Dave Burrell - La Vie De Bohême (1969) [re-rip]

La Vie de Bohême. Opéra de Giacomo Puccini, arrangements de Dave Burrell

A great free improvisation reinterpretation of Puccini's opera arranged and played by Dave Burrell. This musician played with some of the great artists of the '60s free jazz scene including Pharoah Saunders, Sonny Sharrock and Elvin Jones and the album was released on the legendary French jazz label BYG Records. If you have some interest in Free Jazz, it is worth the trip.

This album is Dave Burrell's free jazz take on Puccini's opera "La Bohème". Regardless of its French title it is not French. However, the LP was recorded in France and half the musicians are indeed French. For this album Burrell plays piano and occasionally harp, Rick Colbeck doubles on trumpet and piano harp, Jackie McLean-alum Grachan Moncur III blows his bittersweet trombone and rattles the chimes, Kenneth Terroade plays tenor sax and flute, Beb Guérin is on bass, Claude Delcloo tears it up on drums, and Burrell's mother Eleanor provides some rather abstract vocals. It's a suite in four acts; the ungainly ensemble takes up the occasional classical theme, enriching it now and then with jazzy themes and then launches into improvisation shifting into other avant-garde styled music with Burrell performing some insane lightning runs up and down the keyboard. The overall affect is quite dramatic, with quirky and melancholic overtones that create an atmosphere full of uplifting joy and harmony. The album maintains a common focus on collective improvisation with some soloing. Overall it is a well constructed and conceived arrangement of enthralling music which can be enjoyed with repetitive appraisals.

BYG/ACTUEL Records, 529.330, 1970

Recorded 21^st December, 1969 at Studio Saravah, Paris

Musicians:

Dave Burrell - Piano, Harp

Kenneth Terroade - Tenor Saxophone, Flute

Grachan Moncur III - Trombone, Chimes

Ric Colbeck - Trumpet, Piano Harp

Beb Guérin - Bass

Claude Delcloo - Drums

Eleanor Burrell - Voice

Tracks:

A1. First Act (20:03)

A2. Second Act [1st Part] (6:16)

B1. Second Act [2nd Part] (10:56)

B2. Third Act (4:51)

B3. Fourth Act (7:16)

Rip Info:

The music was taken from a well-loved old pressing. Some muffled surface noise is still apparent, especially in quieter sections. Tracks A2 and B1 have been carefully joined into Second Act, hence new Tracklist:

1. First Act (20:03)

2. Second Act (16:59)

3. Third Act (4:51)

4. Fourth Act (7:16)

Credits:

Producer - Jean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young

Arranger - Dave Burrell

Liner Notes - Dave Burrell & Jean-Max Michel

Marion Brown - Three For Shepp (1966)

An unbelievable recording! As Archie Shepp made his first album for Impulse a tribute to Coltrane, Marion Brown made his a tribute to Shepp - a wonderful lineage of avant talent in the 60s, stated boldly here, given Brown's amazing talent on the record! The album's filled with hard, soulful playing that goes out, but never too far - like Shepp in his best sixties moments - and Brown's working with a great lineup of players that includes Grachan Moncur on trombone, Beaver Harris on drums, and Stanley Cowell on piano! The tunes include three Marion Brown originals on side one, plus three tracks by Shepp on side two. "Spooks" alone will leave you loving this album for years to come – and other tracks include "West India", "Delicado", "New Blue", and "Fortunato". A brilliant blend of 60s "new thing" playing and 70s underground jazz!  © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Impulse! Records, AS-9139, 1967

Universal Music, IMPD-269, 1998

Recorded 1^st December, 1966 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Musicians:

Marion Brown - Alto Saxophone

Grachan Moncur III - Trombone

Dave Burrell - Piano (#1-3)

Stanley Cowell - Piano (#4-6)

Sirone - Bass

Beaver Harris - Drums (#1-3)

Bobby Capp - Drums (#4-6)

Tracks:

1. New Blue {Marion Brown} (5:12)

2. Fortunato {Marion Brown} (8:55)

3. The Shadow Knows {Marion Brown} (3:05)

4. Spooks {Archie Shepp} (4:33)

5. West India {Archie Shepp} (6:25)

6. Delicado {Archie Shepp} (6:39)

Credits:

Producer [Original] - Bob Thiele

Reissue Producer - Michael Cuscuna

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Remastering - Erick Labson (MCA Studios)

Photography - Chuck Stewart

Art Direction - Hollis A. King

Graphic Design - Isabelle Wong

Liner Notes - Frank Kofsky

Total Time: 34:49

Archie Shepp - For Losers (1968+1969) [vinyl]

One of the grooviest albums from Archie Shepp's post-new thing years for Impulse - a nicely grooving session that mixes soul-based tracks with more righteous spiritual jazz moments! The approach here is a nicely varied - a laidback, collaborative spirit that's even quite different from Shepp's work in France at the time, or even from some of his other sessions for Impulse. At one moment, Archie's playing in a gently spare and soulful mode - foreshadowing his late 70s sides - but at another, he'll be opening up with intensity, egged on by a group of well-matched players who include Woody Shaw, Grachan Moncur III, James Spaulding, and Cedar Walton. Side 2 features the extended "Un Croque Monsieur" - a modally building number with some free post-Coltrane energy, and a righteous poem from Chinalin Sharpe. Sharpe returns in a completely different spirit on "I Got It Bad" - singing the lyrics in a Billie Holiday mode alongside Shepp's solo - and Leon Thomas sings on the soul-based number "Stick Em Up", again very different than usual! Titles also include a great version of Cal Massey's "What Would It Be Without You" and the funky groover "Abstract". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Impulse! Records, AS-9188, 1970

