Jazz Composer`s Orchestra/Jazz Composer`s Orchestra of America/Michael Mantler - Jazz Composers Orchestra *

Artist:

Jazz Composer`s Orchestra

UPC:

042284112420

Description:

Personnel includes: Michael Mantler, Cecil Taylor, Larry Coryell, Don Cherry, Pharaoh Sanders, Gato Barbieri.
Personnel: Don Cherry (horns); Gato Barbieri (tenor saxophone); Larry Coryell (guitar); Michael Mantler (trumpet); Pharoah Sanders (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Roswell Rudd (trombone); Carla Bley (vocals, piano, keyboards); Jack Bruce (vocals); Steve Lacy, Steve Marcus, Al Gibbons (saxophone, soprano saxophone); Frank Wess, Gene Hull, Bob Donovan, Jimmy Lyons (saxophone, alto saxophone); Lew Tabackin, George Barrow (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Charles Davis (saxophone); Randy Brecker (flugelhorn, horns); Lloyd Michels, Stephen Furtado (flugelhorn); Robert "Brother Ah" Northern, Julius Watkins (French horn, horns); Jack Jeffers (trombone, bass trombone); Jimmy Knepper (trombone); Howard Johnson (tuba); Lloyd Michaels (horns); Cecil Taylor (piano); Andrew Cyrille, Beaver Harris (drums).
Liner Note Authors: Timothy Marquand; Paul Haines; Cecil Taylor.
Recording information: RCA Victor`s Studio B, New York, NY.
German-born composer/trumpeter Michael Mantler and his then-wife Carla Bley were instrumental in developing within jazz the idea of self-sufficiency and independence from established record companies. Their creation of the Jazz Composer`s Orchestra, with recordings released on their own label, was the culmination of this endeavor, and the first recording was one of the masterpieces of creative music in the `60s. Mantler had come from the European avant-classical tradition and sought to provide an orchestral framework supporting some of the most advanced musicians in avant-garde jazz -- and he succeeded magnificently. His style tends toward the brooding and darkly romantic with harsh, cynical edges, a perfect foil for the robust, shackle-breaking improvisations found herein. The cloudy, roiling swirls that open "Communications #8," echoed by Bley`s stabbing piano chords, lay the groundwork for inspired soloing by Don Cherry and the pre-Last Tango and still extremely fiery Gato Barbieri. Subsequent pieces include an amazing feedback showcase for Larry Coryell and a gorgeous, somber work featuring bassist Steve Swallow and trombonist Roswell Rudd. All of this is a preview for, well, "Preview," an utterly incendiary flight by Pharoah Sanders over a pounding rhythm by the orchestra, a piece that will leave the listener bruised, battered, and exhilarated. Except that the best is yet to come: a 34-minute, two-part composition, a concerto for Cecil Taylor and orchestra, that finds the pianist at the height of his powers, just beginning to enter the third phase of his development where he fused ultra-high energy playing with rigorous logic and heartbreaking beauty. The breadth of this piece, its expansiveness, and its tension between order and chaos is one of the single high watermarks of avant-garde jazz. Communications is a masterwork in and of itself and laid the basis for stunning work by others in decades hence, notably Barry Guy and his London Jazz Composer`s Orchestra. It`s an essential document for anyone interested in avant jazz and late-20th century creative music. ~ Brian Olewnick

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Communications #8
2. Communications #9
3. Communications #10
4. Preview
5. Communications #11, Pt. 1
6. Communications #11, Pt. 2

Album Information

Release Date:

09/01/2007

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Jazz Instrument

Subgenre:

Free Jazz

Label:

JCOA

Producer:

Michael Mantler

Catalog Number:

8411242

Original Release Year:

1968

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

73 : 16

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