And Your Bird Can Sing

Hello, the world of the interwebz. I thought I'd jot down some notes after what I considered a great day. 

First of all, let me explain a bit about what I've been going through before this said great day. I almost lost my job, due to my own stupidity, initiating bad karma, and then I was really down on my luck for a couple of days. That's pretty much it. Losing a retail job might not be the worst thing in the world but technically I can't afford to go without working. Who can, given this economy? 

I came out of all those bad vibes after a few days. Today, I'm back to being on top of the world. It's like that Cream blues cover. "I'm sittin' on top of the world." I came to such good vibes on my own initiative, as I usually do. With a little help from my friends of course [The Beatles].   

First of all, it hit me that it isn't necessarily the job that I do or the money that I get from the said job that is important. My job has never defined who I am or my personality. Rather, it's the fact that I'm working hard, improving my character, and generating goodwill and reciprocity with coworkers, managers, customers, and friends that I've made through the community. I've created a vast network of people who know me through my job. Intellectuals, musicians, readers, writers, movie biz people, friends, so much out of this little job. This is a hard concept for some people to grasp considering it's just a retail gig. 

Second, all the negativity that I feel, see, hear, will always be negated by own positive energy, IF I can sustain positivity every day all the time. The naysayers will always doubt you. They are losers and they want you to become like them. Misery loves company. The only way to get through them is to practice positivity right in front of their faces. When they see that whatever they say to you will leave you unscathed, they will see you in a different light. Wau, dude! Yer a total hippie. I told you about the walrus and mean man, now here's another place you can go, man.

Third, the only person who can save you from the world is yourself. It's up to you. Everything in the universe is possible through your own sheer will. Instant karma is gonna save you or the reverse. Because of my own goodwill, I get good vibes from the universe. The reverse is true if I bring negativity in the world. It's not like my religion or anything but it's definitely true of being. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that even if your life isn't great the only way for it to become great is to take it all in stride with a positive attitude. Be the man with the golden smile. It takes a lot of practice but with the power of soul, anything is possible. Meditation helps. And the Beatles. And singing and playing the guitar. Who knows, maybe after a lifetime of zen practice, at the end of your life you will have attained full Zen Buddhahood. 

Tell me that you got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me
You don't get me

Bill Frisell, Guitar in the Space Age!

I wanted to do a short review for this album because I thought it was pretty great for an eclectic jazz guitar record. Bill Frisell is well known in the jazz and guitar world and has played with many of the elder statesmen of jazz. Heck, he is an elder statesmen of jazz. This album is all covers of tunes he learned and/or knew about in his formative years learning guitar. Because the tunes go way back its almost an exercise in American popular guitar music. And that's why I think its so great.

In some ways you have to be a baby boomer to consider this one of Frisell's best recordings. I wouldn't go that far and say that is one of his best I've ever heard but I do think its a masterful recording, particularly the arrangements of the tunes. He does them all as instrumentals and does service to the songs rather than improvising in jazz vocabulary.

His guitar tone throughout the album is magnificent. There's even a tune where he sounds just like B.B King. Surfer Girl sounds like the Beach Boys as I know them. Rumble is as rock and roll as ever. He pulls off the tunes well and the musicians playing with him are equal part to the guitar.

Playing pop, rock, blues, folk, and country Americana tunes isn't exactly jazz but if done in a certain way it gives off cool vibes. Now I might want to learn some of these old tunes for myself. Bill Frisell's a great guitarist and his jazz work is incredible. This album here is a much different kind of album that doesn't showcase his chops but instead tells a story about the songs that were popular in his time. I find the title of the album to be a great fit because these songs were all popular around the time the Americans landed on the moon. It goes way back man.

Great stuff!

Jack Dejohnette featuring Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison-In Movement

The album starts out with some brush flourishes by the main man on drums Jack Dejohnette. Then Ravi's sax comes in with the haunting melody that is Alabama, an original composition by his father, John Coltrane. Garrison's playing here seems to drone and hit all the important chord tones while Ravi stretches the limitations of the melody while Jack holds it down rhythmically. This isn't the way John Coltrane did it. But it is still fantastic, albeit in a much different way. This is the current state of free jazz. Wild, free, and in Ravi's case melodically entertaining and focused. He isn't stretching out here as much as his dad would but he's still going "out there" like the album by Eric Dolphy with the same name. The song still retains the strength and meaning that Trane gave it. Fantastic cover.

Another thing to note is that Garrison isn't playing bass in a standard style whatsoever. He's playing electric bass and droning lots of notes rather than playing walking bass lines in the traditional jazz style. It gives the music a stronger bass sound and sometimes even a fusion edge.

The next tune is an original composition by all three guys entitled In Movement. It starts off with some abstract chords that sound like a question to me. Then these layers of sound come in, starting with some synthesizers (played by Jack). Once Ravi's somber sax comes through you remember you're listening to a free jazz record. The synths and the bass here give the music an ethereal feel. This is the ECM sound for sure. Once we hear more of Garrison's bass lines you can hear that he's playing the bass like a guitar, focusing on chord tones and two-three note clusters played simultaneously. It's refreshing hearing the bass played in this way rather than the usual walking bass line patterns found in traditional as well as free jazz. On this tune they really stretch out and show off their improvising credentials. Ravi can freak out for a bit but he always brings it back melodically. Its a way different approach from his dad. They created a nice piece here.

Next, we have another original composition called Two Jimmy's. This one has a dark minor sound with some extreme low end bass and spacing between the rhythmic dynamics of the bass and drums. Synthesizer appears again, creating droning notes to add to the sonic landscape. This song is way free jazz. Their isn't a clear or concise melody going on, just "sheets of sound". They take the song through various phases but Jack's drumming is the constant, the melody if you will. Its what's driving the music and holding it together from going all over the place. At some point there's a funky synth sound thrown in there. Its funky but it sounds industrial at the same time. Computer jazz music I reckon.

Then there's Blue in Green, the jazz standard by Miles Davis and Bill Evans. But the way they are playing it here is way different. A much more free and personal approach to the song. For me its almost unrecognizable as the song originally played by Miles and Bill Evans. Other than the piano. Jack plays a much different style of piano; a drummer's approach to the piano. More rhythmic and volume dynamics than a typical jazz pianist. This is the ballad of the album. Here we can see where these guys came from. There's that beautiful straight ahead jazz sound and feeling here. These guys are a product of the straight ahead period but they've adapted and changed the way they play based on all the changes in the jazz tradition. Cool stuff.

Serpentine Fire starts off with a funky bassline and backbeat. Ravi's sax comes in like a whisper, laying down some lines in between moments of silence. He's playing a soprano sax here, reminiscent of his dad but he sounds way different. He uses the soprano more melodically than Trane did. He sounds a lot like Wayne Shorter to me here. This whole tune reminds me of some late period Shorter from some years ago. It's a nice funky little vamp.

