Artist.......: Crispell Workman James
Album........: Gaia
Label........: Leo Records
Genre........: Avantgarde
Catnr........: CD LR 152
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Jun-08-2006
str.date.....: 1994
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.marilyncrispell.com
track title time
01. track01 10:07
02. track02 08:46
03. track03 06:55
04. track04 05:08
05. track05 08:53
Runtime 39:49 min
Size 58,8 MB
Release Notes:
Gaia. According to Webster's: The earth personified
as a goddess mother; mother of Uranus, Mother
Earth.s
This trio date by pianist Marliyn Crispell (who
also plays harp here), bassist/percussionist Reggie
Workman, and drummer/percussionist Doug James can
only be heard as both an invocation to and a
celebration of that same goddess. One performance
recorded in Woodstock in 1987, spliced over five
tracks. The set begins slowly, whispering spare
ideas from Crispell which in turn are furthered
immediately by Workman. James joins in and the
cacophony begins in earnest. Crispell charges in
with a flurry of minor sevenths and eighths. For
James, the drums themselves don't fill the bill so
he resorts to bells, whistles, and everything else
he can get his hands on. This recording is split
into five selections, and yet the listener feels as
if it is one long work edited down for the CD. It
suffers for that as well. While it's true that all
of these musicians are among the highest caliber,
something is lost among them; it's as if they are
learning how to play together for the first time.
James is clearly lost through most of this; he
can't seem to take cues from Workman quickly
enough. Crispell pounds out her frustrations with
more extended chords than she has perhaps ever
played on record. When the tension gets to be too
great, somebody solos, or Workman breaks out his
bow to bring a dynamic closure to a dramatic
segment. In the last nine minutes of the piece,
James goes for a two-handed one-two-three-four; he
does this repeatedly as if to find his way.
Crispell responds in the only way she can, with
more chords and a flurry of energy that does what
it can to bridge the huge gaps between the players
here. Unfortunately, it's not enough. Gaia is too
fragmented to be marketed as a single work, its
editing is sloppy and incoherent, and the
improvising here ù by a trio that would later stun
live audiences with its empathy and near telepathic
communication is too stilted and rudimentary. As
painful as it may be to view Gaia in this manner,
the recording is for fans only and not a suitable
introduction to any member of this trio.