ANTHONY DAVIS – Hemispheres (LP-1983)

Label: Gramavision – GR-8303

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

Style: Free Improvisation, Free Jazz

Recorded at Vanguard Studios, New York City in July 1983.

Mixed at Gramavision Studio, New York City in August 1983.

Cover – Francesco Clemente

Photography By [Photo By] – Robert Mapplethorpe

Design [Album Design] – Peter Corriston

Engineer – David Baker

Mastered By – Bob Ludwig

Mixed By – David Baker

Producer – Anthony Davis, Jonathan F. P. Rose

A1 - Mvt I: Esu At The Crossroads ....................................................... 4:52

A2 - Mvt II: Little Richard's New Wave ................................................. 8:31

A3 - Mvt III: Ifa: The Oracle, Esu The Trickster .................................... 4:46

B1 - Mvt IV: A Walk Through The Shadows ....................................... 13:26

B2 - Mvt V: Clonetics ............................................................................ 7:06

Composed By – Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis – piano

Dwight Andrews – flute

J.D. Parran – clarinet

Leo Smith – trumpet

George Lewis – trombone

David Samuels – vibraphone

Shem Guibbory – violin

Eugene Friesen – cello

Rick Rozie – bass

Pheeroan AkLaff – drums, percussion

Written as music to accompany the choreography of Molissa Fenley, Anthony Davis followed the huge artistic (if not commercial) success of his albums Episteme and Variations in Dreamtime with yet another wonderful recording along similar lines. Using many of the same musicians and, in fact, recycling some of the same thematic material (as he was to do often in his career), Davis once again finds enormous richness and power in a territory straddling advanced jazz and contemporary minimalism, here even enjoining the services of Steve Reich's violinist of choice, Shem Guibbory. The compositions combine propulsive, oddly metered rhythms with fascinating and often gorgeous melodies including, especially his bitterly beautiful "A Walk in the Shadows," here given arguably its finest, most intense performance with Guibbory doing gut-wrenching work. The ensemble is incredibly tight and features superb playing by, among others, trumpeter Leo Smith and trombonist George Lewis. The cover painting by Francesco Clemente and the portrait photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe indicate how closely Davis was becoming involved with the New York avant-garde in the early '80s. This would lead to an increased "classicalization" of his work, largely to its detriment, in oncoming years, and Hemispheres would prove to be perhaps his last unqualified success. Very highly recommended.

_ Review by Brian Olewnick

It would be nice to read this:

Commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival

Molissa Fenley and Company/ANTHONY DAVIS and EPISTEME

HEMISPHERES - An evening length dance work with live music

http://molissafenley.com/view_works.php?id=51

Note:

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ANTHONY DAVIS – Epistēmē (LP-1981 / Gramavision)

Label: Gramavision – GR-8101

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1981

Style: Free Jazz, Avant-garde Jazz, Modern

Recorded at Mixed at Vanguard Studios, 1981.

Album Design By – Neal Pozner

Engineer – John Kilgore

Producer – Jonathan F. P. Rose

I probably first heard Anthony Davis on Leo Smith's "Reflectativity" album on Kabell and shortly thereafter, in the waning days of the loft jazz era ('78-'79), caught him live around town a bunch., sometimes with Chico Freeman's band and one memorable occasion in duo with vibist Jay Hoggard (I think on the same NYU bill as the Jarman/Moye duo). iirc, it was on that date that Davis played several compositions of his, including his beautiful "A Walk through the Shadow", that he'd return to often over the next decade.

Still, "Episteme" came as a shock. I think it had to do somewhat with the sheer precision of the band, that overlay of a classical approach (via minimalism, Lou Harrison, etc.) that you rarely if ever heard among the jazz avant-garde...

