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AUM 115CD
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"Following the release of the Migration of Silence Intoand Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1-10 10CD Box and his first book-length biography, Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker presents a pair of brand-new studio trio albums which bountifully expound on his vision. One of the most iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. Mayan Space Station is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Ava Mendoza -- electric guitar, William Parker -- bass, and Gerald Cleaver -- drums. Cosmic multi-hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest. William Parker first worked with Ava Mendoza on a project entitled Thunder and Flowers for his July 2019 residency at The Stone in NYC. Her prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is abundantly clear here, she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit contours within the most open of forms. Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the nonpareil full-improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn. William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass -- in both pizzicato & bow-as-prism modes. Regarding the album title, Parker offers: 'Mayan Space Station is a conduit for peace and inspiration. It is an oasis where sound and silence navigators stop for sustenance to replenish their imaginations. It is a reality that important to the myth structure of the Tone World chronicle. In a way, musicians, and definitely these particular musicians, belong to the blood line of sonic travelers who, as Sun Ra described it, 'travel the space ways.' Re-inventing the process, allowing music to flow through their instruments.'"
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AUM 115LP
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2022 repress; LP version. Includes download code. "Following the release of the Migration of Silence Intoand Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1-10 10CD Box and his first book-length biography, Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker presents a pair of brand-new studio trio albums which bountifully expound on his vision. One of the most iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. Mayan Space Station is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Ava Mendoza -- electric guitar, William Parker -- bass, and Gerald Cleaver -- drums. Cosmic multi-hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest. William Parker first worked with Ava Mendoza on a project entitled Thunder and Flowers for his July 2019 residency at The Stone in NYC. Her prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is abundantly clear here, she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit contours within the most open of forms. Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the nonpareil full-improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn. William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass -- in both pizzicato & bow-as-prism modes. Regarding the album title, Parker offers: 'Mayan Space Station is a conduit for peace and inspiration. It is an oasis where sound and silence navigators stop for sustenance to replenish their imaginations. It is a reality that important to the myth structure of the Tone World chronicle. In a way, musicians, and definitely these particular musicians, belong to the blood line of sonic travelers who, as Sun Ra described it, 'travel the space ways.' Re-inventing the process, allowing music to flow through their instruments.'"
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AUM 116CD
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"Following the release of the Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1-10 10CD Box and his first book-length biography, Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker presents a pair of brand new studio trio albums which bountifully expound on his vision. One of the most iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. Painters Winter features the trio of Daniel Carter -- reeds, trumpet, flute; William Parker -- bass, trombonium, shakuhachi; Hamid Drake -- drums. Carter & Parker have been perpetual space-ways traveling companions since first meeting & immediately beginning to channel music together in early 1970s NYC. Their work together in Other Dimensions In Music with Roy Campbell & Rashid Bakr for well over two decades manifest in bountiful music for the ages. They have recently been featured together in similar majestic open form on the album, Seraphic Light. Here, Carter again brings the full assembly of instruments he has for decades been a master of: trumpet, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet and flute. Likewise, Hamid Drake is a musician's musician; one of the most in-demand drummers in the world. He is in command of a vast lexicon of drum languages, learned and absorbed directly. His frequent flyer miles could get him a ticket to Saturn and back. Drake & Parker launched their devoted 'two-man big band' partnership in 2000 and haven't stopped since. In trio with Daniel Carter, they've created one previous album together, Painters Spring, released that same year. Drake has made mention of his awe that William could pick up any new instrument and make beautiful music with it from jump. The title track of Painters Winter features Parker on trombonium, one of those many instruments that he plays beautifully on. The track 'Painted Scarf' features Parker on shakuhachi, upon which he has clearly become a master. Regarding this album's title, Parker elucidates, 'It speaks to those who paint with sound, in different landscapes, to celebrate the coming of the seasons: winter spring summer and autumn. Acknowledging the entire universe of world jazz music. Discovering the undiscovered.' And from his liner notes, 'The music on this album is a tribute to the flow of rhythm as melody and pulsation. Laced with the joy and the bounce, the dance and the heartbeat. Giving a nod to all the music that has ever passed through us.'"