Lydia is an original tune by Jack Dejohnette. Its most likely written for his wife Lydia. It starts off with a brief melody then follows things up with some beautiful chord changes, outlined by the bass (playing it almost like a guitar). If you listen carefully the song does have a head and proper melody and stuff. But it is hard to hear that for the average and/or non-musical listener. It's written very cleverly in a way that sounds like its all improvised. Perhaps it was.

Rashied is an original composition by Jack Dejohnette and Ravi Coltrane, presumably about Rashied Ali. Rashied Ali was a great drummer that John Coltrane worked with towards the end of career, the great free jazz period for Trane. The opening of this tune is as free form as this album gets. The licks from Ravi sound almost exactly like John Coltrane, note for note. The difference is in the tone of the saxophone. This is some true ECM free jazz style stuff. The hardcore free jazz for the purists. From Ravi Coltrane this style of playing is pretty rare so its exciting to hear him playing like his dad. Jack's drumming is phenomenal as well. The entire song sounds like a drum solo but its all in time flowing with the saxophone. Another thing to note is that this is a drums and sax only song, just like how Trane and Rashied Ali recorded just them two together for some stuff back in the day. They are honoring the jazz ancestors and they're doing it with love and extreme musicality.

Lastly, we have Soulful Ballad. This is another ballad. It's not a real jazz album unless there's a couple ballads to balance things out. Amiright folks? It opens with a light hearted melody and sax line. Piano chords and note clusters give the song rhythm rather than drums as there are no drums here. I can hear some interesting things going on in the music. It sounds like they are playing higher notes of the chords on piano, bass, and sax. When played together it sounds very soothing. A great way to end a great album.

All in all this was a great Christmas gift from my stepfather and one of the best free jazz albums I've heard in a long time. Check this album out, you can find the tunes in bits and pieces on YouTube.

Hot Rats

Earlier tonight I saw an acquaintance wearing a Frank Zappa Hot Rats tee. So if you're reading this man this a tribute to you. Anyways, Hots Rats has been one of my favorite albums since I was a high schooler. Frank's music has a special place in my heart because when I was a kid I thought he was the coolest musician ever. I put him on the same level as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and the Rolling Stones. He played the guitar, wrote hilarious lyrics and great tunes, and his overall persona and attitude was pretty much a big fuck you to the status quo-which made him very punk in a way. I admired his genius but more importantly I believed in his ideals.

For example I agree with him that everyone should vote. People should think for themselves. You can do whatever you want to do as long as you don't harm yourself or others. Drugs and alcohol can fuck you up. These are attitudes that I still hold to this day even though I'm no longer a young man (sorta). When I look back at his work I can say with full confidence that this album was Zappa at his peak. I used to have a school friend and I would come over just to listen to his Zappa vinyl records. Good times. The cool thing about this record is that it's as close to jazz as Zappa gets. Downbeat gave this album a rave review when it first came out in 1969. This album also had a big influence on jazz fusion (jazz-rock).

Personnel

• Frank Zappa – guitar, octave bass, percussion
• Ian Underwood – piano, organus maximus, flute, all clarinets, all saxes

Also featuring

• Max Bennett – bass on all tracks except "Peaches en Regalia"
• Captain Beefheart – vocals on "Willie the Pimp"
• John Guerin – drums on "Willie the Pimp", "Little Umbrellas" and "It Must Be a Camel"
• Don "Sugarcane" Harris – violin on "Willie the Pimp" and "The Gumbo Variations"
• Paul Humphrey – drums on "Son of Mr. Green Genes" and "The Gumbo Variations"
• Shuggie Otis – bass on "Peaches en Regalia"
• Jean-Luc Ponty – violin on "It Must Be a Camel"
• Ron Selico – drums on "Peaches en Regalia"
• Lowell George – rhythm guitar (uncredited)

Production

• Producer: Frank Zappa
• Director of engineering: Dick Kunc
• Engineers: Cliff Goldstein, Jack Hunt, Brian Ingoldsby, Dick Kunc
• Arranger: Frank Zappa
• Cover design: Cal Schenkel
• Design: Cal Schenkel, John Williams

Let's talk about the music.

The album starts out with a beautiful song called Peaches En Regalia. Arguably one of Frank's best instrumental works. It's heavily orchestrated with lush keyboard chords, orchestral instruments, and guitar. You can definitely hear the music concrete part of Frank's music here.This is the kind of song that once you hear you can see the beauty in Frank's music-his parody songs aside. From this tune we can see his inner composer and see that he was influenced by classical artists like Stravinsky and Edgar Verese. The tune has so many complex rhythms but the melody remains beautiful throughout. It's a short piece but it does so much in its short time frame. It's also totally jazz despite the heavy orchestration. Very challenging and demanding music. This is one of Zappa's best known tunes. For good reason-its one of his best.

The next tune is a rock number called Wllie The Pimp featuring Zappa's childhood friend-Captain Beefheart! His vocal style is raspy and bluesy. And he does a lot of whoop whoop sounds as Frank goes into one of the greatest recorded guitar solos ever. The thing that's so great about the guitar solo is that its heavily structured and edited but it sounds like it was all recorded in one take. It just seems like its all live but its all edited performances. The title Hot Rats comes from lyrics from this song.

One thing that should be said is that back then Zappa already had a defined lead guitar style. However, back then he wasn't as complex as he would get as the 70's or 80's era. He was still developing as a musician but he was already guitar god status. Although the song might seem meandering to people who don't play instruments the fact of the matter is that the solo flows nicely despite being super long. It all fits together like pieces of a puzzle.

Next, we have Son of Mr.Green Genes. This is a total jazz number. It's heavily orchestrated like Peaches En Regalia but appears to be even more jazz influenced. Sounds like Frank was listening to Eric Dolphy. The vibe of the music is uplifting. Frank definitely knew how to write great melodies. Although the song is cluttered with tons of different instruments all at the same time and I don't like orchestration in my jazz I find it great here. Maybe its the fact that every instrument seems to have a well defined style and tone. Nothing sounds like its too much or out of place.

There's even guitar solos that are totally blues-inspired. That was Frank's Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Guitar Slim influences. Those are some great blues guitarists that Frank listened to as a kid. As long as the guitar solo is, again, I have to say that its all edited so well that it sounds like it flows perfectly together. There's so many chord changes being flown all over the place its like a jazz music theory masterclass. This is the kind of music that all musicians would agree is technically great but also musically pleasing to the ear. You gotta have melody in there too alongside the masterful technique.

Then there's Little Umbrellas. Strange name for a tune but if you compare the name and style of this tune to something like Eric Dolphy you can see how its jazz. It's a short piece like Peaches En Regalia that features beautiful melodies played on keyboards and synthesizers. This album makes heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers-which would play a big role in the development of jazz fusion. There's very little acoustic piano on this record-its all electronic except for the horns and orchestral instruments' parts. Here you can notice the nuances between the electronics and the acoustic instruments. Really cool to hear how they mesh together.

