one has is indeed a sonic universe, both infinitesimally small and inconceivably large. This is wonderfully ambitious for a solo saxophone recording, but there is great merit in his thinking, especially as it translates to the music at hand. In fact, this set has more in common with Lee Konitz's Lone-Lee album (without the multi-tracking) than it does with, say, Anthony Braxton's solo saxophone improvisational recordings. Coleman uses a keen sense of how to fill aural space, with a deep knowledge and use of a (mostly) Western harmonic language that allows the listener inside his sound world. In fact, it readily invites you in.

These 16 pieces take just over 70 minutes to complete, and use mostly conventional notions of melody to poetically weave their way through the jazz tradition -- and yes, he does that by using the lineage in these pieces, evoking Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, and contemporaries like Greg Osby and Don Byron -- while offering new notions of song. These pieces, which range from just over two minutes to seven and a half with many points in between, more often than not turn on themselves, returning to a theme that offers itself as a first step and as a return to hear what has changed in the interval between. Not merely scalar exercises, these pieces, all of them inseparable from one another by their very placement in both sequence and the evolution in the sound they offer, are parts of an extended meditation on a pulsing, growing universe, perhaps inconceivable to the listener's imagination before hearing these ideas as "sung" in a more conservative sense. Coleman also extends the language of the horn, and offers something new in the way of way solo recordings. In fact, Invisible Paths: First Scattering is not the revelation of what he has learned as a musician so much as what he perceives may be possible since he is one. Hosting Coleman's recording is a coup both for the artist and for Tzadik, which hasn't, for all of its forward thinking and radical reinvention of many musical languages, ever hosted a recording quite like this one before, so inside a jazz tradition that is regenerative and creates newness because of its past rather than in spite of it. This is Steve Coleman as you have never heard him before; with every note here, he communicates in improvisational song how necessary he is to the continued evolution of jazz in particular and to 21st century music in general. Invisible Paths was worth waiting 22 years for.  by Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
1     Ascending Numeration: Reformed     4:05
2     Shift     2:07
3     Possession Of Images     6:35
4     Negative Secondary     4:41
5     The Witness     5:26
6     Invisible Paths     3:11
7     Fundamental Disturbance I     4:02
8     Fecundation: 070118     4:32
9     Embodiment     5:04
10     Facing West     5:05
11     Clouds     7:29
12     Back At The Crib     3:06
13     Cardinal-Fixed-Mutable     2:36
14     Fundamental Disturbance II     4:30
15     Individualization     4:14
16     Fecundation: 070118 (Another View)     4:19
Credits
    Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Steve Coleman

 STEVE COLEMAN - Invisible Paths : First Scattering 

[2007] Tzadik / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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