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AUM 116LP
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Limited repress; LP version. Includes download card. "Following the release of the Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1-10 10CD Box and his first book-length biography, Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker presents a pair of brand new studio trio albums which bountifully expound on his vision. One of the most iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. Painters Winter features the trio of Daniel Carter -- reeds, trumpet, flute; William Parker -- bass, trombonium, shakuhachi; Hamid Drake -- drums. Carter & Parker have been perpetual space-ways traveling companions since first meeting & immediately beginning to channel music together in early 1970s NYC. Their work together in Other Dimensions In Music with Roy Campbell & Rashid Bakr for well over two decades manifest in bountiful music for the ages. They have recently been featured together in similar majestic open form on the album, Seraphic Light. Here, Carter again brings the full assembly of instruments he has for decades been a master of: trumpet, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet and flute. Likewise, Hamid Drake is a musician's musician; one of the most in-demand drummers in the world. He is in command of a vast lexicon of drum languages, learned and absorbed directly. His frequent flyer miles could get him a ticket to Saturn and back. Drake & Parker launched their devoted 'two-man big band' partnership in 2000 and haven't stopped since. In trio with Daniel Carter, they've created one previous album together, Painters Spring, released that same year. Drake has made mention of his awe that William could pick up any new instrument and make beautiful music with it from jump. The title track of Painters Winter features Parker on trombonium, one of those many instruments that he plays beautifully on. The track 'Painted Scarf' features Parker on shakuhachi, upon which he has clearly become a master. Regarding this album's title, Parker elucidates, 'It speaks to those who paint with sound, in different landscapes, to celebrate the coming of the seasons: winter spring summer and autumn. Acknowledging the entire universe of world jazz music. Discovering the undiscovered.' And from his liner notes, 'The music on this album is a tribute to the flow of rhythm as melody and pulsation. Laced with the joy and the bounce, the dance and the heartbeat. Giving a nod to all the music that has ever passed through us.'"
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AUM 113CD
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"The David S. Ware Archive Series was launched in November 2015, and AUM Fidelity has marked the anniversary of his birth -- November 7, 1949 -- with a vital new edition therein every year since. David S. Ware was a master saxophonist of the highest order, and an unparalleled sonic alchemist of the modern jazz era. As his distinctly potent sound & vision was an integral inspiration toward the creation/devotion of AUM Fidelity, that mission continues strong with the DSW-ARC series. Théâtre Garonne, 2008 presents a luminous concert from a transitional period in David S. Ware's ever-creative life. His 17-year-longstanding Quartet with Matthew Shipp & William Parker, which had achieved a naturally ascendant worldwide acclaim, performed their final concerts on a triumphal European tour in March 2007. Knowing that this end was coming, David had already begun writing new compositions and conceptualizing what would become his new quartet. The first iteration of this group -- foundationally with guitarist Joe Morris -- debuted at New York's Iridium jazz club in mid-July. The group was made whole with Ware's stalwart musical companion William Parker back on bass and fellow master musician Warren Smith on drums."