Recorded 9^th September, 1968 (#A1) at RCA Studios, New York City

Recorded 17^th February, 1969 (#A2) at RCA Studios, New York City

Recorded 26^th August, 1969 (#A3,A4,B) at RCA Studios, New York City

Personnel:

A1. Stick 'Em Up {Archie Shepp} (2:05)

Archie Shepp - Tenor Saxophone

Robin Kenyatta - Alto Saxophone

Grachan Moncur III - Trombone

Martin Banks - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Andrew Bey - Piano

Mel Brown - Organ, Guitar

Bert Payne - Guitar

Albert Winston - Fender Bass

Wilton Felder - Fender Bass

Beaver Harris - Drums

Doris Troy - Vocals

Leon Thomas - Vocals

Tasha Thomas - Vocals

A2. Abstract {Archie Shepp} (4:21)

Archie Shepp - Tenor Saxophone

James Spaulding - Alto Saxophone

Charles Davis - Baritone Saxophone

Grachan Moncur III - Trombone

Jimmy Owens - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Wally Richardson - Guitar

Dave Burrell - Organ

Bob Bushnell - Fender Bass

Bernard Purdie - Drums

A3. I Got It Bad [And That Ain't Good] {Duke Ellington, Paul Webster} (5:15)

Archie Shepp - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone

Clarence Sharpe - Alto Saxophone

Cedar Walton - Piano

Wilbur Sharpe - Bass

Joe Chambers - Drums

Chinalin Sharpe - Vocals

A4. What Would It Be Without You {Cal Massey} (4:05)

Archie Shepp - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone

Cecil Payne - Baritone Saxophone, Flute

Cedar Walton - Piano

Wilbur Sharpe - Bass

Joe Chambers - Drums

B. Un Croque Monsieur [Poem: For Losers] {Archie Shepp} (21:47)

Archie Shepp - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone

Cecil Payne - Baritone Saxophone

Clarence Sharpe - Alto Saxophone

Woody Shaw - Trumpet

Matthew Gee - Trombone

Cedar Walton - Piano

Wilbur Sharpe - Bass

Joe Chambers - Drums

Chinalin Sharpe - Vocals

Credits:

Producer - Ed Michel

Supervision - Bob Thiele (#A1,A2), Ed Michel (#A4,A4,B)

Artwork Design - George Whiteman

Photography - Chuck Stewart

Liner Notes - Archie Shepp

Tracklist:

A1. Stick 'Em Up {Archie Shepp} (2:05)

A2. Abstract {Archie Shepp} (4:21)

A3. I Got It Bad [And That Ain't Good] {Duke Ellington, Paul Webster} (5:15)

A4. What Would It Be Without You {Cal Massey} (4:06)

B. Un Croque Monsieur [Poem: For Losers] {Archie Shepp} (21:47)

At the time this record was recorded, Shepp was bouncing back and forth between Paris and New York. He also bounced between the Impulse! and BYG labels. He also bounced between styles. For BYG, his music reached to grasp the bare beginnings of black music, back to Africa and the blues. His music for Impulse! tried to embrace the contemporary sounds of R&B, with very mixed results that to this day divide his fans. This record is a transitional one. For the traditionalists, there's his shattering and amusing cover of "I've Got It Bad" performed by the usual suspects one would think to find on an Archie Shepp record, including Cecil Payne and Joe Chambers. For those enraptured by albums like Attica Blues, songs like "Stick 'Em Up" will fascinate, as Shepp's raspy tenor is joined not only by a legion of avant-garde brethren (including names like Beaver Harris and Grachan Moncur), but also by the funky wood of electric bass, guitar, and organ. Some will find those later tracks a bit hard to take. Some will even find themselves snickering. But for anyone wishing to understand the music and career of this brilliant musician, this is an undervalued piece of the puzzle. ~ Rob Ferrier, AMG.

Grachan Moncur III Octet - Exploration

"Trombonist Grachan Moncur III, who was a member of the Jazztet in the early 1960s, gained his greatest fame for his two Blue Note albums (Evolution and Some Other Stuff) which were quite adventurous. He also worked with Archie Shepp, became involved in free jazz and spent much of the 1970s and '80s as a music educator. Dental problems resulted in Moncur only playing once in a great while in the 1990s. He had been in obscurity for quite awhile when he was contacted by arranger Mark Masters for the Exploration project. Fortunately Moncur's playing proved to still be in his prime. Masters wrote sympathetic charts for many of the trombonist's finest pieces, utilizing an all-star nonet that could really dig into the inside/outside music. "Excursion," a very coherent three-minute free improvisation, is a change-of-pace and precedes the closing blues "Sonny's Back," a 1962 piece originally played by the Jazztet. This CD overall is very rewarding, a dream project for those who have long admired the underrated Grachan Moncur. The musicians have their solos, there are both written and improvised ensembles and Moncur plays wonderfully throughout. This set, which sums up Grachan Moncur's career definitively, is a gem." Yanow