Jazz Archives

John Greaves and Peter Blegvad project Kew. Rhône is a jazzy RIO project quite similar to some Henry Cow music. The music is more accessible in this album, though. But it doesn't mean that the band is not RIO or that the music is not crazy and innovative in this album. Lisa Herman does most of the vocals, with the help of the other members and is credited as a main member of the project, along with Greaves and Blegvad.
A kind of a concept album, with many songs having their names containing numerals. The music is primarly jazzy, with great piano, bass and guitar work by Greaves and Blegvad. The album starts with a short interlude and goes directly to a RIO song, Twenty-Two Proverbs, whose lyrics are really proverbs. The instrumental part of the music is rich and diverse.
Seven Scenes From The Painting, the third song, is more jazzy, with great piano, saxophone and vocal work. The title track has good orchestral and piano work, with a very good melody. Pipeline is another jazzy song with good piano and saxophone work, with not much RIO elements. Catalogue Of Fifteen Objects & Their Titles is another RIO song, with good piano intro and many changes and strange elements in the song.
One Footnote has a long brassy intro and a good melody. Three Tenses Onanism is a song with a great piano work and some instrumental craziness in the middle of the song. Nine Mineral Emblems is a good jazzy song with good bass, guitar, piano and drum work, which changes and contains crazy saxophone and guitar solos. Apricot is another RIO song with good musicianship. Gegenstand is the last song, a quiet and somber song that closes the album.
The album is very good and it is the album that made me become interested in RIO. I didn't become a huge fan of RIO, but I enjoy it and I think this album is good both for people who like RIO and for people who don't know RIO very well, because, along with Henry Cow's debut, it blends jazzy songs with crazy RIO songs and are easier to get.

:::Review by akin :::

John Greaves - Kew Rhône (1977)

1. Good Evening (0:33)
2. Twenty-Two Proverbs (4:08)
3. Seven Scenes From The Painting (3:32)
4. Kew Rhône (3:04)
5. Pipeline (3:41)
6. Catalogue Of Fifteen Objects & Their Titles (3:36)
7. One Footnote (to Kew Rhône) (1:29)
8. Three Tenses Onanism (4:07)
9. Nine Mineral Emblems (5:51)
10. Apricot (3:05)
11. Gegenstand (3:46)

Credits
-Lisa Herman/ Vocals
-John Greaves/ Piano, Organ, Bass, Vocals, Percussion ( Tr.7)
-Peter Blegvad/ Vocals, Guitar, Tenor Sax (Tr. 5)
-Andrew Cyrille/ Drums, percussion
-Mike Mantler/ Trumpet, Trombone
-Carla Bley/ Vocals, Tenor Sax (Tr. 1 & 7)
-Michael Levine/ Violin, Viola, Vocals ( 9 )
-Vito Rendace/ Alto & Tenor Saxes, Flute
-April Lang/ Vocals (Tr. 5 & 8)
-Dana Johnson/ Vocals (Tr. 2)
-Boris Kinberg/ Clave (Tr. 5)

Breathtaking instrumental progressive rock from Japan carrying a nice laid back Canterbury fusion element throughout. This is truely beautiful music with some great jazz-like imagery(jazz piano..), loads of atmospheric synths (aka CAMEL), wonderful guitar accents and superb bass and drum interplay. "A Story of Mysterious Forest" seems to progress seamlessly through its wild musical transformation which moves from the intro of fusion jazz into the lounge-like excursions to its grand finale resting spot, the title 20 mins track which is full of the most wonderful pastoral, space prog you have ever heard. This epic track nicely captures with the use of the mellotron the atmosphere of the fog laden imagination within the mysterious forest... sounds deep eh! Album offers enough mood and tempo swings to satisfy every progressive rock fan for years to come. Without a doubt this is an essential jem and would most certainly be one of my personal fav from Japan...