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AUM 112CD
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"Eri Yamamoto transcends jazz, classical and folk forms to create a stunning new suite for jazz trio & 50-member choir. Eri Yamamoto transcended jazz, classical and folk forms in creating her new work : for jazz trio & 50-member choir. She has seamlessly melded biography, group improvisation and far-ranging compositional vocabularies in a momentous seven-part suite, featuring her longstanding trio in collaboration with New York-based Choral Chameleon, directed by its award-winning founder, Vince Peterson. The suite is based off of the 'Goshu Ondo,' a traditional circle dance song from Shiga, Japan, where it was sung during the summer Bon festival to warmly welcome ancestral spirits. The suite commences with the folk song's melodic kernel from which the rest blooms. Choral Chameleon's heterophony, polyphony and unison singing interweave with Yamamoto's trio, often with gorgeous open vowels evocative of natural scenes in works ranging from Claude Debussy through Charles Ives to Duke Ellington. All is bolstered by gentle trio improvisation, Ambrosio and Takeuchi propelling the band forward and ultimately building to a life-affirming choral unison. As the final movement's ecstatic and celebratory rhythms surge, crest and dissipate and the various musical threads converge, a sense of transcultural journey is palpable, of many and disparate experiences existing in luminous multi-communal nexus. The coda composition performed by the trio, 'Echo of Echo', provides a final moment of reflection, mirroring the suite's ultimate descent toward silence; demonstrating, again, that the part is in the whole, which far exceeds the sum of its components."
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AUM 108-09CD
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"A tremendous pair of brand new studio albums created by drummer-leader Whit Dickey together w/ two distinct yet interrelated Quartets. All involved here have long been deep seekers of truth through sound, and between them is a luminous web of deeply affecting work, which now spans decades. This Yin & Yang pair presents their very latest work together. Peace Planet features Matthew Shipp-piano, Rob Brown-alto sax, William Parker-bass. Box of Light features Rob Brown-alto sax, Steve Swell-trombone, Michael Bisio-bass. Having left an indelible mark via classic albums under the leadership of David S. Ware and Matthew Shipp, the projects which drummer Whit Dickey led & produced in the ensuing years regularly brought out the best from all involved. That is most definitely the case here. A united pair of albums created this past Winter, the two works represent the Yin and the Yang respectively. Dickey chose Tao Quartets as the name of the groups for this work as the Tao wholly incorporates an understanding of Yin Yang, and that same understanding is here to be heard. Representing the Yin is Peace Planet: a fluid, supple and dynamic flow of instantly composed wonder; each of the pieces presents as a mini-suite, with astonishing cohesiveness. Gentle lyricism and rhythmic/melodic invention abound. Also of note here is 'Suite for DSW' -- a paean to Dickey/Shipp/Parker's former bandleader, David S. Ware, whose profound and enduring inspiration is deeply felt by all. Box of Light brings the Yang herein, with fiery energy and crackling interplay to the fore. The inspiration of Dickey's early studies with Milford Graves are clear here, as is the precedent set by such as the New York Art Quartet (feat. Graves/Tchicai/Rudd). It is likewise clear that the idea of total sensitivity, to each and from each musician toward the evolution of the music, is also to the fore. After an extended period of realignment with his central creative essence, it was AUM's great pleasure to present the re-emergence of Whit Dickey as a leader in 2017 with the exquisitely rendered Vessel in Orbit, a trio work featuring Shipp and violist Mat Maneri. Thankfully, as can be heard on these brand new recordings (and yet more to come), that album was just the beginning of his creative re-birth."
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2CD
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AUM 110-11CD
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"Live/Shapeshifter is the exemplary new double-album from one of master bassist-composer-improviser William Parker's eternal flagship groups, recorded live & presenting all-new compositions, including the extended suite 'Eternal Is The Voice Of Love', along with a new iteration of the band's theme. Featuring pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and (since 2012) drummer Hamid Drake, In Order To Survive is one of the great jazz groups of the past quarter century. Launched in 1993, In Order To Survive was Parker's first fully dedicated small group. It has always featured Cooper-Moore & Rob Brown, together with a series of drummers (including Denis Charles, and then Susie Ibarra) and occasional additional brass/reeds. A top live draw in New York during the heights of that heady decade, they made momentous visits to Europe as well. This initial phase culminated on record with their first double-live set, The Peach Orchard, an era-defining work released by AUM Fidelity in 1998. The dawn of the new century saw the launch of a new William Parker Quartet, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, Brown, and trumpeter Lewis Barnes. The impeccable albums O'Neal's Porch, Sound Unity, Corn Meal Dance and Petit Oiseau were all created during that first decade. In Order To Survive first reconvened at the 2012 Vision Festival on occasion of AUM Fidelity's 15th Anniversary celebrations. That set of new work was released as part of the Wood Flute Songs box set, hailed as a 5-Star Masterpiece by DownBeat, and as the #1 Archival Release of the Year by The Wire. In October 2016, IOTS entered the studio for the first time since the Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy session of 1995. This work was presented as half of the exquisite double-album, Meditation/Resurrection, released in July 2017. Two nights were booked at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn to celebrate its release. 'A mid-summer guided self-illumination' was promised on the handbill for these concerts. Live/Shapeshifter presents both sets of night two. Beyond expressing the obvious, the album title states the shamanistic nature of the work at hand."
