a r t i s t : Graham Collier
t i t l e : Hoarded Dreams
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Cuneiform Records
c a t : Rune 252
s o u r c e : Normal release
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : 2007-02-09
t r a c k s : 7
b i t r a t e : 202 kbps avg
s i z e : 105.9MB
_______________________________________________________________________
Graham Collier is one of the best known and most important British jazz
composers and over a 40 year career, his list of compositions and
commissions has grown to encompass ensembles around the world. He is
well-known as an author and educator, having written seven books on jazz.
Hoarded Dreams is a previously unreleased long-form composition heard here
in a powerful live performance from 1983 by an international all-star band
that includes Tomasz Stanko, Conny Bauer, Malcolm Griffiths, Eje Thelin, Ed
Speight, Roger Dean, Ted Curson, John Surman, Manfred Schoof, Kenny Wheeler,
Art Themen and many others. " I came across the phrase ôHoarded Dreamsö in a
book...it seemed an ideal title for this commission, [which] is the
realisation of the jazz composerÆs constant dream: to be able to hand-pick a
group of star musicians to perform a long composition written with
absolutely no outside restrictionsà . Overall the piece inhabits (as indeed
does most of my writing) that area between the purely written and the purely
improvised."-Graham Collier. The energy of the ensemble performing the piece
in front of a large and enthusiastic audience is very obvious on the
recording and there's some great soloing as well as ensemble passages.
"The instrumentation is that of the classic big jazz band, yet it is
deployed in a highly untraditional way.à 70 minutes of dazzling solos and
exchanges, what really could be described as musical fireworks." - The New
Statesman
"You couldnÆt tell where improvisation ended and writing took overà. The
whole conception was bold and the playing magnificent." - The Observer
CollierÆs sympathetic background motifs and great stabbing ensemble
chordsàgave the clear signal that this was something special in jazz
writing; something that was reflected in the inspiration which the piece
gave to the soloists." - The Wire
Called "A pioneer...a true British jazz original." by The Times, "An
inventive and underrated jazz figure" by Jazziz and "Britain's most original
jazz talent." by The Financial Times, Graham Collier is one of the best
known British jazz composers, and over a 40 year career, his list of
compositions and comissions has grown to encompass ensembles around the
world. He is well known as an aurthor and educator, having written seven
books on jazz. He was born in Tynemouth, England in 1937. He won a Downbeat
scholarship to Berkless School of Music, Boston, studying with Herb Pomeroy
and becoming its first British graduate in 1963. Returning to Britain, he
formed the first of many line-ups known as Graham Collier Music, which over
the years has featured almost every British jazz musician of note.
Workpoints consists of two previously unreleased concerts from 'a golden age
of British jazz': one from 1968 and one from 1975. The music is composed
with lots of room for contributions from the individual players, and in that
regard, might be comparable to the work of one of Graham's heroes, Charles
Mingus. The album features a huge number of well known jazz musicians, such
as: Harry Beckett, Mike Gibbs, Karl Jenkins, Frank Ricotti, Henry Lowther,
John Marshall, John Surman, Art Themen, Kenny Wheeler and others. Included
in the booklet are archival photos, notes and comments from Graham.
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Part 1 [ 2:53 ]
02-Part 2 [14:30 ]
03-Part 3 [11:24 ]
04-Part 4 [10:28 ]
05-Part 5 [14:35 ]
06-Part 6 [13:54 ]
07-Part 7 [ 2:32 ]
[ ]
--------
70:16 min