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Trumpeter Baikida Carroll's Marionettes on a High Wire does not eschew form even as it triumphantly asserts a free jazz sensibility. Carroll grounds most of his musical structures in the hard bop and modal formats of mid-sixties jazz, and shows a particular affinity for the Miles Davis recordings of that era. His "Miss Julie" is as fragrant and romantic a ballad, with the pinched trumpet sound, as any Davis ever recorded, and the balance of this special recording has the verve, the vision, and the vitality of the best of mid-sixties and contemporary jazz.
Ably added by Erica Lindsay on tenor and the master drummer Pheeroan akLaff, Carroll has assembled great musicians and crafted a wonderful addition to the jazz library. The credit due to Miles is evident; but this does not diminish the recording and, in the hands of this most capable trumpeters, elevates it.
— Jules Epstein, Apr 2001
Marionettes on a High Wire
Release Date:
13 February 2001
Compositions/Improvisations 2000 is an excellent set of duets between avant-garde jazz reed player Anthony Braxton and the Braxton influenced saxophonist Scott Rosenberg (who has played with Braxton for over ten years). Braxton seems busy with his large music projects these days, so it's nice to hear some of his improvisations and compositions in a duet context again.
They play three pieces by Rosenberg, two older Braxton compositions (#168 & 65), plus three short improvisations. Both musicians play alto saxophones and the frighteningly deep contrabass clarinet. Braxton also plays soprano and C melody saxophones, flute, and the Bb and Eb contra alto clarinets and Rosenberg also plays the sopranino and tenor saxophones.
They perform long lines of exciting, breathless, high wire improvisation full of spinning counterpoint and interesting textures and sounds, all the while keeping their sense of humor.
— Alan Lankin, May 2001
Compositions/Improvisations 2000 (Barely Auditable)
- distributed by
Cadence (cadencebuilding.com)
Release Date:
13 February 2001
These two CDs reissue the music bandleader Ben Pollack recorded from 1928-1929. His group was essentially a dance band that played popular and novelty tunes with jazz elements. Pollack band was one of the most popular of its time. He was lucky to have some excellent soloists in trombonist Jack Teagarden, cornetist Jimmy McPartland and clarinetist Benny Goodman.
Some of the pop tunes are quite catchy, although some do sound rather dated. There are some good solos on the jazzier sides—such as on W.C. Handy's "Yellow Do Blues" and "Wing-Wang Blues" done by an octet. Some of these seventy-year-old tunes are still fun to hear.
The Jazz Oracle label has done a fine job on this issue. They've placed the alternate takes at the end after master takes, which makes for more pleasant listening. The CD features the usual excellent remasterings from John R.T. Davies, plus liner notes, musicians photos, newpaper clippings and pictures of the disc labels. This release is recommended to those interested in early jazz.
— Alan Lankin, May 2001
Ben Pollack - Vol. 2
Release Date:
30 January 2001
Four saxophones. Modeled on Ellington’s use of horn choirs, a jazz reconfiguring of streetwise accapella singing, Baptist church choirs, and the mimicry of the art found in the babel and cacophony of Harlem street life, the World Saxophone Quartet brought to jazz a vivid re-imagining of what it meant to be a horn player. In this ensemble, any horn could become bass fiddle, conversational partner, mellifluous soloist, choir member, percussion section, or vivid vocalist wresting unimagined sounds from his instrument.
This celebration of WSQ tradition and vision is exemplary. David Murray, John Purcell, Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett begin with "Suki Suki Now," a deliciously funky jazz exploration that proves irresistible. On "Netdown" there is a fascinating horn dialogue, and the balance of this recording ranges from the most tempered melodiousness to radically abstract but logical displays of horn technique and rhythm. In its own way, this stands in comparison to the best work of another quartet, the Modern Jazz Quartet, with its incisive interplay, the elevation of jazz to a concert music that never loses its roots and rhythms, and the starring role conferred upon each player.
— Jules Epstein, May 2001
25th Anniversary - The Next Chapter
Release Date:
13 March 2001
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last update 7 May 2001