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AUM 107CD
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2019 repress... "The Balance is the fourth edition in the DSW-ARC Series; it presents an outstanding and incendiary David S. Ware concert, in trio with William Parker and Warren Smith. A tenor sax / bass / drums excursion of full intensity from the first note, this suite of spontaneous form was created at NYC's Vision Festival in 2010. Ware had been a perennial at this vital annual gathering since its beginning; this was his first time back since his revered Quartet bid farewell there in 2006, and it was a wholly exhilarating return. This DSW Trio convened only three times over their 10 month existence: the Dec. 2009 studio session for Onecept, this June concert, and the Oct. 2010 album release celebration at the Blue Note in NYC [documented on Live In New York, 2010]. Also included here are four exceptional out-takes from the Onecept session -- all of which had been completed and considered for inclusion at that time. This new release, together with the aforementioned, present the total work which this group created. Each of their three communions has its own flavor: Onecept deals exquisitely with space and purposefully featured David on three different horns (tenor, stritch, saxello), with Warren Smith on tympanis/percussion in addition to drum set. The night at the Blue Note features the most extensive documentation of Ware on alto sax in existence (a straight version; the stritch), with the Mid & Far-Eastern tones he brought forth on the instrument blossoming beautifully over the course of two sets in an intimate setting. This festival stage concert is premier 21st Century free jazz rendered with the virtuosity and lucidity that only Ware (with his esteemed peers) could provide. A profound and utterly complete treat. Packaged in a limited edition deluxe 6-panel digipak, with liner notes by Ware's long-time producer, photographs from the concert, and the vivid witness painting on the cover, which was made during this performance."
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AUM 102-03CD
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"Live in New York, 2010 presents a tremendous one-night engagement by saxophone colossus David S. Ware and his latter day Trio in an intimate club setting -- the Blue Note on October 4, 2010. Featuring his perennially steadfast musical partner William Parker on bass, and equally incomparable Warren Smith on drums, they were celebrating the recent release of the studio album, Onecept (2010). Having played an electrifying set at Vision Festival in June, this extended night in October was the third and final magnificent time on which this trio convened. Appearances at jazz clubs in New York were rare for Ware. The two hour+ sets, with repast in-between, allowed him and group to inhabit the space; afforded more time to stretch out and breathe with the music. As Ware was exclusively dealing with spontaneous forms during this period in his creative life, the six extended suites here were newly created on that night. None of these fantastic multi-track recordings have been previously released. The other highly distinctive aspect of this performance was Ware's use of his Beuscher straight alto saxophone, or stritch, which features on four of the six pieces. While pieces featuring this instrument appear on three albums recorded & released in the last years before his passing, this recording is by a great measure the most extensive documentation that exists of David S. Ware on alto! Further to his absolute command & control, he brought forth Middle & Far Eastern sonorities on the instrument, which served his modus operandi of music as a transcendental experience very well indeed. The final pieces of each set here feature him on his trademark tenor sax, upon which he earned -- and then some -- his status as a saxophone colossus. Packaged in deluxe 8-panel digipak, with liner notes by Ware's longtime producer Steven Joerg, and appropriately vivid imagery."
