a r t i s t : William Parker feat. Charles Gayle
t i t l e : Requiem
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Splasch
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Oct/2007
t r a c k s : 11
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 65,9 MB
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Charles Gayle: alto saxophone
Henry Grimes: bass
William Parker: bass
Alan Silva: bass
Sirone: bass
all tracks written by William Parker
When William Parker convened his Bass Quartet to close out the
Ninth Vision Festival in 2004, the environment was a giddy
one. Henry Grimes was back to playing regularly, Alan Silva
was in town and a few days earlier, the Revolutionary Ensemble
had reformed and SironeÆs playing was dynamic. The groupÆs
significance stemmed from the stylistic lineage evident from
Grimes to Silva to Sirone to Parker and the addition of guest
saxophonist Charles Gayle added a wrinkle, an uncommon
hierarchy with a horn playing over four bassists. This
reviewerÆs notes from the concert indicate not much listening
onstage and an impression of the four basses as one thick
instrument matched against GayleÆs alto. But unusually for
this kind of improvised scenario, the recording is more
satisfying than the performance. In the comfort of home, with
that all-important good stereo (and excellent recording
quality), more of the subtleties come through. Gayle,
originally the odd man out, makes absolutely vital
contributions, providing refreshing spikes and edgy contrasts
to the bubbling underneath. Perhaps some direction or shorter,
distinct pieces would have worked better but that was not the
objective. This was a memorial to the late bassists Wilber
Morris and Peter Kowald (and others mentioned in remarks
after). Given where those two fit on the bass tree that is
Requiem, anything more disciplined would have been not the
point.
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01-four strings inside a tree [07:09]
02-when all is sad [04:59]
03-for wilber morris [04:48]
04-the little smile [04:17]
05-sky came [04:43]
06-heaven [04:16]
07-blues in the hour glass [08:11]
08-shores of kansas [02:52]
09-spirits inside the bright hourse [09:08]
10-bermuda - atlanta - philadelphia - bronx [11:35]
11-the last song [03:46]
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65:44 min