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...
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!
