Stanley Cowell Trio Games

Stanley Cowell Sextet - Setup (1993) {SteepleChase SCCD 31349}
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© 1993 SteepleChase | SCCD 31349
Jazz / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

While standards have played a major role on many of Stanley Cowell's albums, the acoustic pianist sticks to his own compositions on Setup. That fact alone makes this 1993 session especially noteworthy, for Cowell is a gifted, if underrated, composer. Cowell's talents as a composer are illustrated by memorable post-bop or hard bop pieces that range from the haunting "Bright Passion" and the mysterious title song to the Thelonious Monk-influenced "Varions."

Great Friends is an artifact. Recorded on July 7, 1986, at Sysmo Studio in Paris, it is the only recorded output of the aggregation that included alto saxophonist Sonny Fortune, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, Stanley Cowell at the piano, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Hart. Until this reissue on the Pennsylvania indie Evidence Music, Great Friends was only available in Europe, on the French label Black & Blue. While led by the bristling tones of Fortune's alto, the recording gives equal time to each musician, allowing its titular egalitarianism to color each of the eight tracks included. Workman's bass solos on Stanley Cowell's "Equipoise" and his own "Synapse," in particular, reveal the clear lines of communication that define this recording.

Stanley Cowell - Musa - Ancestral Streams (1973) {Japan Strata-East Mini LP BOM24108}
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© 1973, 2006 Strata-East / Bomba Records Japan | BOM24108 / SES-19743 | Mini LP
Jazz / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Solo Piano

Musa Ancestral Streams remains a relative oddity in the pantheon of jazz's black consciousness movement – a solo piano set of stunning reach and scope, its adherence to intimacy contrasts sharply with the bold, multi-dimensional sensibilities that signify the vast majority of post-Coltrane excursions into spiritual expression, yet the sheer soulfulness and abandon of Stanley Cowell's performance nevertheless vaults the record into the same physical and metaphysical planes.

Stanley Cowell - New World (1978) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000}
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© 1978, 2014 Galaxy / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90365
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Post Bop / Rhodes / Hammond

A surprisingly righteous little album from Stanley Cowell – a set cut after his more famous music for the Strata East label, but one that still hangs onto a similar vibe! The style's a bit tighter than before, but still filled with soul and spirit – thanks to a lineup that includes Julian Priester on trombone, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Pat Patrick on reeds – making a key appearance here away from the Sun Ra Arkestra! Cowell plays both piano and keyboards, and the record has a bit of strings, and a bit of vocals – but all used tastefully, in ways that further enforce the depth of the tunes. Tracks include "El Space-O", "Ask Him", "Island Of Haitoo", and "I'm Tryin To Find A Way".

Stanley Cowell - Brilliant Circles (1969) {Black Lion BLCD760204 rel 1995}
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© 1969, 1995 Black Lion / DA Music | BLCD760204
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

Pianist Stanley Cowell's second recording as a leader finds him leading a powerful all-star sextet that includes trumpeter Woody Shaw, Tyrone Washington on tenor, flute and clarinet, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Joe Chambers. The challenging repertoire (an original apiece by Cowell, Washington, Shaw and Hutcherson) falls between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde, consistently inspiring the talented players to play at their most creative. Recommended.

Excellent compiled with the participation of the greatest jazz musicians, produced by the label venus records in 2013. Highly recommended!