After that we have the Gumbo Variations. This is a jam featuring a tenor saxophone solo by Ian Underwood (who played all the keyboards and woodwinds), some electric violin playing by Don 'Sugarcane" Harris, and a guitar solo by Zappa. It's what an open jam should sound like. Frank is heard calling out the tune saying,"A one, a two, a three, a four" and they all start playing. What stands out here is Ian Underwood's tenor sax solo. He can play straight ahead and pop jazz saxophone like saxophone on classic rock records but he can also do squeeking, honking, etc (free jazz saxophone techniques). He does a lot with his technique. You can tell he was inspired by people like John Coltrane especially with all the free jazz elements in his playing.

After the sax solo there's a sick electric violin solo. This was the first time I'd ever heard an electric violin but there was a time where I rehearsed with a jazz fusion band and I got to hear it live in person. Great instrument. Not light on the ears that's for sure. What stands out during this solo is Zappa's guitar comping. He's playing these funky rhythms that sounds like something off a Motown or James Brown record. Or perhaps Herbie Hancock Headhunters. But this is before that stuff. The violin playing is phenomenal and reminds me of my jazz fusion days listening to Jean Luc Ponty-who also worked with Zappa in the early 70's. After the violin solo Frank goes into this insane wah-wah guitar solo. When I heard this as a kid I knew that I had to get a wah pedal for my guitar. This is what a good jam sounds like.

Lastly, the album ends with It Must Be A Camel. This tune features a violin performance by none other than Jean Luc Ponty-who would go on to make a name for himself as a solo jazz fusion musician. He worked with Zappa in the early 70s as well as the Mahavishnu Orchestra before putting out his own records. The highly unusual melodic leaps and rhythms of this tune look like humps on the manuscript music paper so perhaps that's why it has this title. It's a calming tune to end an album that has a lot going on. As melancholy as the tune sounds it also has a certain beauty to it. Great way to end an album.

In conclusion, this album is musically stunning. Bridging the gap between jazz and rock before fusion was even a thing. Frank Zappa was most definitely trying to leave a legacy when he wrote and recorded this music. This isn't lightweight jazz rock music. It's an important part of jazz and rock music history that needs to be remembered. Zappa isn't dead, he just smells funny.

Dio's Holy Diver

Time to get in a musical thought. I've been listening to a lot of rock music lately and in particular I've been listening to Ronnie James Dio's Holy Diver album quite a bit. I would say its my favorite metal album at the moment. The thing that I like about this album is that its pure rock and roll without any filler or bullshit. In addition, all the songs are around the three-four minute mark. It's almost like punk rock with its simplicity and raw power. Also, that guitarist is no slouch either.

"Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre. The album was certified Gold in the US on September 12, 1984, and Platinum on March 21, 1989. In the UK it attained Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in January 1986, at the same time as The Last in Line." (wiki)
 
Personnel
Assistant Engineer: Ray Leonard
Bass Guitar, Keyboards: Jimmy Bain
Digital Remasterer: Lee Herschberg
Drums: Vinny Appice
Engineer: Angelo Arcuri
Guitar: Vivian Campbell
Keyboards, Producer, Vocals: Ronnie James Dio
Masterer: George Marino
Composer, Lyricist, Writer: Dio
Composer, Lyricist: R.J. Dio
Contributor: Gene Hunter
Contributor: Wendy Dio
Writer: Ronnie James Dio

Let me tell you about all the tracks. The album opens with Stand Up and Shout. It's s fast heavy metal anthem with a muted guitar chugging riff. "You got the power! Stand up and shout!" The vocals delivered by Dio are so powerful and operatic but not so operatic that it sounds like classical music or progressive rock. There is no pretenstiousness here. Only straight up rock and roll. The guitar solo is super fast and technical. Most people who don't like metal would say its fretboard wankery but it hardly takes up any space in the song-its so fast. What we notice more is the vocal performance. At the end of the song there's a second guitar solo that's more bluesy and soulful. A classic 80's metal type of tune.

Next, Holy Diver. This is Dio's most recognizable and well known tune other than Eye of the Tiger. It opens with eerie keyboard chords then turns into something else entirely-a straight up metal song. The riff is so simple but its so catchy and infectious. The vocals are well known by pretty much anyone who's heard metal music. It's hard for even me not to sing along to this tune-it's that good! I have no idea what the lyrics mean but Dio sounds like he means every word. That's the true mark of a great singer. The way he conveys emotion through the vocals here is nothing short of amazing. The guitar solo is much more organized and meaningful than most of the other solos on the album. It has a beginning, middle, and end. It's straight up cliche 80's metal licks but its bluesy and soulful mixed in with some fast scalar runs. It has a nice melody too.

Then, there's Gypsy. This song starts out with some great guitar licks as Dio growls a bit. Hello early death metal? Vivan Campbell (guitar) is well known for his fretboard wizardry but this is the first time I've ever heard him. He does a great job as a studio guitarist in a rock group. I bet he does wonders on his solo albums. This song has a much more laid-back tempo and bluesy guitar riffs. The drums played by Vinnie Appice are especially much more tame here. He knows when to accent and when to hold off. The guitar solo here is straight up long hair guitar shredder stuff. It's fast and technical but lacks a coherent melody.

One of the other most well known Dio tunes is the next track-Caught in the Middle. A former co-worker of mine used to like singing this tune at work a lot. I didn't know the song back then but now that I know it now I can see why he loved it so much. It's a catchy melodic metal tune. Something that doesn't happen in these death and metal-core times of heavy metal. This is probably the best tune on the album other than Holy Diver. I would sing along to this too but its far beyond my vocal capabilities. The guitar solo is a twin melodic harmony-basically when guitars are played in different intervals but playing the same melodies.

The next tune is Don't Talk to Strangers. A ballad that opens with lush chords. I'm not usually the heavy metal power ballad type of guy but Dio's vocals are so phenomenal that it doesn't come across as corny or poppy. This is still metal, especially when the electric guitar riff comes in. It has this dark melodic harmonic guitar part that mixes it up between straight chugging riffs and rung out power chords. This would be a great song for the Guitar Hero video game. The guitar solo here is awesome! Tons of super fast scalar licks in his own style but it also has a nice melody (from Dio's vocals) mixed in the fast runs. Kiss wishes they were this good. Heck, Ozzy wishes he was this good.

Another well known Dio tune is Straight Through the Heart. It has this lazy guitar riff reminiscent of Deep Purple with a laid back drum beat. The riff has a bluesy flavor to it. Its almost like the guitar riff has a voice-like quality. It sounds like the guitar is doing the "Mojo rising" vocal line that Jim Morrison used to sing in that popular Doors song. The guitar solo is more relaxed and harmonic than most of the other solos heard thus far.

Invisible starts off as a power ballad that sounds corny. Then the true intentions of this album comes out when a pure metal riff gets played. Its nothing fancy but it sounds so catchy. They've done the same formula that the early metal pioneers did-play a riff and then just keep playing it. If it's good enough it will work. The interlude has this great guitar solo that favors melody before going into hyper speed overdrive. It can't be said enough how good of a singer Dio is. If his vocals weren't so great none of these simple guitar riffs, bass, and drums would mean anything. He brings so much to the table.

