A somewhat surprising pairing at the time, the former firebrand of the tenor sax and the wonderful South African pianist found a pleasant and relaxed meeting point. By 1978, Shepp had largely abandoned the ferocious attack that gained him renown in the '60s, settling on a rich, Ben Webster-ish tone and playing a repertoire consisting of modern standards and bluesy originals. Two such pieces, the lovely Dave Burrell/Marion Brown composition "Fortunato" and Mal Waldron's "Left Alone," are highlights of this session, Shepp's burnished tone as soft as an old shoe. Ibrahim is a fairly deferential partner here, generally preferring to play the role of accompanist, although certainly one sprinkling his work with plenty of ideas for Shepp to work off. But the prevailing sense of relaxation begins to pall after a while and one wishes for a bit more of the old rough and tumble that these two were surely capable of. Still, for those who enjoyed Shepp's mid-'70s dates for Arista/Freedom and Ibrahim's more subdued group efforts of the late '70s and early '80s, there's much good listening here. Brian Olewnick
Tracklist :
1 Fortunato 7:37
Composed By – Dave Burrell, Marion Brown
2 Barefoot Boy From Queens Town - To Mongezi 7:45
Composed By – Archie Shepp
3 Left Alone 7:51
Composed By – Mal Waldron
4 Theme From "Proof Of The Man" 8:12
Composed By – Yuji Ohno
5 Ubu-Suku 4:30
Composed By – Dollar Brand
6 Moniebah 8:18
Composed By – Dollar Brand
Credits :
Piano – Dollar Brand
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Probably the first of several saxophone-only ensembles that proliferated in jazz after 1975, the WSQ was unquestionably the most commercially (and, arguably, the most creatively) successful. Of course, commercial success is a relative thing in jazz, especially when one is speaking of an avant-garde group. But unlike most free jazz artists, the WSQ managed to attract an audience of significant size, large enough to have garnered a major-label record deal in the '80s, an almost unheard-of occurrence in that retro-jazz decade. The band did it on merit, too, with only a hint of compromise (manifested mainly by albums of R&B and Duke Ellington covers). By the time their first record on Elektra/Musician came out in 1986, the band had evolved from its fire-breathing, free-improvising, ad-hoc beginnings into a smooth-playing, compositionally minded, well-rehearsed band. At its creative peak, the group melded jazz-based, harmonically adventurous improvisation with sophisticated composition. All of the group's original members (Julius Hemphill, alto; Oliver Lake, alto; David Murray, tenor; and Hamiet Bluiett, baritone) were estimable composers as well as improvisers. Each complemented the whole, making them even greater than the considerable sum of their parts. As a composer, Hemphill drew on European techniques (though his tunes were not without an unalloyed jazz component), while Bluiett was steeped in blues and funk. Lake and Murray fell somewhere in between. As soloists and writers, the early WSQ covered all the bases. Chris Kelsey
Tracklist :
World Saxophone Quartet - Steppin' With The World Saxophone Quartet
World Saxophone Quartet - W.S.Q.
World Saxophone Quartet - Revue
World Saxophone Quartet - Live In Zurich
World Saxophone Quartet - Live At Brooklyn Academy Of Music
World Saxophone Quartet - Moving Right Along
All Credits :
Tracklist :
1 I'm The One 8:45
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
2 7 Days 3:54
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
3 Pony 6:15
Written-By – Annette Peacock
4 Been & Gone 2:20
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
5 Blood 2:00
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
6 One Way 6:12
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
7 Love Me Tender 3:45
Written-By – Elvis Presley / Vera Matson
8 Gesture Without Plot 3:29
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
9 Did You Hear Me Mommy? 1:44
Written-By – Annette Peacock / Bob Ringe
Credits :
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Bass – Glen Moore (tracks: 5), Stu Woods
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Composed By [Music & Words], Arranged By [Arranger], Vocals [Singer, Electric Vocals], Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Vibraphone [Electric], Directed By [Direction], Liner Notes – Annette Peacock
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Drums – Laurence Cook (tracks: 8), Rick Morotta
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Guitar – Tom Cosgrove
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Organ – Michael Garson (tracks: 1, 6)
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Percussion – Airto Moreira, Barry Altschul, Dom Um Romão, Orestes Vilato
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Piano – Apache Bley (tracks: 9), Michael Garson (tracks: 1)
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Synthesizer, Piano – Paul Bley (tracks: 5, 8)
Performer [Players, "The Team"], Tenor Saxophone [Tenor] – Michael Moss 
"Sometimes solemn, sometimes exhilarating variation of Latin jazz" - (FOYER) ACT Tracklist : 1 Creation 3:58 2 Iluminacio...