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AUM 104-05CD
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2023 repress. "Meditation / Resurrection is a double-album presenting a bounty of beautiful new William Parker compositions performed by two of his flagship ensembles, the Quartet -&- In Order To Survive. It was recorded & mixed live during a one-day studio session in late 2016. With the tone of the pieces & performances reflecting our current moment, this is Parker & the groups' follow-up to 2013's epic Wood Flute Songs box (2013). At the core of both groups is Parker's foundational bass together with rhythm twin, drummer Hamid Drake. Their partnership -- two decades deep now -- is one of the greatest in the history of drums & bass. Alto saxophonist Rob Brown -- a supremely gifted improviser, as is every musician here -- is likewise present throughout. Pianist Cooper-Moore features on album/CD2. He has been a very significant catalyst in the world of creative music for over 40 years. As William writes in the notes, 'Cooper-Moore is one of the special people who speaks and plays from the heart all the time with power and grace. If my music has had any success in last 20 years it is because he has been a major inspiration and contributor.' Cooper-Moore will be the Lifetime Achievement Honoree at the 2017 edition of the Vision Festival, NYC. Trumpeter Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson appears on album/CD1. Hailing from Oklahoma City, and a resident of Switzerland since 1994, he is a major figure in his own right as a composer of modern classical and world music, and is well-versed in the language of blues, jazz and improvisation. From the liner notes, 'Jalalu is always able to transform any music situation into a magical experience.' William Parker's exceptional gift as a composer of beautiful melodies and infectious rhythms have long been intrinsic to his art, and it has always been on full display in the work of the quartets featured here. Being that these groups are among the highest caliber jazz bands of our time, Parker's luminous compositions are brought to blossom into vibrant kaleidoscopes of sound. Packaged in deluxe 8-panel digipak with extensive notes by William Parker on the music and more."
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AUM 101CD
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"Vessel In Orbit presents the first new group music in over a decade from singular drummer-composer Whit Dickey. It is a richly melodic and deeply focused set; structural integrity and emotional resonance are paramount throughout. Created together with the impeccable improvisers Mat Maneri on viola and pianist Matthew Shipp. Each of these men has a lifetime commitment to creative music, and they share a musical relationship with one another that dates back decades. Wide-open listening and fluid expression abound here."
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AUM 100CD
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"Live in Sant'Anna Arresi, 2004 is the 2nd volume in AUM Fidelity's David S. Ware Archive Series, and the first release of the saxophone master in rare duo performance with fellow master of music, pianist Matthew Shipp. Though sharing 17 years together in the legendary David S. Ware Quartet (along with bassist William Parker and a series of drummers), Shipp recalls that he and Ware performed duo concerts perhaps six times at most in that period. Thankfully, on this latter-day occasion, their work together in this form was professionally recorded. This concert is one continuous long-form improvisation; it spans an incredibly wide range of approaches and dynamics. The ecstatic deep listening experience of free jazz performed at a highest level avails itself here in full. Their delightfully pithy 'trading fours' encore to the concert is also included. Obviously the very deep levels of communion which were developed within the context of Ware's Quartet inform this work. In equal evidence is each of them embracing the leaderless duo context, challenging and expanding their mutual language throughout."
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AUM 099CD
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"Pianist-composer Eri Yamamoto returns with a bountiful new collection of her singular all-original music, performed with her perennial trio partners of deep empathy, bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi. As the album title suggests, the material moves through a far range of emotional evocation, from ebullient to thoughtfully introspective, reflecting the absolute vibrancy of her long-time adopted home, New York City, and the importance of finding space within the perpetual motion of the city for moments of reflection and meditation."