Rainbow in the Dark seems like another popular Dio tune. I've heard it before in the past but I didn't know the name or anything. It's one of those popular metal tunes. In the midst of the metal guitar riff there's a catchy keyboard part that joins in during the chorus. At this point in the album we know what Vivan Campbell is capable of. He's a great guitarist with tons of chops and his solos never disappoint. The cool thing about this album is that even though every song has guitar solos on it they never take up too much space in the songs. They're there to compliment the song rather than to show off. Okay, maybe he does show up just a bit.

The album ends with Shame on the Night. It has another super duper heavy metal guitar riff then when the vocals come in the bass is accented and played solo with the drums. Meanwhile, the guitar is doing some cool whammy bar effects, coming in with some power chords on the chorus alongside Dio's vocals. This tune also has a lot of feeling to it-everything but mostly the vocals. There's a bridge with some organ chords alongside a bluesy guitar riff. Then the metalness comes back in. It ends with a dark melodic guitar riff over some choir background vocals. Interesting tune.

What a great album! It's got me listening to early metal stuff. Dio died back in 2010 but his spirit lives on when we listen to his great music. "Despite being known for his powerful singing voice, Dio claimed never to have taken any vocal training^. Rather, he attributed his singing ability to the use of correct breathing techniques learned while playing trumpet." (wiki) He was a true musician. If you like metal music of any kind check out this album. You will not be disappointed.

Coltrane's Sound

     

     "Coltrane's Sound is an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1964 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1419. It was recorded at Atlantic Studios during the sessions for My Favorite Things, assembled after Coltrane had stopped recording for the label and was under contract to Impulse Records. Like Prestige and Blue Note Records before them, as Coltrane's fame grew during the 1960s Atlantic used unissued recordings and released them without either Coltrane's input or approval" (Wikipedia)
     The album was released in 1964, but it was recorded in 1960, during the My Favorite Things record era. One thing I can say about this album is that I initially first heard it online because I heard a 30 minute version of the song 'Liberia' on YouTube, then I noticed that there's an actual studio version of the song on this album with this kind of abstract painting of Coltrane, and I saw that it was called Coltrane's Sound. Sure enough, every track on the album was on YouTube, but today I actually saw it at this store called CD Trader nearby my house, and I decided to buy it. So be like me folks! Once you hear something great on the internet, make sure you go out and buy the record. Support your artists. Support your local music stores. Support Jazz. Anyways, let's talk about the actual music.
     The album starts with 'The Night Has a Thousand Eyes', a descriptive and kind of creepy (to me) title for a song. It has a strong opening theme that Trane keeps coming back to. It seems to be based off repetitive chord sequences, and then going back in and out to the main theme. Its very blues based and Trane's tone is very warm if you get what I mean. The piano is a little drowned out in the mix but you can hear the comping pretty well in the choruses than Trane takes with his saxophone solos. After the sax solos, there is a piano solo but I wish it was louder in the mix like Trane's sax. For some reason on these old recordings from the 50's and early 60's its sometimes very hard to hear the piano and bass. The bass playing here is very melodic and sounds great in the mix. Although this song is an old standard, it sounds almost modern by today's standards, like it could still be played today by straight-ahead artists.
     Next, is 'Central Park West', which I guess is a tune dedicated to Central Park. This one sounds like a ballad, and is in a minor key. It has a nice melody that you can sing easily and tap your toes to. This one, like the first song sounds like something old but could be played today and made modern by straight-ahead players. Again, here the bass sounds great and is very melodic and soulful. I think on this tune Trane is playing soprano saxophone, the tone sounds like more of a higher pitched instrument, almost like a clarinet, especially on the high notes. The drums play with brushes on this track. It's a beautiful track man.
     Moving on, 'Liberia' is the whole reason why I listened to this album. It starts off with a bluesy kind of riff, not unlike something Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers would do, then it goes into this kind of ethnic (but I'm not sure what kind of ethnicity) melody that kind of sounds flamenco inspired but still has blues roots. It's such a fantastic melody and theme! Trane and the gang kill it on this track! Once Trane gets going in his solo, he plays up and down the sax, playing bebop lines along the changes, sounding much like he did on the album Giant Steps, displaying what would become his classic trademark 'sheets of sound', a flurry of saxophone lines that are fast, technical yet soulful, and harmonically complex. This is the John Coltrane that every saxophone player dreams they can sound like. After the sax solo, the piano comes in with a solo over the changes. You can really notice the bass when the sax isn't playing. The bass plays some walking bass lines over part of the theme, and then plays some droning notes during the kind of flamenco type melody line. Then Trane comes back in with the main theme and they go through these interesting changes again. This one is a special tune for sure. Such interesting rhythms and changes. One for the history books for Jazz 101.
     Then, we have a great jazz standard that pretty much everyone knows, 'Body and Soul'. I really dig Trane's take on it. He plays it a little bit faster than most jazz musicians do it. Usually, because its a ballad, people play it at a slower tempo than this kind of upbeat version. Everyone knows this melody and the changes, it's a great old jazz standard. But what really stands out here is the piano playing by McCoy Tyner. The piano is really clear, and the comping hand with the chords is very strong! They always say McCoy has a strong right hand, well hear you can hear how hard he's hitting the keys. I really like how he colours the changes in his solo with his chord-solo. This tune shows how versatile Trane was. He could do anything; ballads, standards, as well as great original tunes with the influence of bebop.
     Next, is another tune that has become famous with Coltrane's name and stature, 'Equinox'. This one has a bluesy theme that is simple and repeats, but it is soulful and hits you hard after hearing all this fast technical stuff from the beginning cuts. It's slow and brooding, just like how a blues should be. Hear you can also hear how Trane really has his own style. He's playing a blues but he has such a unique style and original licks, that it sounds like something more complicated than just a blues vamp. This is one of those songs that makes you think about how great Coltrane was during this period, this intense musical period for him, probably the point where he reached critical fame as a band leader and recording artist. The critics practically loved him, compared to his later period before his death when he started playing free-jazz, which is almost the opposite of this music, based on melodies and changes. I would say this song is legendary because everyone that knows Coltrane's music knows it, but perhaps that would be going too far. It's just another great straight-ahead song that is still played to this day.
     Lastly, the last song on the album is a tune entitled 'Satellite'. This song starts and sounds like a tune that could have been on the album Giant Steps, which I believe was recorded in 1960 as well. There's no real opening theme or head or anything, it just kind of starts, and doesn't stop. The sax just goes off, playing lots of lines that sound inspired by Charlie Parker, but with the strength and gravitas of John Coltrane. This is where modern bebop was at its peak in my humble opinion. At some point in the song, there's a break that sounds exactly like the melody from 'Giant Steps', I swear he's using the same changes and everything! But it sounds great, and it sounds refreshing that he was using the template for Giant Steps for other tunes as well. He created a series of chord changes in Giant Steps that became known as the Coltrane Matrix, which is really just a fancy term for changes that are a little bit more complicated than the standard jazz II-V's. Anyways, on my remastered CD version there's two extra tunes. One is called '26-2', and the other is another version of Body and Soul. 26-2 takes off from where Satellite left, a kind of bebop piece that lacks a melody and theme, but has lots and lots of variations of many themes. It features a nice piano solo that doesn't sound anything like McCoy, I think its this other guy credited on the album named Steve Davis. After the piano solo, there's more sax stuff but this time on a soprano. Trane loved soprano sax. And the other version of Body and Soul is more relaxed, a kind of slower tempo, and has less melody, more notes if you will. Good version but I liked the other version better. This one is more of a live in the club feel though.
     Anyways, this album is really great! I would recommend this album to anyone who wants to get more into the world of straight-ahead jazz, the old school cutting edge stuff after Miles' Kind of Blue, Dizzy and Charlie Parker, and Monk. Also, listening to this jazz will prepare you for the avant-garde. In my case it did. But I've seen on other occasions where they're people who love this era of John Coltrane but can't stand listening to his free-jazz stuff in like 1964-1965. There are some people who say that jazz ends with this kind of stuff. But for me jazz continued evolving and this was one of the most important developments, especially in John Coltrane's career. The guy was a helluva sax player. And his band (McCoy Tyners, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones) were probably the best Quartet in modern jazz.