:::Review by loserboy:::

Ain Soph - A Story Of Mysterious Forest (1980)

1. Crossfire (2:54)
2. Interlude I (1:30)
3. Natural Selection (8:10)
4. Variations on a Theme by Brian Smith (9:44)
5. A Story of Mysterious Forest (18:47)
a) Awakening
b) Longing-Whith the Wind
c) Mysterious Forest
d) Passion
e) Deep Sleep
f) Darkness
g) Dance
h) Misfortune
i) Mysterious Forest
j) Awakening
6. Interlude II (0:33)

Bonus

7. A Story Of Mysterious Forest (Oryginal version) (24:24)

Credits
- Masey Hattori / acoustic & electric pianos, celeste, Hammond organ, clavinet, synthesizers, strings, vocoder, mellotron

- Hiroshi Natori / drums, percussion, crystal gong
- Masahiro Torigaki / bass
- Yozox Yamamoto / acoustic & electric guitars

Arc of Testimony is one of the last recordings to feature legendary drummer Tony Williams, and its bold, experimental textures are a fitting epitaph to his career. Arcana was formed by bassist/producer Bill Laswell with the intention of exploring the outer reaches of fusion, ambient and free jazz. Like the group's debut, Last Wave (released only in Japan), Arc of the Testimony is a freewheeling, unpredictable blend of electronic and acoustic sounds. However, this record is even more adventurous, since it finds a common ground between improvisation and post-production studio trickery. All of the musicians Williams, Laswell, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, saxophonist Byard Lancaster, cornetist Graham Haynes, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis and guitarist Buckethead are open-minded and help push the music forward, resulting in a thoroughly involving, challenging listen.

:::Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:::

Bill Laswell - Extending energy and experimentation by Anil Prasad

Arcana - Arc Of The Testimony (1997)

1. Gone Tomorrow 9:39
2. Illuminator 6:07
3. Into The Circle 9:25
4. Returning 4:29
5. Calling Out The Blue Light 6:37
6. Circles Of Hell 7:15
7. Wheeless On A Dark River 4:27
8. The Earth Below 5:28

Credits
Bass - Bill Laswell
Cornet - Graham Haynes (tracks: 1, 3)
Drums - Tony Williams
Guitar - Buckethead (tracks: 2, 4, 6) , Nicky Skopelitis (tracks: 1 to 7)
Saxophone [Alto] - Byard Lancaster (tracks: 1, 3, 5)
Saxophone [Tenor] - Pharoah Sanders (tracks: 1 to 6)

Arti+Mestieri's debut album titled "Tilt" was Italy's answer to the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Layer on top of an album full of high energy and high creative explosions the masterful drumming of Furio Chirico and you have a recipe for great success. With varing styles and major tempo and mood swing this band unleash a truely wonderful album that will light the ital-prog veins in you! I should also mention that there is a good dose of Mellotron work here too. The addition of Saxes, piano, and vibraphone also give this album a stong polarity into the jazz genre. The violin wok of this album (Giovanni Vigliar) reminds me very much of Jean Luc Ponty and when combined with the band in full sounds truely majestic. Strongly recommend this album to all fans of Fusion and Ital-prog genres.

:::Review by loserboy :::

Arti E Mestieri - Tilt - Immagini Per Un Orecchio (1974)

1. Gravità 9,81 (4:05)
2. Strips (4:39)
3. Corrosione (1:37)
4. Positivo / Negativo (3:29)
5. In Cammino (5:36)
6. Scacco Matto (0:52)
7. Farenheit (1:15)
8. Articolazioni (13:24)
9. Tilt (2:29)

Credits
- Furio Chirico / drums and percussion
- Beppe Crovella / acoustic and electric pianos, synths, mellotron, Hammond organ
- Marco Gallesi / bass
- Gigi Venegoni / guitar, synthetizers
- Giovanni Vigliar / violin, vocals, percussions
- Arturo Vitale / soprano and baritone saxes, clarinets, vibraphone

This album by Zbigniew Namyslowski is considered by many as a great peak in his long career. His abilities as an improviser and his skills as a composer come together in order to create a perfect modern jazz recording. The 3 brass instruments (2 saxes and trombone) and the pianoless rhythm section all work in perfect unison with amazing interplay and scary solos chasing one after another. One can find of course influences by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, but this is truly original in every sense. A masterpiece!
Polish Jazz Vol.33

