TIM BERNE SEXTET – The Ancestors (LP-1983)

Label: Soul Note – SN 1061

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Italy / Released: 1983

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded live on February 19, 1983 at the School of Visual Arts, NYC.

Recording Engineer: Kazunori Sugiyama

Produced by Empire Productions & Giovanni Bonandrini

Cover – Pick Up Studios

Cover painting by Betsy Berne

Photography By [Cover] – Kim Anway

A1 - Sirius B .............................................................................................. 10:47

A2 - Shirley's Song - Part I ........................................................................ 13:10

B  -  Shirley's Song - Part II / San Antonio / The Ancestors ...................... 21:00

Tim Berne — alto saxophone

Mack Goldsbury — soprano and tenor saxophones

Clarence Herb Robertson — pocket trumpet, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn

Ray Anderson — trombone, tuba

Ed Schuller — bass

Paul Motian — drums, percussion

The Ancestors is an album by Tim Berne and which was released on the Italian-based Soul Note label in 1983. It features two (or four) compositions by Tim Berne performed by the Tim Berne Sextet which consisted of Clarence Herb Robertson, Ray Anderson, Mack Goldsbury, Ed Schuller, Paul Motian and Tim Berne.

Alto and baritone saxophonist Tim Berne combines influences from avant-garde jazz, modern classical music, rhythm 'n' blues, and experimental rock. The harmonic sophistication of his composition and improvisations, honed in collaboration with like-minded musicians such as John Zorn, Vinny Golia, and Nels Cline has helped him carve a niche in the vast sea of modern jazz...

 Tim Berne

 Ray Anderson / Ed Schuller

His fascination with jazz began after hearing saxophonist Julius Hemphill's 1972 album Dogon A.D.

In 1974, Berne left college and moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. In the fall of 1974, Tim briefly studied with saxophonist Anthony Braxton who proved to be too busy to teach Berne, but suggested he study with Julius Hemphill. Over the next year, Berne studied with Hemphill, who encouraged him to start composing his own music.

During his early years in New York, Berne supported himself by working in a record store and renting out loft spaces to host his own gigs. In 1979, Berne founded the record label Empire Productions and released his debut album, The Five Year Plan. The following year, he released his second album 7X, which featured contributions from Cline, Golia and bassist Robert Miranda.

From 1981 until 1983, Berne led an ensemble that featured saxophonist Mark Goldsbury, bassist Ed Schuller, and drummer Paul Motian. Berne's early records and performances eventually caught the attention of producer Giovanni Bonandrini, who released Berne's 1983 album The Ancestors and 1984's Mutant Variations on the Soul Note label.

Tim Berne's playing on Ancestors is fluid, warm and conveys a relaxed levity. For this live recording Berne enlarges his regular quartet (Mack Goldsburg, tenor sax, soprano sax; Ed Schuller, bass; Paul Motian, percussion) to include Herb Robertson (trumpet) and Ray Anderson, perhaps the finest trombonist of the past five years. As usual, the tunes are all Berne originals and display the sectional and harmonic structures that so much of his music seems to exhibit.

The magical...it's a measured authoritative set, rhythmically coherent.

If you find it, buy this album!