John Coltrane, Giant Steps

     This is one of the best records I've ever heard in my life. Ain't that the truth. This was my first real jazz album that I bought when I was about 18, 19. Before that, all the jazz records I had were 70's jazz-rock fusion like Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, Weather Report, Return to Forever, and Mahavishnu Orchestra. All great stuff but not really jazz in the classical sense. So after I heard this album, I was basically opened to the great music of John Coltrane and straight-ahead jazz, and it really changed my life. I realized that music could go beyond notes and into the spiritual realm of the listener. I could compare Coltrane to say the greats of the classical world in terms of the passion of the music. I also learned a lot about phrasing from Trane, especially from hearing his classic 'sheets of sound'. This was Trane's 5th album as a leader and I think its one of his best works, displaying the great sound of the bebop era. The album makes use of many musicians: Tommy Flangan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, Cedar Walton, Lex Humphries, and Neshui Ertegun as producer. In addition, this album has gotten rave reviews from just about

	every famous jazz publication in its time.

     What really stands out on this album is the first track 'Giant Steps', which every saxophonist will play today, probably every jazz musician ever will play this tune. It features a chromatic melody and a system of chord changes that Coltrane had worked out for many months in practice. Finally realized on record, we can see that these aren't simply regular changes. The chords are going by so fast, chords change twice, three, or four times in a single bar and it's challenge to improvise over. Coltrane seems to make easy work of making melody out of the changes, not simply playing licks. It's also important to note that Trane's saxophone tone here is the classic sound that all the saxophonists of today strive for. It is natural and smooth, but not smooth like smooth jazz, more like a round sound. I find this song to have the best saxophone tone. On the other tracks I find the saxophone to be a bit quite to stay steady in the mix with the other instruments. Probably just how they produced back then. I've played this song from the Real Book a couple times, just the head, and tried improvising over the chords on my own. It is not easy work! I have to practice more, lets just say that. I should learn Trane's solo note for note, that's for sure.
     The next tune is another famous jazz standard that everyone knows today called 'Cousin Mary'. This is more of whats called straight-ahead jazz. It's blues based and there's a walking bassline, and a bluesy head opening and closing the tune.This is like the classic straight-ahead music that we have today in New York. People like Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mike Moreno. Just straight-ahead guys really, but can play more avant-garde stuff when it is called upon them. This song really shows Trane's blues influence because he used to play blues growing up and playing in bands in the South.
     Another great tune that later became a standard is 'Mr. P.C.', which is dedicated to pianist Paul Chambers. This is another tune I've played before and its a great song to play. It starts with a simple theme and then you just go off improvising on the changes. It's another straight-ahead piece with a walking bass line and the classic cymbal and snare hits that are famous in jazz in this time. They're swinging so hard on this tune its just unbelievable how much they're killing here. At the end there's this great interplay between the sax playing lines and the drums going off on a solo, before the head comes back in, signaling the end of the tune.
     Another song that later became a standard is 'Countdown', not really a song but it opens up with a great drum solo. This shows the pure virtuosity of Trane, and playing with just the sax and drums is something he would later do in his free-jazz period. Doing this frees him from the restraints of harmony and chord changes. Musically you could say all it is is two simple II V I's in 6 keys. But the melody played at the end is so beautiful and smooth.
     Next, 'Spiral' isn't that famous of a song, but another great tune none the less. This song kind of takes off where 'Giant Steps' left off. There's all these chromatic chord changes, I'm not really sure what they are harmonically but they sound like a bunch of II V's. The piano solo here by Tommy Flanagan sounds a bit old school, like he's not really on the same page as Coltrane musically. Like Coltrane is playing in a more fresh with a ph style. And Flanagan is playing like guys back in the day, even before his day. Like I said, this is where Coltrane made use of his classic 'sheets of sound' on a studio recording. Trane was really pulling out all the stops, swinging super hard, and still playing musically and beautifully harmonically.
     'Syeeda's Flute Song' has a kind of Monkish type melody. Mainly the rhythm of the melody is what sounds like Thelionious Monk. After the Monkish head, Coltrane rips some soulful yet technical lines on the sax over the changes. The piano solo is very tasteful but I wouldn't say that he takes any chances or risks, very safe but very good if you know what I mean. This song also has a bass solo, one of the only ones on the album. It's a melodious bass solo and the bass's tone sounded great, no doubt being amp-flied by a microphone.
     Lastly, the ballad on the album is a song dedicated to Trane's first wife, entitled 'Naima'. It's another super famous tune that every jazz muso knows. It just has the most soulful melody as the opening and closing part of the song. This is the only ballad on the album. This is one of those songs that once you hear it, you'll remember it for the rest of your life. I have since heard many versions of it, one my favorites being big band arrangements of it. However, this plain original version with just a simple saxophone and piano solo is just great. Like I said, this album really changed my life and opened my ears to the music of jazz. Later on, I would listen to things like Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler but it all started with this album. Before you take on the jazz avant-garde, you have to listen to John Coltrane. He's simply one of the greatest jazz musicians ever. His search for spiritual guidance has inspired many other musicians to do the same. To think that John Coltrane was playing 'Giant Steps' and would later be playing 'free-jazz' a few years later is simply astounding. Critics didn't like his change, they wanted him to stay like this. But he didn't. Instead he forged a new path with the likes of Ornette Coleman, playing different styles of jazz that would later signify the end of jazz, before jazz-rock fusion and smooth jazz took over. His influence on just about every jazz musician is huge and can't be denied. To hear this again makes me realize what makes jazz great. Long live Giant Steps. Viva John Coltrane.
    