:::Review by Jazzis:::

Zbigniew Namysłowski – Winobranie (1973)

1. Winobranie (Wine Feast) / Jak nie masz szmalu to jest łaź (No Dough, No Kicks) 9:55
2. Nie mniej niż 5% (Not Less Than Five Per Cent) 6:35
3. Gogoszary 4:40
4. Pierwsza przymiarka (First Take) / Ballada na grzędzie (Ballad on the Roost) / Misie (Teddy Bears) 14:05
5. Taj Mahal / Winobranie (Wine Feast) 6:55

Credits
Bass - Paweł Jarzębski
Cello, Composed By, Piano, Saxophone [Alto] - Zbigniew Namysłowski
Clarinet [Bass], Saxophone [Tenor] - Tomasz Szukalski
Drums - Kazimierz Jonkisz
Trombone, Percussion - Stanisław Cieślak

The third album by the king band of Slovekian prog, Fermata's "Huascaran" is one of the most accomplished works ever recorded in the realm of jazz-oriented prog rock. Being a concept album around the tragedy of Huascaran's deadly eruption (back in 1970), this album evokes ideas of destruction, power and solidarity with multiple colors and moods, all of them properly delivered through effective musical ideas and solid, tight performances. Fermata is very heavily influenced by the powerful dynamics of Mahavishnu Orchestra and special exuberance of Di Meola-era return to Forever, but there is also some important room for the delivery of soaring moods in the vein of space-rock and classic nuances on a symphonic-related note. The long namesake opener gets started with cosmic synth ornaments properly accompanied by floating electric piano lines, serving a preparation for the whole ensemble to state a full frontal jazz-rock main motif. The funky vibe that works in the rhythm section allows the band to convey warmth through the pyrotechnics, not unlike Iceberg.
At the 5 minute mark, things shift toward a stylish solemnity featuring piano and cello, a soft passage that seems to portray the survivors 'grief. The sense of sadness becomes even more overwhelming in the following section, which sounds somewhat related to 73-75 era Pink Floyd with Akkerman replacing Gilmour: the symphonic element is retained all the way until the final section brings a reprise of the initial jazzy motif with augmented Latin touches. What a way to start an album!... and there is more greatness to be enjoyed, let me assure you. '80,000' is the approximated number of victims of this terrible natural disaster, and so the band decides to go for a denser mood: there is lots of heavy psych-rock and electric blues going on in this piece. The Hendrixian guitar and Zawinulesque electric piano melt amazingly well, as unlikely as it may sound in written form. Eventually, the Latin-jazz centered coda takes advantage of the fire that had been delivered during the previous section. Since the word 'Solidarity' conjures images of love for your fellowman and togetherness, it is no wonder that this track no. 3 should bear such a warmth feel on its basic compositional body. Santana seems to be the dominant reference now, although guitarist Griglák never lets go of his combined McLaughlin and Akkerman influences. This track's melodic basis is so colorful that its monotonous framework never gets boring, not even for a second. There is the long namesake closer that wraps up the album's official tracklist. Segued to 'Solidarity', 'Huascaran II' has a recurrent bizarre similarity to Iceberg during its first section. The joyful spirit delivered through the successive link of various motifs apparently alludes to the reconciliation between Man and Nature: beside the always spectacular guitar solos by Grilák, here are also the most accomplished Moog solos in the album. The last 100 seconds are occupied by synth emulations of birds' singing and wing shaking. The cosmic reconciliation has been achieved at last. This is the end for the "Huascaran" album per se, but the bonus tracks are excellent as well. '15' is very related to the funky flairs of  Return to Forever's joyous side, while 'Valparaiso' is more frantic and 'Perpetuum' bears a more complex scheme. Fermata is a name that must be included in any good prog collection and/or good jazz collection, with "Huascaran" being one of its most distinguished assets. Indeed, this is a masterpiece.