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AUM 096-97CD
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2023 repress. "Birth Of A Being (Expanded) presents the essential first studio recordings by incomparable jazz saxophonist David S. Ware as a bandleader. Recorded in New York, April 1977, the first disc features material originally released on LP by the Swiss label, hat Hut Records -- out of print for over 30 years. The second disc features a full additional album of top-shelf material from those same sessions that have never been released in any form. This definitive edition was sourced from the original analog 8-track tapes, and was newly mixed & mastered in 2015. Crucial material. Stunning performances & fidelity. Ware's band here, featuring Cooper-Moore on piano and Marc Edwards on drums, was known as Apogee. This long-standing & incessantly active collective trio formed in Boston (Ware attended college there) in 1970, relocating to NYC in the early 70s to create their own space within the jazz loft scene of the time. In 1973 they were invited by Sonny Rollins to open for him at the Village Vanguard. Not long after arriving in NYC, Ware began performing extensively with Andrew Cyrille's group Maono, and, together with Marc Edwards, joined the Cecil Taylor Unit. In 1977, at Ware's request, Apogee reconvened to document their essence in a proper studio setting. Birth Of A Being could not be a more perfect title for these recordings, as it was here that David S. Ware's concepts for jazz ensemble were first elucidated; concepts that would further blossom within the legendary David S. Ware Quartet which he launched a decade after the initial release of this work. Birth features Ware's compositions & the mesh of Apogee's deep foundation of collective synergy with his vision at time of recording. Exceptional clarity, control, and utter logic in elocution; with intent to get to the breathing heart of music itself. The tenderness and intensity of feeling on full display in all of his work here is humbling. This 2CD set is the fitting first in a planned series of David S. Ware archival releases on AUM Fidelity; its release date coincides with the 66th anniversary of his birth (November 7). First edition packaged in deluxe 8-panel digipak."
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AUM 098CD
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"Great Spirit again makes abundantly clear William Parker's multi-faceted talents as bassist, composer, poet, bandleader and =songwriter=. Raining On The Moon is the extraordinary group which seamlessly fuses all of these prodigious gifts: his long-standing Quartet with Hamid Drake, Rob Brown, Lewis Barnes is here exquisitely augmented by singer Leena Conquest breathing further compassion & dignity into William's lyrics, and pianist Eri Yamamoto for expert chordal support. Going back a few years, Corn Meal Dance (AUM043) is one of the most beautiful, potent, luminous, and true albums of all-original song ever made. The indelible melodies and rhythms; the words, unyielding and uplifting in equal measure; the performances by all six musicians; the recording quality itself. All are strictly top shelf. The January 2007 studio session which yielded that album was extraordinarily productive, and Great Spirit finally presents the entire balance of material recorded on that wonderful day."
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AUM 095CD
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"Le bébé de Brigitte (Lost in Translation) is alto saxophonist-composer Darius Jones' new album work, and the 5th installment in his expansive Man'ish Boy epic. The highly acclaimed series began in 2009 with Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), and shall eventually comprise nine albums. This release arrives soundly at the mid-way point with aplomb, and is performed by the Darius Jones Quartet featuring vocalist Emilie Lesbros. As ever with Jones' work, the compositional palette ranges widely here. From the new blues swagger of 'Universal Translator' to the equally universal sense of great loss evoked in 'I Can't Keep From Weeping' (as aching a ballad as Jones has yet written/recorded); from the infectiously swinging & (finally) unhinged cabaret dialogue that is 'Chanteuse in Blue' to perhaps the deepest essence of the album (and platforms of intent) which are 'Two Worlds, One Soul' & 'Beneath The Skin', a pair of extended works which evolve with the utmost in careful consideration to timing and gesture by all involved. French singer-lyricist Emilie Lesbros' own composition, 'Quand Vient la Nuit' (arr. by Darius Jones) closes and lyrically encapsulates the album: espousing no fear, in life, in art."