_ By Brian Olewnick

A1 - Wayang No. II (Shadowdance) . . . 7:40

A2 - Wayang No. IV (Under The Double Moon) I - Opening – Dance . . . 8:04

A2 - Wayang No. IV (Under The Double Moon) II - Sustained Tones . . . 4:39

B1 - Wayang No. IV (Under The Double Moon) III . . . 16:23

        a) Variations

        b) Pulse

        c) Trombone Solo

        d) Flute Interlude

        e) Kecak (Repeated Clusters)

        f) Return

B2 - A Walk Through The Shadow . . . 5:03

Anthony Davis – piano, composed

Dwight Andrews – flute, piccolo flute, bass clarinet

Warren Smith – marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel,

                          timpani, bass drum, gong [Chinese], cymbal

Jay Hoggard – vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel

Shem Guibbory – violin

George Lewis – trombone

Abdul Wadud – cello

Rick Rozie – bass (track A1)

Pheeroan Aklaff – drums, gong, cymbal

Mark Helias – conductor

As a composer, Anthony Davis sensed the limitations of free jazz improvisation while coming up through the music's hotbed in the '70s. While seeing the benefits of wide open solo and ensemble playing, he also pushed for something akin to thoroughly composed music with improvisation as its lifeblood. Davis' ideas would eventually find full scope in his opera X (a chronicle of Malcolm X) and through various teaching stints, but maybe the purest setting for his compositional approach can be found in his Episteme ensemble. That's also the title of this 1981 album for Gramavision, which includes multiple sections of Davis' extended piece "Wayang" and the short piano meditation "A Walk Through the Shadow." The Episteme group features fellow travelers of the New York free jazz scene like bassist Mark Helias (who takes up conducting duties here), drummer Pheeroan Aklaff, cellist Abdul Wadud, percussionists Jay Hoggard and Warren Smith, and trombonist George Lewis, among others. The players ably wend their way through Davis' Balinese gamelan-inspired "Wayang," adding their own spin to the pianist's mix of fast and repetitive tempos, furtive horn arrangements, and dramatic atmospherics. Like the work of similarly disposed artists such as Henry Threadgill and Muhal Richard Abrams, Davis' pieces require effort to understand and appreciate. It's definitely knotty and cerebral stuff, but repeated exposure will bring its own rewards.

_ Review by Stephen Cook

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LEO SMITH – Divine Love (LP-1979)

Label: ECM Records – ECM 1143

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: W. Germany - Released: 1979

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Recorded at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, W. Germany in September 1978.

Artwork By [Design] - Peter Brotzmann

Composed By – Leo Smith

Engineer By – Martin Wieland

Photography [Back] – Dani Lienhard, Signe Mahler, Roberto Masotti

Photography [Front] – Roberto Masotti

Producer By – Manfred Eicher

A1 - Divine Love . . . 21:47

B1 - Tastalun . . . 6:38

        (Trumpet - Kenny Wheeler , Lester Bowie)

B2 - Spirituals: The Language Of Love . . . 15:28

        (Bass - Charlie Haden)

Leo Smith – trumpet, flugelhorn, steel-o-phone, gongs, percussion

Dwight Andrews – alto flute, bass clarinet , tenor saxophone, triangles, mbira

Bobby Naughton – vibraharp, marimba, bells

Charlie Haden – double-bass

Lester Bowie – trumpet

Kenny Wheeler – trumpet

Leo Smith refused the advances of the ECM label for a few years, but eventually created this album for them and continued to record with them sporadically. His working group of the time is largely featured, along with a piece for three trumpets that puts him in the company of both Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler. His scores from this time were very well-thought-out and demanded a special type of concentration from the performers, moving into areas quite different than the usual intensity build-up of free jazz or the theme-improvise-theme standards of much that came before. Whether his intentions are best served by the likes of Bowie and Wheeler -- both working in an area that might not be their forte -- was a decision that didn't seem to bother the production staff, and the results are at the very least a memorable meeting of three brass masters. The presence of vibraphonist Bobby Naughton was typical of this period, heralding a new layer of lyricism and romantic beauty in Smith's music, which one would think would be perfectly suited to the ECM treatment. That sympathetic connection was never quite made, however, as the producer was probably busy finding the ultimate reverb setting for Smith's horn. 

(by Eugene Chadbourne)

Bobby Naughton, Wadada Leo Smith, Dwight Andrews - Stuttgart, West Germany, September 1978 (Photo by Fridel Pluff)

"The music I have written since 1970 represents two types of systems that I have utilized in my music; the systems of rhythm - units and ahkreanvention. The rhythm unit concept is one that accepts a single sound or rhythm, a series of rhythm - sound, or a grouping of more than one series of sound rhythm as a complete piece of music and thus need not be so- called developed further to be appreciated as a whole fresh realized work or piece, IMPROVISATION. The correct understanding of each unit is: the value given to an audible unit is followed by the relative equivalence of silence. "Divine Love" and "Spirituals: The Language Of Love" are good representations of the rhythm unit concept.