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

Fermáta – Huascaran (1977)

1. Huascaran I (13:41)
2. 80 000 (7:30)
3. Solidarity (6:34)
4. Huascaran II (11:13)
5. 15 (4:03)
6. Valparaiso (6:09)
7. Perpetuum (2:17)

Credits
- Tomás Berka / piano, synthesizer
- Frantisek Griglák / guitar, piano, synthesizer
- Ladislav Lučenič / bass
- Karol Oláh / drums, percussion
- Peter Oláh / vocals
- Dezider Pito / violoncello

Highly experimental, with one foot solidly in the RIO camp and the other in outer space, Astro Can Caravan is an unconventional mix of large ensemble post-Sun Ra cosmic jazz, Magma-influenced Euro-fusion and Herbie Hancock/Miles Davis-styled avant-jazz funk. The 20 members of ACC (most of whom are apparently Finnish) all display a consummate musicianship and a keen awareness of the intricacies of ensemble playing throughout the ten tracks on 21st Century Drifting Episode, and in the process virtually create a new sub-genre one might call "big band space rock." The uncanny mesh of horns (trumpet, trombone), winds (sax, oboe, clarinet), guitar, bass, synthesizer and four percussionists, in addition to being unusual when transposed to the context of space rock, creates some undeniably astounding altered states of consciousness if listened to for extended periods of time. The more overtly Arkestra-influenced pieces ("De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" and "Kohoutek") are brilliant, if not wholly original, exercises in solar jazz, in some ways extending, though not surpassing, the experiments in cacophony and atonalism that Sun Ra pioneered on Heliocentric Worlds. But ACC is quite capable of rocking the house, too, as both "Meteor Shower Geel" and "Mad Oracle" show. The up-tempo pace allows for some dynamic jamming where the synthesizers and saxes literally race each other as if they were on some intergalactic speedway. Imagine if Sun Ra's Arkestra were composed of members of Amon Duul II and Can - 21st Century Drifting Episode is the kind of album he would've done. Like most "difficult' music, you'll have to listen to it at repeated intervals in order to truly appreciate the thorough-going nonconformist approach that Astro Can Caravan adopts - especially on a piece like "The Scale of Anubis" - but rest assured that 21st Century Drifting Episode will clear out the cob webs in your CD collection and will probably find a place of distinction there in the near future.

:::Review by Charles Van de Kree:::

Astro Can Caravan - 21st Century Drifting Episode (2004)

1. Tungar Tudu (6:21)
2. Mad Oracle (2:56)
3. De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (6:17)
4. Beef Jeans (4:27)
5. Dark Bravos (4:16)
6. Moon Boots (1:40)
7. Tapernaakkeli (4:23)
8. The Scale of Anubis (5:11)
9. Meteor Shower Geel (4:17)
10. Kohoutek (9:47)

Credits
- Otto Eskelinen / piano, organ, accordion, synthesizer, bandoneón
- Pharaoh Pirttikangas / synthesizer, guitar
- Joonas Hytti / trumpet, euphonium
- Tuomas Eriksson / trombone
- Joakim Berghall / soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Tomi Kosonen / tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Veli-Pekka Parkkinen / clarinet
- Suvi Pappi / bass clarinet, flute
- Arvi Hasu / bass
- Niko Votkin / drums
- Jari-Pekka Hautalampi / drums, percussion
- Torsti Tuovinen / percussion
- Jarkko Pellikka / trumpet
- Samuli Peltoniemi / trumpet
- Artturi Taira / alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Tapani Varis / baritone saxophone, bass
- Henna Karhunen / oboe
- Emil Luukkonen / electric piano, synthesizer
- Pentti Dassum / guitar, mandolin
- Jape Karjalainen / percussion, bass
- Teemu Mäenpää / percussion
- Rasmus Pailos / percussion

What a stunning album is Banquet. A truly amazing symphonic album with a jazzy elements and a great brass section. Every track is quite enjoyble to me, but the forte ones are the opening piece Spanish galleon and Sorrow, the longest tracks from here. The incorporation of brass section combined with great keys and guitars and a solid voice of John Lawton made this album to be a masterpiece of the '70's, at least for me. Transitions between music segments where the instruments take the lead are very well done, specially the keys and guitars. After all this album has nothing to do with early works of Lucifer's Friend, witch are more rough, more hevy prog, than this one. Here the sound and the entire album, musicaly speaking is much mature and deserve to be included in top of the most amazing albums of the '70's. So a 5 stars for this great and never old album.