John Mclaughlin, To the One

     This is one of the better jazz-rock fusion albums in my collection. And its on the more recent side coming out in 2011. I ordered this CD online a while ago, months and months ago. This is also McLaughlin's first recording with his band the 4th Dimension. Here's what it says on the CD cover: 
     "The inspiration behind this recording stems from two sources: firstly from hearing the recording 'A Love Supreme' by John Coltrane in the 1960's, and secondly from my own endeavors towards 'The One' throughout the past 40 years. Coltrane's recording marked me forever in two ways: musically and spiritually. This was a profound moment for modern music. Until this recording, 'spirituality' had been the domain of the great classical composers with their works known as the 'mass', and in the classical music from North and South India. With this one recording, Coltrane integrated the spiritual dimension into jazz. The advent of this record could not have come at a better moment for me. The musical and spiritual encouragement I obtained from this record was a determining factor in my life. By the release of this album, I had begun my search for the answers to the questions existence will pose to us all, sooner or later. This period of intense interior work was followed by periods of indolence, doubt and even plain laziness on my part. Fortunately, the call of my soul returned to my inner ear, and I began eventually to feel the blessings of the Infinite One once more. From time to time, I have had glimpses of the indescribable loveliness of the Infinite One. I have seen that we are all in the Infinite One. We can never be apart from the Infinite Oneness even though we may be unaware of this unity. The music on this recording is another tale from my life. About my love and affection for the wonderful people around me, both far and near, for the mysterious universe we live in, and in the end for the Infinite One. With peace and blessings to everyone. J.M"
     How can you even come up with a better message to your fans than this! Really inspiring words from the great spiritual guitarist. Its really quite great how McLaughlin loves Coltrane because I too, am a huge Coltrane fan. Coltrane was my hero too man! Anyways, McLaughlin has been searching musically and spiritually and it really shows on this record. So this is the first recording with McLaughlin's band the 4th Dimension and they are John McLaughlin on guitar, Gary Husband on keyboards/drums (sometimes on drums, sometimes keys, sometimes both on the same track!), Etienne M'Bappe on bass, and Mark Mondesir on drums when Husband isn't playing it. This is only the second time I've heard the album, but the first time I heard it I was absolutely blown away by the musical prowess and instrumental intensity. I was especially in love with the track 'Discovery'.
      The first track is my favorite and in my opinion the best track on the whole album. It's called 'Discovery', and it starts out with a swinging kind of funky keyboards and drums. And there's a head played by the guitar before John McLaughlin goes off into improvisatory sequences. The thing that I think makes this song so great is the rhythm section, the drums, bass, and keyboards are just so funky but it also has that kind of sophisticated sound of bebop jazz because of McLaughlin's guitar solo. The licks are just killing it man! He's a monster! And then Gary Husbands keyboard solo comes in. Then there's a bridge section where the drums kind of have their own little crazy part. Then the bass comes in for a solo and its fantastic. This guy, M'Bappe plays fretless bass, and fretless bass sounds amazing. I wish bassists in metal would use it, it really has a good sound. Then the head comes back in, ending the song on a high note while the drums goes off on rhythmic tangents. To me, this song is like a modern bebop, its jazz-rock but it has the sophistication of complicated jazz arrangements, like old school Dizzy and Charlie Parker.
     Next, is a more ballad type song called 'Special Beings', a very new age title for a song but the song name actually fits the song musically. The guitar tone in this one has more of a chorus effect than 'Discovery'. The tone is a little more like how Mclaughlin likes his guitar now, which is more of a chorus type thing similar to John Scofield. There's great keyboard playing from Gary Husband here. It actually reminds me of Herbie Hancock, his playing is very harmonically 'there', in the same way as Herbie's playing is. Even though the mood is more mellow on this piece, Mclaughlin still 'shreds', as the kids call it. This guy was like the OG shredder back in the 70's in Mahavishnu Orchestra and its amazing that he plays faster today at 70 years old than he did in his 20s. The thing that makes Mclaughlin's playing so great is his phrasing. He does interesting things with ordinary melodies, probably learned much of it from studying Indian classical music and playing with musicians from India. This guy isn't just a pentatonic runner. The bass line even plays a walking bass line on this song, making it have that kind of signature jazz feel.
     Next up, 'The Fine Line', sounds like a song that is super heavy and deep. It has this kind of melody that just screams emergency! But it still has a funky flavor to it with the rhythm section. This is another favorite track of mine on the album. Definitely one of the best tunes on the album for sure. There's a keyboard solo and then that haunting melody comes back in, it's really a blast to hear. The drums even have a solo part while McLaughlin is riffing on the theme's chords. After that McLaughlin plays some really killer guitar lines. Super fast. Super technical. Super jazzy. His guitar tone on this song is drenched with reverb, a slight bit of distortion, and chorus for sure. Some of his best tones. He sounds like a rock guitarist playing bebop jazz lines super fast. It's amazing. Also, I wanted to mention that this tune sounds very modern. By that, I mean that this song could have been written by guys in their 20's or 30's. It just sounds like they're young and hungry as a band. This band has continued today with the same kind of energy.
     'Lost and Found' sounds almost like a Pat Metheny song. It starts off with so much synthesizer running through, that all I can think about is Pat Metheny's first album with all the synth stuff by Lyle Mays. I believe McLaughlin is even using a guitar effect that makes his guitar sound like a synthesizer. I've heard the jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel use a similar device to get this kind of tone on his guitar as well. I think its called a H.O.G. 2 or something like that, it basically makes your guitar sound like not a guitar, but something else entirely by giving you a bunch of options and tone settings. This song is kind of like an interlude in the album. It's short and sweet compared to the other tracks.
     The next track, 'Recovery' could be the younger brother of 'Discovery'. The drumming and rhythmic pulse is pretty much the same but the melody and guitar lines are different. This definitely shows off their more funk influences, especially Husband's funky keyboard jabs. There's even a nice kind of Moog synthesizer sounding solo. Although harmonically there's a million things going on in this song I would say the main important part is the rhythmic aspect. I really feel it and once you hear it you can too. It's a pulse that is so funky, I could almost dance. The guitar solo on this track is killer. With these kinds of solos by McLaughlin you never get tired of the acrobatics, the speed, and the sheer technical aspects of his guitar lines. Everything you hear sounds great. He seems to have endless ideas and variations, the mark of a true great improviser. He isn't Peter Brotzmann but he sure has created his own guitar style and musical style that nobody else comes even close to.
    Lastly, the final track is called 'To the One'. I would say again that this sounds similar to a Pat Metheny type thing where a synthesizer, in this case, a guitar synth is controlling the melody and the atmosphere of the song is kind of mellow, despite being at a fairly quick tempo, with fast drumming especially on the snare and cymbals. There's even some vocals at the end of this track, giving it that new age jazz vibe.
     Finally, this album reached number 27 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. It has gotten great reviews online by many famous websites and publications. The tunes have memorable melodies and lines that keep the tunes flowing well with the improvisation. It isn't avant-garde but the music does have complicated arrangements and extensive improvisation. I would say of this era of John McLaughlin's guitar playing: that "This sounds like midi bebop jazz-rock". All the tunes seem to have a form to them and it works great with this band, they really sound like a good cohesive unit, rather than just a pick-up band. It's amazing that John McLaughlin still sounds amazing today, as good, if not better than he was when he was in his 20's and doing Mahavishnu Orchestra. Gary Husband surprised me playing keyboards because his usual gig is playing drums with guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Upon hearing this album again, I still think its a great album, one of John McLaughlin's best I've ever heard.

