Black Dave Burrell

Dave Burrell & David Murray - In Concert (1992) {VICTO cd016}
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© 1992 Les Disques Victo ‎| VICTO CD 016
Jazz / Avant-garde Jazz / Post Bop / Piano / Saxophone

This set by longtime collaborators Dave Burrell and David Murray (playing exclusively tenor sax here) was recorded at the Victoriaville Festival in Quebec in 1991. The live sound is good, the performances exceptional (even by their standards), and the compositions chosen are perfect in a duet setting. But none of these things are what make this recording so special. What is truly astonishing is the almost telepathic understanding that exists between these two men every time they play. This pair has worked together off and on since the late '70s and recorded together fairly often since the early '80s.

Dave Burrell has long had a highly original style on piano, not quite outside but far from conventional. This CD reissues a trio set with bassist Sirone and either Bobby Kapp or Sonny Murray on drums. Most intriguing is a 19½-minute "West Side Story Medley" that features Burrell playing many of the songs from Leonard Bernstein's work in abstract fashion. There is also the lengthy "East Side Colors," five brief (around three-minutes apiece) versions of five of Burrell's originals and the "Theme Stream Medley" which has reprises of the five songs plus a sixth piece ("Inside Ouch"). This interesting set rewards repeated listenings.

David Murray Octets - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note (2011) {5CD BoxSet, CAM Jazz rec 1980-1991}
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© 1980-91, 2011 CAM Jazz / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1010
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Saxophone / Bass Clarinet

Tenor sax and bass clarinet player's excellent series of Octet efforts for Black Saint in the 80s – a run of brilliant albums with lineups featuring Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Butch Morris, George Lewis, Anthony Davis, Bobby Bradford, Hugh Ragin, James Spaulding and other great players – 5 albums in a CD box set in the Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note series! It includes the Ming album from 1980, Home from '82, Murray's Steps (released in '83), New Life from '87 and Hope Scope from '91 – each in a cardboard sleeve with the original album art and each remastered. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!)

David Murray - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note, Vol. 2 (2013) {7CD BoxSet CAM Jazz rec 1979-1993}
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© 1979-93, 2013 CAM Jazz / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1024
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Saxophone / Bass Clarinet

Murray's first box set in this series was one of Black Saint/Soul Note's better reissues. And this second volume is it's equal, and in some instances possibly better. The seven albums here span the years 1979 to 1993, and show Murray in different playing styles, but always close to the top of his skills. If you've read this far you're probably familiar with Murray's music, so I'll be brief in my album notes.

Odean Pope Saxophone Choir - Epitome (1993) {Soul Note 121279-2}
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© 1993 Soul Note | 121279
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Saxophones

Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope's third post-bop Saxophone Choir outing was released on the Soul Note label in 1994. Epitome includes a saxophone section of three altos, five tenors, and one baritone, Eddie Green and Dave Burrell splitting piano duties with Tyrone Brown on bass, and Craig McIver on drums. This is not an avant-garde big-band assembly, even though there are moments ("Coltrane Time") that certainly fit that description. Eight of the ten tracks were written by various group members, with Pope's arrangements incorporating his early Baptist church choir vocal education with Mingus-/Ellington-inflected moods, especially apparent on "Terrestrial," which sounds like a quiet section from Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and "Lift Ev'ry Voice." This is a truly unique and moving ensemble, making any of their discs recommended.

"From A Love Supreme to The Sex Machine!" The personal musical mantra of the late Philadelphia reedman Byard Lancaster informed an open-minded and varied lifetime in jazz.

This surprisingly consistent collection of unreleased material compiles a series of demos and outtakes recorded by Ken Hensley, a singer and songwriter best known for his work with Uriah Heep, between 1971 and 1982. Odds and sods compilations are often a dicey proposition, but From Time to Time manages to beat the odds with an effective combination of polished songcraft and inspired performances: The studio outtakes all boast fully realized productions (some even including a string section) and the demos aspire to studio quality thanks to tight arrangements that often differ from the released versions ("If I Had the Time" forsakes the space rock excesses of the Uriah Heep version for a lovely, country-flavored mid-tempo pace).

This surprisingly consistent collection of unreleased material compiles a series of demos and outtakes recorded by Ken Hensley, a singer and songwriter best known for his work with Uriah Heep, between 1971 and 1982. Odds and sods compilations are often a dicey proposition, but From Time to Time manages to beat the odds with an effective combination of polished songcraft and inspired performances: The studio outtakes all boast fully realized productions (some even including a string section) and the demos aspire to studio quality thanks to tight arrangements that often differ from the released versions ("If I Had the Time" forsakes the space rock excesses of the Uriah Heep version for a lovely, country-flavored mid-tempo pace).