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3CD BOX
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AUM 092-94CD
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"An astonishing 3CD box set of new and previously unissued long-form works from world-renowned composer-bassist William Parker. This box set is comprised of four distinctly compelling long-form works -- Parker's first composition written for symphony orchestra performance; a commissioned piece for a standing new music ensemble; a 'chamber-jazz' song series for voice / soprano sax / piano / bass; a composition created specifically for a particularly diverse Parker assemblage in Universal Tonality mode. The four works are linked by a focus on and greater adherence to William Parker's written compositions; the depth and breadth of the resultant performances is astonishing. Musicians featured herein include William Parker (bass, doson'ngoni); Hamid Drake (drums); Cooper-Moore (piano); Rob Brown (alto sax); Charles Gayle (tenor & soprano sax); Mike Reed (drums); Leena Conquest (voice); Mola Sylla (voice); Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay (voice); Klaas Hekman (bass sax); NFM Symphony Orchestra + Choir (Wroclaw, Poland); Kitchen House Blend band. Deluxe box set is published in a limited first edition of 1500 copies. Each of the CD sleeves (and the box cover) feature commissioned paintings by gifted young artist Douglas Arnold. The accompanying 24pg. booklet contains extensive notes by Philip Clark (The Wire, et al.), William Parker's lyrics, and further key visual artwork."
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AUM 045CD
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2015 repress. Edition of 500. "Roy Campbell is a jazz trumpeter and composer of the first order, one who encompasses the tradition even as he pushes the music forward. A founding member of the luminous collective Other Dimensions In Music, as well as Marc Ribot's recent Spiritual Unity project, his last album as a nominal leader, 2001's Ethnic Stew and Brew (w/ William Parker and Hamid Drake) topped countless year-end top 10 lists. The well-traveled trumpeter has long been a sonic frontiersman, embracing the universality of a sound continuum in which the Harlem-bound A Train and the majestic River Nile are moonlit reflections of each other. Here, Campbell turns his hand to an extended work inspired by Amenhotep IV, Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Akhenaten Suite, specially commissioned for and recorded live at the 2007 Vision Festival, is a splendid passage to a fabled dimension. It's realized by musicians -- including Billy Bang on violin -- who have an intimate affiliation with Campbell's vibrant brass stylings and wonderfully open, expansive compositions. In the writing/otherworld manifestation tradition of Ellington's Far-East Suite, Miles' and Gil Evans' Sketches of Spain and Sun Ra's Heliocentric Worlds."
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AUM 091CD
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"The Oversoul Manual is the fourth installment / revelation in Darius Jones' central, highly acclaimed, and on-going Man'ish Boy epic. It further reveals and indeed fully features the great talents of Jones as composer & arranger, with daring originality, conceptual richness and deep emotive power to the fore -- as ever in his profound body of work. An a cappella presentation comprised of 15 pieces performed by his vocal quartet, The Elizabeth-Caroline Unit, it utilizes a heretofore unheard (by Earthlings) sacred language used in the alien birthing ritual of a new being. The Oversoul Manual is both an elemental part of Jones' M.B. mythology and a fully illuminated expression of his profound love for the human voice, which remains at the foundation of Darius' creative life. The voice was his first instrument; it was his gateway into music. He grew up singing hymns and duets with his sister as a young boy, later becoming gospel choir director at his church in Virginia as a young man. Darius' intent with this work was to manifest an experience of great purity, communicative potency, and cleansing joy. And once again, he has succeeded magnificently."
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2CD
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AUM 089-90CD
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"Farmers By Nature is the phenomenal trio of drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker, and pianist Craig Taborn. Each are internationally renowned master musicians-improvisers-composers-bandleaders. When they work together as FBN, it is as a complete musical collective; every communion is an auspicious and deeply rewarding event. They are without question one of the finest improvising units/musical groups in the world today. Love and Ghosts is their long-awaited third release - following on 2011's Out of This World's Distortions (AUM067) - and was recorded during their inaugural tour of Europe (in Marseille and Besançon, France). The rapidly varying landscapes they traveled through, and more importantly, the blessed ability to freely cross borders as citizen musicians inform the two extraordinarily fertile nights of sound fluency and invention captured in highest fidelity and presented here."