Skrillex, Bangarang

     This is an album I didn't pay for. Just listened to on YouTube. Not sure if I would ever be down to buy electronic dance music (edm) or dub-step stuff. Anyways, I first heard about Skrillex because they're super popular on video gaming streams on Twitch.tv. So I heard about this music through video games! Pretty cool. I'm not a raver or anything like that but I do have some friends on Facebook that post this kind of music and go to edm shows and stuff. Because of my exposure to this music I would be so down to go to a rave. The reason why I looked this album up online is because I really like the song 'Bangarang', its just a super catchy song with cool bass drops and very minimal lyrics. In fact, the whole album has lyrics here and there but its just a catch phrase here or maybe a few words there.
     The two songs with vocalists are 'Kyoto' featuring Sira and 'Summit' featuring Ellie Goulding. Sira is a female rapper and singer who is based in Los Angeles. And Ellie Goulding is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The last track contains an orchestral suite called 'Skrillex Orchestral Suite by Varien'. It's a bonus track on the album, the only bonus track. Someone mentioned in the comments that this orchestral track could be in the video game Starbound, an open world space sandbox game that came out recently. It really could! It's so video-gamish in its theme and variations.
     "Musically, Bangarang has multiple influences of electro house, dubstep and progressive house, while also incorporating elements of trance, drum and bass, rap rock, experimental rock and ska. It features syncopated rhythmic build-ups, technical breakdowns and "chopped-up" vocal hooks, as well as multiple vocal samples. Its lead single, "Bangarang", charted in multiple countries worldwide and reached the top ten in Australia and Belgium."(Wiki)
      The first tune 'Right In' is a quick little number with synthesizer keyboard jabs as a robotic kind of voice is saying "Right. Right in."
     My favorite song on the album is the second song, its called Bangarang. I don't really know why this song is so great to me. It just has great bass drops and the lyrics "Bangarang" just sounds so sick as the bass drops and there's all these crazy sounds going off man it's totally cool! Some of the sounds go high pitched, kind of reminds me of an alarm on a car. Then there's a cool chord change in the middle of it, and an interesting bridge with nice guitar lines playing. Bass! This song makes me want to dance, and I don't even know how to dance. This sounds like this would be a good song in a club.
     Next, is 'Breakin' a Sweat', which is a collaboration with the Doors. I think the collaboration part is the fact that they used some old Ray Manzarek keyboard parts in the song to give it some extra flair. Musically, this song is more of the same formula from the first songs. There's a short lyric, 'Breakin' a Sweat', 'that's good', and then there's bass drops and lots of choruses. Oh yeah, they use like a Jim Morrison interview talking about how in the future they'd be using machines to make music and stuff. So that's the Doors' input on the song. "Ok, play that beat again" is another cool line from this tune. After a while the bass drops start to get gimmicky, like is that all this guy can do? But they're so cool at the same time!
     Next is 'The Devil's Den'. This is another tune I heard from twitch.tv and its another favorite of mine from Skrillex. It starts off with this really cool simple melody before breaking off into bass drops and synthesizer and drum stuff. This song has some interesting chords in the middle of the tune, really making the song climax, and then the bass drops. This tune just has the lyrics "the devil's den" and "devil". Then there's like a robotic voice doing wub wub wubs. Then the original melody comes in and puts everything in perspective and bringing it full circle.
     'Right on Time' starts off with the simple statement "Right on time". This one kind of sounds more like a progressive tune because it relies less on bass drops than the previous tunes and more on creating interesting music with the drums and bass. And they do a great job with it. This song was a collaboration with other progressive house and edm producers 12th Planet and Kill the Noise. This song I could definitely see being heard to at a club. Whereas with the other songs I don't see them as being played at a club. I see it more as something you'd just play chilling at your house, like I am right now.
     'Kyoto' has some cool guitar power chords. And the rap elements of it is actually pretty good. I'm not usually a fan of rap, especially female rap artists but the music here is actually cool. The fact that there's a dedicated vocalist means that they keep the song simple but the lyrics add more flavor than just a cool catch phrase that is being said over and over again throughout the song.
     The last song is 'Summit', the most relaxed and chill song of the album. But the vocals here give it that extra edge, that great sound. Ellie Goulding's vocals remind me of a lonely night looking up at the stars. The song give off that kind of vibe. There's more chord changes and melodies and synthesizers and drum stuff going on in this song than in the other tunes.
     Lastly, I didn't think Skrillex was all that great because I'm not generally a fan of edm or dubstep. However, the music is very catchy and it grows on you fairly easily! Especially after you've heard the songs a couple times. I read in LA Record magazine about how Todd Rungren was praising Skrillex and that's kind of what got me to listen to a whole album of them. Before I just heard a couple songs and there and just thought they were super popular and stuff. I like how Todd said that you really can't sing Skrillex, that it's really just catch phrases and sounds. It's cool like the guy from Skrillex, Sonny John Moore, is from LA. It's also cool how before he was doing solo albums like this on his own, he was the singer of post-hardcore band called From First to Last. I'll definitely try to find some of their work. When people think of this music, they think it takes no talent and that the creators just made it using simple bass drop patterns on music software on their PC. But listening to this I think it takes a lot of skill to write something that will keep people engaged and listening without getting bored of the patterns. Some say the bass drops get old and formulaic. But this album won the Best Dance/Electronica Album award at the 55th Grammy Awards, as well as the Best Dance Recording award for the title track.In addition, Rolling Stone named Bangarang the fourteenth best EDM album of all time. I feel like we live in a time period where it's better to have a solo career rather than playing in a band. Rather, I think it's better to produce your own music, use music software on your PC, and try to distribute your music online. People like Skrillex have been doing these types of music for a long time but I feel like we live in the time period where edm and dub-step has really come into its own. It's all the rage and all the kids love it. It's super popular. I feel like this kind of stuff might be the future of pop music, because all you need is to learn how to make music on a laptop and just go from there. That would create a lot of musician, even if the term musician would be used rather loosely. Also, might I add that I think Skrillex's haircut is just super cool. Nowadays I see men and women both have his style of haircut. I know its not really a 'Skrillex' haircut but I hadn't seen anyone wearing their hair long with sides shaved off until Skrillex became super popular. But I know really its more of a punk kind of hair style. Anyways, its pretty cool.
    