Since 1971 I have been concerned with creating alternatives for a world music, one which utilizes the fundamental laws of improvisation and composition while retaining a uniqueness of its own. I began to design a notation system for scoring sound, rhythm and silence, or for scoring improvisation, a technique I term ahkreanvention. Ahkreanvention literally means to create and invent musical ideas simultaneously, utilizing the fundamental laws of improvisation and composition, Within this system, all of the elements of the scored music are controlled through symbols designating duration, improvisation, and moving sounds of different velocities. These symbols are depicted on two types of staffs sound staffs divided into low, medium and high, and sound staffs of adjustable sound partials. Since this system was designed, all of the music I have worked on has dealt with the philosophical and technical attitude upon which it is based. "Tastalun" is an ahkreanvention piece scored for three muted trumpets, and it represents my experimentation with this system of notation. In prior years I have been able to record solo ahkreanvention pieces, but this was the first time I have recorded an ensemble ahkreanvention piece. My purpose and mission as a creative musician is to bring about an understanding and appreciation for all the instruments found throughout the world and to advance the concept of equality of both the instruments and their creators in the world arena."

_ By LEO SMITH , 9.23.1978

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LEO SMITH – Spirit Catcher (LP-1979)

Label: Nessa Records – N-19

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: US - Released: 1979

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Recorded May 21, 1979 Van Gelder Studio.

Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder

Liner Notes – Robert Palmer

Producer, Photography By – Chuck Nessa

A  -  Images ...................................................................................................  19:15

B1 - The Burning Of Stones ............................................................................  9:47

B2 - Spirit Catcher ...........................................................................................  9:54

Leo Smith – trumpet, flugelhorn

Bobby Naughton – vibraphone [vibraharp] (tracks: A, B2)

Dwight Andrews – clarinet, tenor saxophone, flute [wooden flute] (tracks: A, B2)

Wes Brown – bass, flute [wooden flute] (tracks: A, B2)

Pheeroan AkLaff – drums (tracks: A, B2)

Carol Emanuel – harp (track: B1)

Irene Smith – harp (track: B1)

Ruth Emanuel – harp (track: B1)

"The dry and often esoteric trumpeter Leo Smith is featured with his quintet (consisting of Dwight Andrews on tenor, clarinet and flute, vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, bassist Wes Brown and drummer Pheeroan AkLaff) on the 19-minute "Images" and the colorful "Spirit Catcher." "The Burning of Stones" (dedicated to Anthony Braxton) has Smith's trumpet joined by three harpists for some unusual music. Throughout the LP the performances are unpredictable, and it's frequently difficult to know where the arrangement ends and the improvising begins. This is thought-provoking music that grows in interest with each listen."

_ By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Spirit Catcher finds Smith in a key period of his career. Having already played with kindred spirits in Anthony Braxton and in Derek Bailey’s Company, he was moving from solo improvisation to experimenting with radical new group compositions, underpinned by his own personal theories. Spirit Catcher came soon after the highly regarded Divine Love (ECM, 1979) where his muted trumpet was joined by those of Kenny Wheeler and Lester Bowie in an awesome threesome. On Spirit Catcher Smith creates contexts that are just as innovative as those on the ECM album.

The album opens with “Images,” a quintet piece which, as on the ECM album, is immediately given a cool, tranquillity by the inclusion in the rhythm section of Bobby Naughton’s vibes. Also retained from Divine Love is clarinetist Dwight Andrews; the two feed off each other and their lines interweave, complementing and enhancing one another. Throughout, the economy of Smith’s trumpet is worthy of comparison with Miles, foreshadowing his later Yo’ Miles group with Henry Kaiser.

More radical still takes of “The Burning of Stones,” on which the trumpet is accompanied by three harps. This setting takes Smith’s music way beyond the boundaries of “jazz.” Instead, this is almost a concerto for solo muted trumpet. But such distinctions become meaningless when the resulting music is this beautiful, this piece was not improvised but composed, the interactions between harps and trumpet being finely judged to display both to best effect. Dedicated to Braxton, it is Braxtonesque in its vision and its daring.

_ By JOHN EYLES (Dusted Reviews)

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