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AUM 088CD
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"The intergenerational partnership of alto saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Matthew Shipp seamlessly meshes the talents of two of the most restlessly inventive and gifted instrumentalists-composers-improvisers-leaders working today. This singular duo project was first revealed in 2011 on their 13-part song cycle Cosmic Lieder (AUM066) which was widely hailed as a wholly original and deeply compelling work of great emotional and intellectual heft. Since that first communion studio recording, Jones & Shipp have continued to deepen their distinct song world live in performance. The Darkseid Recital is their new album of cosmic lieder, triple-distilled from recordings of astonishing NYC engagements; their second unimpeachably potent work, devoid of cliché. The songs' approaches here move from entrancingly lyrical & gentle ear blessings to liquid flows of notes designed for caress to a full-frequency of human hearing range intensity that can potentially be quite frightening. All of them are rendered with exquisite muscle-control touch & breath on acoustic instruments and a laser focus intent toward catharsis, resulting in an album that is suffused with both warm embrace and mutual cognizance of the dark energy that humanity is fraught with. "
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AUM 079CD
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"The deeply lyrical and prolific pianist/composer Eri Yamamoto returns quickly to record with Firefly, a brand new collection of wholly original and indelible songs, this time performed live in intimate concert, with her decade-long devoted trio of bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi. Following so directly on their previous acclaimed and rife with riches album, The Next Page (itself following In Each Day, Something Good and Redwods), Yamamoto's consistently luminous writing, and the trio's telepathic performances thereof, is astonishing. The heft of emotional weight and remarkably honed craft once again on full display here is made all the more remarkable for their ability to make it sound so effortless. This is Yamamoto's first-ever live album, recorded in December 2012 at the piano showroom Klavierhaus in NYC by renowned jazz photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz. Communion with the audience suffuses the performances, and the band stretches out accordingly. Eri's improvisations dive into and float atop the essence of her melodies and the rhythm of a larger collective heartbeat."
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AUM 077CD
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"The singularly gifted drummer/composer Mike Pride is prolifically active as a leader/accompanist in a wide variety of groups and genres: metal, noise, avant-garde rock, free music, and modern jazz. Pride's deeply inspired and utterly focused modern jazz work with his From Bacteria to Boys quartet is distinct on the current scene, incorporating his love of jazz, rock, modern classical and R&B as a non-hierarchical whole. Birthing Days is a magnificent display of both his far-ranging compositional prowess and the rich talents of this remarkable group. The great and gifted pianist Alexis Marcelo and bassist Peter Bitenc remain dedicated members, whose deep thought and commitment to finding the core tone and emotional approach to each composition anchor the band, while allowing utmost flexibility for the music to follow new avenues with each performance. In early 2012, saxophone phenom Jon Irabagon joined, breathing new life into the group's sound with his virtuosic command and harmonic flexibility. The sonic template of the quartet is expanded on three tracks here with the addition of bass clarinetist Jason Stein and saxophonist Jonathan Moritz. All of these musicians are startling and beautiful new voices in modern jazz."
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AUM 078CD
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"The 33 minute maximum intensity transformative epic Drummer's Corpse was recorded within the same month as the diametrically opposed (in concept, content and title) Birthday Days, and no pair of records better represent his multifarious artistic nature. Their simultaneous release is a major artistic statement from Mike Pride. Drummer's Corpse was originally conceived and written in 2005, following a devastating apartment fire which consumed nearly all of Pride's possessions, recordings, and compositions. Finally realized/recorded in late 2012, it features an inter-generational seven-strong gathering of some of the finest currently active drummer/composers, organ drone, waves of electric guitar, and vocal performance art by Pride and two additional members of this stunning assembly. It is a scream against violence and war. A scream against greed and envy. A howl of strength, power, and self-reliance."
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