:::Review by b_olariu :::

Lucifer's Friend – Banquet (1975)

1. Spanish Galleon (11:50)
2. Thus Spoke Oberon (6:44)
3. High Flying Lady-Goodbye (3:40)
4. Sorrow (11:36)
5. Dirty Old Town (4:46)

Credits
- John Lawton / vocal
- Peter Hecht / piano, organ, mood, synthesizer, Fender Rhodes
- Dieter Horns / bass, backing vocals
- Peter Hesslein / guitar, 12 string guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals
- Herbert Bornhold / drums, percussion, backing vocals
Guest musician:
- Herb Geller / Soprano saxophone solo on (1) and flute on (4)

Definitely a masterpiece of British Jazz-Rock/Fusion along with Neil Ardley's amazing Kaleidoscope of Rainbows. Here, Nucleus appear a much tighter group. After their stunning first album, they decided to create this amazing follow-up, as if the first album wasn't great to begin with. I can't even express in words how highly I regard this album, truly Nucleus's finest effort.

The opening track is quite possibly the most famous Nucleus piece, and for a good reason. What a fantastic opener! By the way, for those who have heard Soft Machine's Bundles, Jenins decided to use the riff on "Song for the Bearded Lady" for "Hazard Profile Part 1." While this is by far my favorite piece on the album, the other ones are just as great; tons of wicked oboe, trumpet, guitar, etc.. pasages played by these virtuosos. This is, to my knowledge, the only Nucleus album with vocals, although they only appear on two tracks. Sure, they take some getting used to, but definitely do not affect the album in any negative way IMO. In fact, I think they even enhance the album, making it seem more coherent overall.

Although I do not think that this album is quite as good as the Neil Ardley album I mentioned earlier, this is a MUST for all fans of Jazz-Rock, a masterpiece of the genre. Buy it, now, you won't be disappointed! In fact, you can get this and the first album in a 2-CD set from BGO, so you have no excuse. Highly recommended, 5 stars, no doubt in my mind!

:::Review by Zac M :::

Nucleus - We'll Talk About it Later (1970)

1. Song For The Bearded Lady (7:25)
2. Sun Child (5:19)
3. Lullaby For A Lonely Child (4:21)
4. We'll Talk About It Later (6:19)
5. Oasis (9:49)
6. Ballad of Joe Pimp (3:48)
7. Easter 1916 (8:47)

Credits
- Ian Carr / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Karl Jenkins / electric piano, oboe, piano, baritone saxophone
- Brian Smith / tenor & soprano saxes, flute
- Chris Spedding / guitars
- Jeff Clyne / bass, electric bass
- John Marshall / drums, percussion

As jazz's first extended, continuous free improvisation LP, Free Jazz practically defies superlatives in its historical importance. Ornette Coleman's music had already been tagged "free," but this album took the term to a whole new level. Aside from a predetermined order of featured soloists and several brief transition signals cued by Coleman, the entire piece was created spontaneously, right on the spot. The lineup was expanded to a double-quartet format, split into one quartet for each stereo channel: Ornette, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins on the left; trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell on the right. The rhythm sections all play at once, anchoring the whole improvisation with a steady, driving pulse. The six spotlight sections feature each horn in turn, plus a bass duet and drum duet; the "soloists" are really leading dialogues, where the other instruments are free to support, push, or punctuate the featured player's lines. Since there was no road map for this kind of recording, each player simply brought his already established style to the table. That means there are still elements of convention and melody in the individual voices, which makes Free Jazz far more accessible than the efforts that followed once more of the jazz world caught up. Still, the album was enormously controversial in its bare-bones structure and lack of repeated themes. Despite resembling the abstract painting on the cover, it wasn't quite as radical as it seemed; the concept of collective improvisation actually had deep roots in jazz history, going all the way back to the freewheeling early Dixieland ensembles of New Orleans. Jazz had long prided itself on reflecting American freedom and democracy and, with Free Jazz, Coleman simply took those ideals to the next level. A staggering achievement.

