egroj world: Archie Shepp • Attica Blues Big Band (Live At The Palais Des Glaces)

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Archie Shepp • Attica Blues Big Band (Live At The Palais Des Glaces)

 



Archie Shepp was born in 1937 in Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

He grew up in Philadelphia, studied piano and saxophone and attended high school in Germantown; he went to college, became involved with theatre, met writers and poets, among them, Leroy Jones and wrote: «The Communist», an allegorical play about the situation of black Americans. In the late fifties, Archie Shepp also met the most radical musicians of the time: Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Jimmy Garrison, Ted Curson, Beaver Harris ... his political consciousness found an expression in plays and theatrical productions which barely allowed him to make a living. In the beginning sixties he met Cecil Taylor and did two recordings with him which were determining.

In 1962 he signed his first record with Bill Dixon as co-leader. During the following year, he created the New York Contemporary Five with John Tchichai, made four records for Fontana, Storyville and Savoy and travelled to Europe with this group. Starting in August 1964, he worked with Impulse and made 17 records among which, Four For Trane, Fire Music, and Mama Too Tight, some of the classics of Free Music. His collaboration with John Coltrane materialized further with Ascension in 1965, a real turning point in Avant- Garde music. His militancy was evidenced by his participation in the creation of the Composers Guild with Paul and Carla Bley, Sun RA, Roswell Rudd and Cecil Taylor.

In July 1969 he went for the first time to Africa for the Pan African Festival in Algiers where many black American militants were living. On this occasion he recorded Live for Byg the first of six albums in the Actual series. In 1969 he began teaching Ethnomusicology at the University of Amherst, Massachusetts; at the same time he continued to travel around the world while continuing to express his identity as an African American musician.

The dictionary of Jazz (Robert Laffont, Bouquins) defines him in the following way: «A first rate artist and intellectual, Archie Shepp has been at the head of the Avant-Garde Free Jazz movement and has been able to join the mainstream of Jazz, while remaining true to his esthetic. He has developed a true poli-instrumentality: an alto player, he also plays soprano since 1969, piano since 1975 and more recently occasionally sings blues and standards.»

He populates his musical world with themes and stylistic elements provided by the greatest voices of jazz: from Ellington to Monk and Mingus, from Parker to Siver and Taylor. His technical and emotional capacity enables him to integrate the varied elements inherited by the Masters of Tenor from Webster to Coltrane into his own playing but according to his very own combination: the wild raspiness of his attacks, his massive sound sculpted by a vibrato mastered in all ranges, his phrases carried to breathlessness, his abrupt level changes, the intensity of his tempos but also the velvety tenderness woven into a ballad. His play consistently deepens the spirit of the two faces of the original black American music: blues and spirituals. His work with classics and with his own compositions (Bessie Smith’s Black Water Blues or Mama Rose) contributes to maintaining alive the power of strangeness of these two musics in relationship to European music and expresses itself in a unique mix of wounded violence and age-old nostalgia.

The scope of his work which registered in the eighties a certain urgency (at the cost of a few discrepancies) is a witness to the fact that in 1988 Archie Shepp was with Sonny Rollins one of the best interpreters in the babelian history of jazz.

With his freedom loving sensitivity Archie Shepp has made an inestimable contribution to the gathering, the publicizing and the inventing of jazz.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/archie-shepp/

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Archie Shepp nació en 1937 en Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Creció en Filadelfia, estudió piano y saxofón y asistió a la escuela secundaria en Germantown; fue a la universidad, se involucró con el teatro, conoció escritores y poetas, entre ellos, Leroy Jones y escribió: "El comunista", una obra alegórica sobre la situación de los afroamericanos. A finales de los cincuenta, Archie Shepp también conoció a los músicos más radicales de la época: Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Jimmy Garrison, Ted Curson, Beaver Harris ... su conciencia política encontró expresión en obras de teatro y producciones teatrales que apenas le permitían ganarse la vida. A principios de los sesenta conoció a Cecil Taylor e hizo dos grabaciones con él que fueron determinantes.

En 1962 firmó su primer disco con Bill Dixon como colíder. Durante el año siguiente, creó The New York Contemporary Five con John Tchichai, grabó cuatro discos para Fontana, Storyville y Savoy y viajó a Europa con este grupo. A partir de agosto de 1964, trabajó con Impulse y realizó 17 discos entre los que destacan, Cuatro para Trane, Fire Music y Mama Too Tight, algunos de los clásicos de la Música Gratuita. Su colaboración con John Coltrane se materializó aún más con Ascension en 1965, un verdadero punto de inflexión en la música de Vanguardia. Su militancia quedó evidenciada por su participación en la creación del Gremio de Compositores junto a Paul y Carla Bley, Sun RA, Roswell Rudd y Cecil Taylor.

