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:

THIS MONTH – ALBUMS THAT YOU REQUEST !!!

If you find it, buy this album!

ANTHONY DAVIS – Variations In Dream-Time (LP-1982)

Label: India Navigation – IN 1056

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1982

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at India Navigation Company, Nyack, NY., 1982.

Cover Art by – Barney Zeitz

Album Design by – Koji Morioka

Liner photo by – Daryl Bradley

Composed By – Anthony Davis

Produced by – Bob Cummins

A - Variations In Dream-Time ...................................................... 24:30

B - Enemy Of Light ....................................................................... 22:01

      1  Drones And Clones

      2  Enemy Of Light (Romantic Interlude)

      3  Fugitive Of Time (Reprieve)

Anthony Davis – piano

J.D. Parran – clarinet, bass clarinet, flute

George Lewis – trombone

Abdul Wadud – cello

Rick Rozie – bass

Pheeroan AkLaff – drums, percussion

Perfection in composition, textural work, timbres, interplay... What more can I say? This is a masterpiece of modern jazz!

 Anthony Davis / George Lewis

Though it received far less public notice upon its release, Variations in Dreamtime is in many respects a companion album to Anthony Davis' highly regarded Episteme and, in fact, is just as superb. The two lengthy pieces on this recording encapsulate many of his exciting compositional ideas from the early '80s: highly complex, contrapuntal melodic lines; propulsive rhythms in unusual and often overlapping time signatures, a number of which derived from Balinese music; and inspired improvisation from a first-class ensemble, here including the great trombonist George Lewis and the underappreciated clarinet master J.D. Parran. The compositions percolate, roil, and swing, branching out into unexpected territories but always feeling of a piece. There is a near Romantic sense of melodic exploration and, indeed, several themes that Davis would often return to in the next decade are heard here, especially the heartbreakingly lovely melody which became known as "A Walk in the Valley." This record captures Davis on the enticing cusp between avant-garde jazz and the increasingly "classical" direction his music would take in ensuing years.

Difficult to find, Variations in Dream-Time represents Anthony Davis at the pinnacle of his powers and is very highly recommended.

Review by Brian Olewnick

Reading Davis' liner notes - here for reference's sake - shows just how much thought he's put into what could easily feel like collections of random bits of improvisation. Knowing the underlying structure of the pieces adds a lot to the listening experience.

Notably, the way that Davis plays with rhythm during sections of the first track, casting a constant 5/4 piano motif against parts written in 7/4 and 15/4 to remarkable effect.

A telling piece of the write up for "Variations in Dream-Time": 'I think part of the composer's function is not only to create a roadway for the improvisor, but also to construct roadblocks that force the performer to listen and create.' In keeping with that, the improvised parts of the piece are even less linear than you'd expect from avant-garde jazz and the piece is all the better for it.

There aren't as many roadblocks in "The Enemy of Light," but its themes are so invigorating and complex that its more rigid structure isn't a strike against it.

George Lewis' trombone playing seems to be the focal point far more often than either Davis' piano or J.D. Parran's clarinet, though Davis does a good job of letting all of his players have their moments.

Of course it could just be that Lewis' playing is so forceful that he commands attention in a way that Parran doesn't.

Cello/bass duets are my weakness, one that's far too infrequently exploited to really cause much inflation on the whole but one that Davis milks just enough here to put him even further into my favor.

The end of "The Enemy of Light" is absolutely perfect. The rigid rhythm of the bass meshing with the wild improvisations of every other instrument in the sextet until thing coalesce back into the call and response theme between the clarinet and trombone. It's gloriously foreboding.

Enjoy! 

If you find it, buy this album!

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

If you find it, buy this album!