:::Review by Steve Huey:::

Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz (1961)

1. Free Jazz 37:03
2. First Take 17:00

Credits
Bass - Charlie Haden , Scott LaFaro
Clarinet [Bass] - Eric Dolphy
Drums - Billy Higgins , Ed Blackwell
Engineer - Tom Dowd
Producer - Nesuhi Ertegun
Saxophone [Alto] - Ornette Coleman
Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard
Trumpet [Pocket] - Don Cherry

For saxophonist/flutist David Liebman, the collective septet Lookout Farm earmarked him as an emergent band leader and conceptualist, not to mention top-of-the-heap unabashed improviser, especially on the soprano. With Richie Beirach on acoustic piano, identifying him as the post-Lennie Tristano disciple of the '70s, electric guitarist John Abercrombie, East Indian percussionists Badal Roy and Armen Halburian, drummer Jeff Williams, and underrated upright bassist Frank Tusa, Lookout Farm's sheer democracy in motion, for progressive modern jazz in a fusion era, defined how far artistically a group could go while retaining a distinct identity. Tack-on to that the stunning production values of ECM's Manfred Eicher, and you have a trend setting icon of a large ensemble for the ages. This one-of-a-kind band and recording set a high-water mark for far too few bands, even unto itself, to follow. This is worth searching for and savoring.

:::Review by Michael G. Nastos:::

Dave Liebman - Lookout Farm (1973)

1. Pablo's Story 14:08
2. Sam's Float 8:47
3. M. D. / Lookout Farm 24:00

Credits
Bass - Frank Tusa
Congas, Bongos - Don Alias
Drums - Jeff Williams
Engineer - Tony May
Guitar - John Abercrombie
Percussion - Armen Halburian
Piano - Richard Beirach
Producer - Manfred Eicher
Saxophone [Soprano], Saxophone [Tenor], Flute [Alto C] - Dave Liebman
Tabla - Badal Roy
Tambourine [Tamburine], Cowbell - Steve Sattan
Vocals - Eleana Sternberg

The album Overdrive, initially released in 1972 on Tempo Records, is an absolute exception for German jazz music and is even not very well-known in confirmed rare groove circles.
The mastermind and initiator behind THE BRIDGE was keyboarder KRISTIAN SCHULTZE, who created an unique style with his blend of spacy sounds, kicking a Fender Rhodes through a ring modulator. SCHULTZE was born in 1945. He studied composition and piano at Berlin Music University and at Graz Jazz Academy. During these years SCHULTZE met JOE NAY, who many friends of jazz music rate as the best German drummer ever. Nay died in a car accident in 1991.  In the late 60s both met again in Munich and used to jam the legendary jazz club "Domicile". There they met the Polish bass player Pawel Jarzebski and along with him they formed THE BRIDGE. The trio played many gigs in the major German jazz clubs, eventually supported by OLAF KUBLER on sax and DUSKO GOYKOVICH on trumpet.
KUBLER is an important figure in the German jazz scene; Krautrock fans know him as the Amon Duul producer.
GOYKOVICH, whom Dizzy Gillespie described as a "hell of a trumpet player", is already a cult figure. He has performed with the bulk of famous jazz musicians.
In 1972 the trio recorded just one album.
Different influences are melting into rare fusion, bridging the gap between jazz, e-music and pop. All of Schultze's compositions are denying any rigid classification. His smooth was to play keyboards leads to an undreamt-of tension when meeting with the rough and tough electronic sounds of his fender piano and synthesizer. Nay and Jarzebski add their straight rhythm and the result is a brilliant, funky permutation of jazz.
This re-issue contains two additional tracks with sax and trumpet that were previously unreleased. The line-up for this album is simply called KRISTIAN SCHULTZE SET.

