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| 1. | Conversations 1 / The Introduction
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| 2. | Big Fred
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| 3. | Kari
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| 4. | Whenever I Think Of You
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| 5. | Conversations 2 / The Dialogue
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| 6. | Brother Malcolm
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| 7. | Revelations
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Jazz / Avant-Garde, Free Jazz
Recorded: January 23 & 24, 1999, Riverside Studio, Chicago, Illinois
Archie Shepp - tenor saxophone, (3) piano
The Ritual Trio
Kahil El' Zabar - drums
Ari Brown - piano, (3,6) tenor saxophone
Malachi Favors - bass
Conversations marks a relatively rare studio appearance and a first-time collaboration with the Ritual Trio by tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, a fabled instigator of the '60s avant-garde. Prior to this album, Shepp has made only three recordings this decade, and just one under his own name. This album celebrates the vitality and accomplishments of bassist Fred Hopklns who died in January of 1999 and left an important legacy. Perhaps it is that overriding concern with a fallen warrior that accounts for the saxist's piquant invocation of hidden spirits and faded aurae. A recording of unusual depth and spiritual power by Shepp and The Ritual Trio
Includes liner notes by Neil Tesser
In a dedication to the late bassist Fred Hopkins, Shepp returns to the recording studio armed with his no-compromise, no-nonsense way of playing the tenor saxophone. It's still as cutting-edge dour as ever, supported by the beautiful underpinnings of the trio, with Ari Brown mostly on piano instead of saxophone as he is more widely heard, the peerless bassist Malachi Favors Maghostut, and Afrocentric drummer/percussionist/leader Kahil El'Zabar. As dictated by the art of improvisors, much ground is covered, and a track-by-track rundown is warranted. The introductory "Conversations" is based on a floating piano, free-time excursion rife for Shepp's tenor to express itself. "Kari" is a rambling swinger with Brown back to his tenor sax and Shepp on piano, the latter embellishing the melody with some Erroll Garner-like flourishes. "Whenever I Think of You" is a drop-dead gorgeous, mid-tempo meditative piece, sans Shepp, showcasing Brown's piano stylings. The 7/4 chant "Brother Malcolm," with Brown on tenor sax plus bass and conga, has the collective group vocally echoing Harlem nocturnes about Malcolm X, and the closer "Revelations" is a definitive workout for Shepp, a robust swinger where his more melodic but still pungent sax sound revels in its own free-spirited, outspoken glory. To say Shepp is back would be shortsighted; he's always been around, especially as a teacher at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. This is a resolute affirmation of his powers, punctuating that he's still a vital force in the new music, as are his backup constituents on this very fine CD, a perfect introduction for the uninitiated and a must-buy for longtime fans. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
Archie Shepp
Active Decades: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: May 24, 1937 in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Genre: Jazz
Archie Shepp has been at various times a feared firebrand and radical, soulful throwback and contemplative veteran. He was viewed in the '60s as perhaps the most articulate and disturbing member of the free generation, a published playwright willing to speak on the record in unsparing, explicit fashion about social injustice and the anger and rage he felt. His tenor sax solos were searing, harsh, and unrelenting, played with a vivid intensity. But in the '70s, Shepp employed a fatback/swing-based R&B approach, and in the '80s he mixed straight bebop, ballads, and blues pieces displaying little of the fury and fire from his earlier days. Shepp studied dramatic literature at Goddard College, earning his degree in 1959. He played alto sax in dance bands and sought theatrical work in New York. But Shepp switched to tenor, playing in several free jazz bands. He worked with Cecil Taylor, co-led groups with Bill Dixon and played in the New York Contemporary Five with Don Cherry and John Tchicai. He led his own bands in the mid-'60s with Roswell Rudd, Bobby Hutcherson, Beaver Harris, and Grachan Moncur III. His Impulse albums included poetry readings and quotes from James Baldwin and Malcolm X. Shepp's releases sought to paint an aural picture of African-American life, and included compositions based on incidents like Attica or folk sayings. He also produced plays in New York, among them The Communist in 1965 and Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy in 1972 with trumpeter/composer Cal Massey. But starting in the late '60s, the rhetoric was toned down and the anger began to disappear from Shepp's albums. He substituted a more celebratory, and at times reflective attitude. Shepp turned to academia in the late '60s, teaching at SUNY in Buffalo, then the University of Massachusetts. He was named an associate professor there in 1978. Shepp toured and recorded extensively in Europe during the '80s, cutting some fine albums with Horace Parlan, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Jasper van't Hof. He has recorded extensively for Impulse, Byg, AristaFreedom, Phonogram, Steeplechase, Denon, Enja, EPM, and Soul Note among others over the years. Unfortunately his tone declined from the mid-'80s on (his highly original sound was his most important contribution to jazz), and Shepp became a less significant figure in the 1990s than one might have hoped.
---Ron Wynn & Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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