Terry Prattchet

These recordings of the Terry Gibbs Quartet reveal, among other virtues, the extraordinary degree of sympathy between Terry and his partner, Miss Terry Pollard, the wonderful pianist of his group. After three years on the road together, the two Terries developed four hands that swing as one. The mental picture of a typical Gibbs performance involves flying mallets, racing thoughts and impulsive improvisation at their most dazzling. There is an essential percussive feel in what most of his fans have come to regard as a typical Gibbs performance; yet there are many occasions when he also offers a discreet and tasteful approach toward slow ballad numbers. All in all, this seems to be as complete a representation as you could wish of the Gibbs talent in every mood.

In the last years of the 1970s, Terry Riley seemed to be everywhere; it would not have been unusual for a Riley fan in 1979, through only a moderate amount of travel, to catch him in two different cities in different months of the year. At this point, Riley was delivering hours-long concerts, no two the same, playing from the advertised start time until the hall was no longer available for the evening. Riley was utilizing a Yamaha Organ, modified to accommodate two outputs, and a secret weapon, "The Shadow," a box built by Chester Wood that was an early digital delay. It was used in addition to the ancient Revox tape delay that Riley had employed for more than a decade in concerts that, by this time, invariably began with Riley stating, "I do have a tape recorder up here, but there is nothing on the tape. I use it to create some of the loop effects that you will hear tonight. Everything you will hear me play will be live."

AVID Jazz here presents four classic Clark Terry related albums, including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD. “Introducing Clark Terry”; The Dave Bailey Sextet-”One Foot In The Gutter”; “Clark Terry With Thelonious Monk” and Jimmy Hamilton’s- “It’s About Time”…

Performed by the Shanghai Film Orchestra, conducted by Wang Yongji. Truly celestial and a different feeling than American / European performances of this famous piece. This CD also contains David Mingyue Lang's gorgeous Music of a Thousand Springs and his Zen (Ch'an) of Water. Highly recommended.

This may be the single most powerful piece of music that the Kronos Quartet has ever recorded, and perhaps that Terry Riley has ever written. This is because Requiem for Adam is so personal, so direct, and experiential. Requiem for Adam was written after the death of Kronos violinist David Harrignton's son. He died, in 1995, at the age of 16, from an aneurysm in his coronary artery. Riley, who is very close to the Harringtons and has a son the same age, has delved deep into the experience of death and resurrection, or, at the very least, transmutation. Requiem for Adam is written in three parts, or movements. The first, "Ascending the Heaven Ladder," is based on a four-note pattern that re-harmonizes itself as it moves up the scale. There are many variations and series based on each of these notes and their changing harmonics, and finally a 5/4 dance as it moves to the highest point on the strings. The drone-like effect is stunning when the listener realizes that the drone is changing shape too, ascending the scale, moving ever upward and taking part in the transmutation of harmony.