David S. Ware Quartet, Wisdom of Uncertainty

Before I write my own impressions of this album, I'll write out the liner notes as written by Matt Galloway in May of 1997. This is the Quartet's most thrilling session to date as well as its most focused. The ensemble continues to use Shipp's melodic deconstructions as a pivot point for elastic launches, anchoring its improvisations with simple, catchy themes. Wisdom of Uncertainty builds on the heated intensity of the Japan Godspelized sessions, finding the Quartet pulling back from the precipice ever so slightly and harnessing that redoubtable energy without losing a shred of passion.
     The striking opening track, 'Acclimation,' begins with Ware eestablishing the theme in a blistering tone before launching into a fenetic run through the range of his horn. Shipp immediately begins to flay the melody, peeling it away layer by layer, only to offer it back in jagged shards. Parker takes the riff even farther, shearing part the theme in an expansive, constantly evolving arco bass solo. Recent precussion addition Ibarra brings graceful texture to this heady mix. A former student of rythmic pioneer Milford Graves, Ibarra works her kit from all angles, creating a paplabnle sense of space within the composition with an array of bells, tiny cymbals and non-linear rhthmic digressions.
     Book ended by complex, stumbling refrains and condensed solos, the feverish 'Antidromic' and 'Alignment' are perhaps the compositions most determined by form. Says Ware,"I've always been very aware of form. People sometimes say that this type of music is just random notes, that anything goes. That's just not the case at all. There's so much information being passed through this music-musical, philosophical, and metaphysical- and the motifs and melodies have their own direction about them. We've been playing together for so many years that our internal musical apparatus is able to just hone right in on these natural plateaus."
      The sprawling 'Utopic' is Wisdom of Uncertainty's unquestionable centerpiece. Beginning serenely with the trio of Shipp, Parker and Ibarra. Shipp chips out the subtle, moving refrain while Parker bows out a stunning counterpoint over Ibarra's delicate shell of bells and chimes. Beyond their lengthy tenure in the Ware Quartet, Shipp and Parker remain rhythmic partners in Shipp's own trio and quartet, their own duo and in 1996, added their indelible stamp to Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman's Cama de Terra disc (check their jaw-dropping duet on the title track for details). Over the years, the two have achieved an unspoken, highly developed language that here allows them to shadow each other almost unconsciously. Ware's lyrical entry begins on a grand note and soon gives way to an expansive, at times combustible solo that unlocks a range of emotions. An immense, wildly spiritual track, it's classic jazz in every sense of the term, and the David S. Ware Quartet has rarely sounded this beautiful or majestic.
     'Utopic' speaks of people who are willing to explore the outer reaches of human experience and not be so willing to readily accept what the past has been and what society dictates that the human experience should be," Ware offers. "It's a dedication to those souls who are willing to take a risk and discover something fresh and something splendid-people who are willing to search themselves."
      'Continuum' brings the album to a close and full circle., with the saxophonist stating the melody and then quickly giving it up to Shipp, Parker, and Ibarra to reconfigure, only to reclaim it with a forceful solo of his own. Like Wisdom of Uncertainty itself, it's the real deal-turbulent without being overwhelming, directed yet hardly restrained, and another high point in the constantly evolving scope of the David S. Ware Quartet. Grab hold while you can. -Matt Galloway, Toronto, May 1997 
    First, I got this album on a whim. I randomly got it because it was the first album by David S. Ware that I saw on amazon. I skimmed the tracks and read the reviews and they were all good so I decided to buy it. The David S. Ware Quartet is  David S. Ware on saxophone, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Susie Ibarra on drums. This is my first real modern free-jazz studio recording. All the other free-jazz recordings I have are live performances. I can get a real sense of what they're reaching and trying to do here. For the most part, the tunes have a line, maybe two or three, then they kind of go off into what most people would say is 'random notes and playing', but we free-jazz fans wouldn't put it that way. The first two tracks are like that, they have an opening motif and then they kind of just go off into the outer limits of free-jazz saxophone, like a modern version of the late John Coltrane. But the third song in the middle of the album, 'Utopic' begins with a profound piano statement, then a bass thing, then the drums. Then Ware comes in with his saxophone, blaring and bracing us for the rest of the tune. There's lots of chimes and bells and stuff on the percussion side of things. It's a bold statement that enters into the spiritual realm, if one would ever go there with describing music. That first half of the album is spectacular.
      The next half of the album opens with a tune called 'Alignment'. This starts with a rhythmic motif and then they stretch out on the theme, playing variations of it as the saxophone goes into the outer limits. The next tune, 'Sunbows Rainsets Blue' is a more somber and mellow tune that starts with a melody on the piano and has beautiful piano arpeggios. Then the saxophone comes in does its thang, so to speak. The melody is both beautiful and haunting at the same time in this piece, evoking many different emotions from the players. The drumming is especially interesting on this piece, all the cymbal flourishes are noticeable and add much to the piece. The last tune is called 'Continuum' and brings the album full circle. It was a chromatic kind of melody going up a scale, playing variations on that in the opening motif, before the saxophone comes in for extended improvisation. Later, the piano has its turn playing a solo. At the end of the tune, the drummer takes a solo. It's a tasteful, volley of snare and cymbal hits that sound great. Then they end it by repeating the chromatic theme of the piece.
     I gotta say that buying this album was definitely worth it, buying it on a whim was risky but I love the album. I like how the drummer is a woman, she play's so amazingly! The drums on this album is almost like a painter, not so much just a time keeper, but someone who is adding colour to the the songs. I could have bought something more recent but realistically its interesting hearing how David S. Ware sounded when he was in the beginning phase of this Quartet. This is one of the better free-jazz experiences I've had, the others being Jack Dejohnette's Made in Chicago, Ornette Coleman's Hamburg concert in 1987, and the new lineup of the Art Ensemble of Chicago sometime in the 200s. Out of all of those, I would say this album is more rewarding, although Ornette Coleman live in 1987 was amazing too because the lineup consisted of Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Charlie Haden. A lot of what this Quartet did back in the 90s, (this album was made in 1997) reminds me of what The Bad Plus does today. Sure, The Bad Plus isn't as free-jazz as this Quartet was but I feel like the material and the spirit of the music is similar.
      Also, Matthew Shipp's piano playing is similar to Ethan Iverson's (pianist for the Bad Plus). This album makes me definitely want to check out more. I've heard a lot of Ware's more recent stuff but I'll have to go back and listen to his earlier work. It's too bad that Ware died in 2012 of a blood infection. He was a great musician on the free-jazz scene, working as far back as the 1960's, with Cecil Taylor. Go buy this album. It was pretty cheap. This is basically my gateway into the free-jazz studio album world. I've heard Ornette Coleman's free-jazz album and John Coltrane's free-jazz stuff, but this is the first real modern free-jazz album I've got my hands on and I'm sure glad I got it. Great stuff man! This music inspires me to practice more on the guitar.