En julio de 1969 fue por primera vez a África para el Festival Panafricano en Argel, donde vivían muchos militantes afroamericanos. En esta ocasión grabó en directo para Byg el primero de los seis álbumes de la actual serie. En 1969 comenzó a enseñar Etnomusicología en la Universidad de Amherst, Massachusetts; al mismo tiempo continuó viajando por el mundo mientras continuaba expresando su identidad como músico afroamericano.

El diccionario de Jazz (Robert Laffont, Bouquins) lo define de la siguiente manera: "Un artista e intelectual de primer nivel, Archie Shepp ha estado a la cabeza del movimiento vanguardista del Free Jazz y ha sido capaz de unirse a la corriente principal del Jazz, sin dejar de ser fiel a su estética. Ha desarrollado una verdadera poliinstrumentalidad: contralto, también toca soprano desde 1969, piano desde 1975 y, más recientemente, canta ocasionalmente blues y standards.»

Puebla su mundo musical con temas y elementos estilísticos proporcionados por las mejores voces del jazz: desde Ellington hasta Monk y Mingus, desde Parker hasta Siver y Taylor. Su capacidad técnica y emocional le permite integrar los variados elementos heredados por los Maestros del Tenor desde Webster hasta Coltrane en su propia interpretación pero según su propia combinación: la aspereza salvaje de sus ataques, su sonido masivo esculpido por un vibrato dominado en todos los rangos, sus frases llevadas a la falta de aliento, sus cambios bruscos de nivel, la intensidad de sus tempos pero también la ternura aterciopelada entretejida en una balada. Su interpretación profundiza constantemente el espíritu de las dos caras de la música afroamericana original: blues y espirituales. Su trabajo con clásicos y con composiciones propias (Bessie Smith's Black Water Blues o Mama Rose) contribuye a mantener vivo el poder de extrañeza de estas dos músicas en relación con la música europea y se expresa en una mezcla única de violencia herida y nostalgia milenaria.

El alcance de su obra que registró en los ochenta cierta urgencia (a costa de algunas discrepancias) atestigua que en 1988 Archie Shepp era junto a Sonny Rollins uno de los mejores intérpretes de la historia babélica del jazz.

Con su sensibilidad amante de la libertad, Archie Shepp ha hecho una contribución inestimable a la reunión, la difusión y la invención del jazz.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/archie-shepp/


Tracks:
1 - Attica Blues, Part 1
2 - Steam
3 - Quiet Dawn
4 - Hi-Fly
5 - U-Jaama
6 - Antes De Adios
7 - Star Love
8 - Moon Bees
9 - Strollin'
10 - Ballad For A Child
11 - Simone
12 - Crucificado
13 - A Change Has Come Over Me
14 - Goodbye Sweet Pops
15 - Skippin'
16 - Attica Blues, Part 2


Credits:
    Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass – Avery Sharpe
    Acoustic Bass, Tuba – Hakim Jami
    Cello, Piano, Vocals – Akua Dixon
    Design, Graphics – Pierre Delgado
    Directed By – Ray Copeland
    Drums – Clifford Jarvis
    Guitar – Brandon Ross
    Percussion – Kevin Jones (6)
    Piano – Art Matthews
    Producer – Emile De La Tour, Gérard Terronès, Odile Terronès, Eric Terronès*
    Recorded By – Philippe Omnès
    Recorded By [Assistant] – Bernard Darsh*
    Saxophone, Flute – James Ware, John Purcell, Marion Brown, Marvin Blackman, Patience Higgins
    Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Piano, Leader – Archie Shepp
    Supervised By [Editing] – Archie Shepp
    Supervised By [Mixing] – Ray Copeland
    Synthesizer – Clyde Crimer*
    Trombone – Charles "Majeed" Greenlee*, Charles Stephens, Dick Griffin, Ray Harris*, Steve Turre
    Trumpet – Charles McGhee, Eddie Preston, Kamal Alim*, Richard "Malachi" Thompson*, Roy Burrowes
    Viola – Carl Ector
    Violin – Candice Greene
    Violin, Vocals – Terry Jenoure
    Vocals – Irene Datcher, Joe Lee Wilson

Recorded on October 24th 1979.

Label:    Blue Marge – 1001
Released:    2004
Genre:    Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style:    Soul-Jazz, Big Band, Contemporary Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/4700600-Archie-Shepp-Attica-Blues-Big-Band-Live-At-The-Palais-Des-Glaces

 

 

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