:::From Liner Notes:::

The Bridge – Overdrive (1972)

1. phrase-overdrive
2. ambivalens
3. dinghi
4. alles klar alles klar (absolution)
5. start (echo-drum suite)
6. stupsi
7. recreation
8. don't count it
9. relation
10. puls
11. phrase-overdrive (add. edit)

Credits
Kristian Schultze - Fender piano, synth
Pawel Jazerbski - bass
Joe Nay - drums
Dusko Goykovich - trumpet
Olaf Kübler - tenor sax/flute

Drummer Tony Williams' first recording as a leader (made when he was 18 and still billed as Anthony Williams) gave him an opportunity to utilize an advanced group of musicians: tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, and both Richard Davis and Gary Peacock on bass. Williams wrote all four of the pieces and has a different combination of players on each song. The freely improvised "Memory" features Hutcherson, Hancock, and Williams in some colorful and at times spacy interplay; "Barb's Song to the Wizard" is a Hancock-Ron Carter duet; "Tomorrow Afternoon" has Rivers, Peacock and Williams in a trio; and all of the musicians (except Hutcherson) are on the sidelong "2 Pieces of One." The unpredictable music holds one's interest; a very strong debut for the masterful drummer.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Tony Williams - Life Time (1964)

1. Two Pieces Of One: Red 8:03
2. Two Pieces Of One: Green 10:36
3. Tomorrow Afternoon 5:31
4. Memory 8:02
5. Barb's Song To The Wizard 5:56

Credits
Artwork By [Cover Design] - Reid Miles
Artwork By [Creaive Director For Rvg Series] - Gordon H Jee
Artwork By [Design For Rvg Series] - Eric Bernhardi , Michael Boland
Bass - Gary Peacock (tracks: 1 to 3) , Richard Davis (2) (tracks: 1, 2) , Ron Carter (tracks: 5)
Drums - Tony Williams (tracks: 1 to 3)
Drums [Drum Set], Percussion [Wood Block], Timpani, Maracas, Triangle - Tony Williams (tracks: 4)
Other [Original Liner Notes] - Lawrence Rutter
Other [Reissue Liner Notes] - Bob Blumenthal
Photography [Cover Photograph, Liner Photographs From The Actual Session] - Francis Wolff
Piano - Herbie Hancock (tracks: 4, 5)
Producer - Alfred Lion
Recorded By, Mastered By [Remastered By] - Rudy Van Gelder
Reissue Producer - Michael Cuscuna
Saxophone [Tenor] - Sam Rivers (tracks: 1 to 3)
Vibraphone, Marimba - Bobby Hutcherson (tracks: 4)
Written-By - Tony Williams

Though some will argue about whether Wayne Shorter's primary impact on jazz has been as a composer or as a saxophonist, hardly anyone will dispute his overall importance as one of jazz's leading figures over a long span of time. Though indebted to a great extent to John Coltrane, with whom he practiced in the mid-'50s while still an undergraduate, Shorter eventually developed his own more succinct manner on tenor sax, retaining the tough tone quality and intensity and, in later years, adding an element of funk. On soprano, Shorter is almost another player entirely, his lovely tone shining like a light beam, his sensibilities attuned more to lyrical thoughts, his choice of notes becoming more spare as his career unfolded. Shorter's influence as a player, stemming mainly from his achievements in the 1960s and '70s, has been tremendous upon the neo-bop brigade who emerged in the early '80s, most notably Branford Marsalis. As a composer, he is best known for carefully conceived, complex, long-limbed, endlessly winding tunes, many of which have become jazz standards yet have spawned few imitators.

:::www.allmusic.com:::

:::Review Scott Yanow@allmusic.com:::

Wayne Shorter - The All Seeing Eye (1965)

1.The All Seeing Eye (10:30)

2. Genesis (11:42)

3. Chaos (6:54)

4. Face Of The Deep (5:27)

5. Mephistopheles (9:39)

Credits

Bass - Ron Carter

Drums - Joe Chambers

Flugelhorn - Freddie Hubbard

Piano - Herbie Hancock

Producer - Rudy Van Gelder

Saxophone [Alto] - James Spaulding

Saxophone [Tenor] - Wayne Shorter

Trombone - Grachan Moncur III

Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard