Almeda (album)

Last updated

Almeda
Cecil Taylor Almeda cover.jpg
Live album by
Released2004
RecordedNovember 2, 1996
VenuePodewil, Berlin
Genre Jazz
Length1:16:47
Label FMP
Producer Jost Gebers
Cecil Taylor chronology
Corona
(2018)
Almeda
(2004)
The Light of Corona
(2003)

Almeda is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil", the headquarters of the Kulturprojekte Berlin non-profit organisation, on November 2, 1996, and released in 2004 on the FMP label. The album features Taylor with eight other musicians, and is a recording of a single performance lasting over an hour. The same group recorded the album The Light of Corona the following day. In 2012, FMP also released Almeda (To Matie), with the same musicians, as part of their Archive Edition. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

In the album liner notes, Volker Spicker wrote: "The diversity of musical relationships within the ensemble, the profusion of changes and the form of the entity create a process which is as manifold as life and nature itself. If you allow yourself to open up, the music raises the sensitivity, the attention for every process, for life in general in oneself. As in trance, the preconceived patterns of perception which normally put the world in a kind of schema, fade away..." [4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]

In his AllMusic review, arwulf arwulf wrote: "the nearly 77-minute performance ritual Almeda easily stands among Cecil Taylor's finest large ensemble realizations... Almeda's forces are expansive and colorfully unfurled... Taylor delivers poetry with his voice at the outset, and only participates with the piano during the closing movement, which lasts more than 35 minutes. The realm of intuitive group improvisation has been explored and celebrated in earnest since the early '60s. Almeda represents a particularly engaging plateau where nine individuals succeeded in establishing an uncommonly fertile common ground." [5]

Writing for All About Jazz , Russ Musto commented: "There is genuine drama in the music, which is in many ways narrative, yet indescribable. There's a sense of humanity and natural order to it that leads one to believe that although it sounds like no other music, it does have its own place in describing something of this universe, or perhaps out of it. It is a soundtrack for the world of Cecil Taylor, which is indeed a very interesting world. There's sensitivity and strength, foreboding and joy, power and delicacy, conflict and conviction. It's all very refreshing and intriguing, unlike anything else in both its mechanics and spirituality... At the piano, Taylor remains a force of nature, capable of expressing the full range of emotions from the most delicate to the most intense, with a sense of pathos and humor, and inspiring his followers' incredibly creative improvisations. The music is both energizing and cathartic. It draws in the attentive listener and rewards them with an unparalleled experience that awakens the imagination and provides an escape from and insight into this world." [7]

In a review for Dusted Magazine, Marc Medwin remarked: "I have usually preferred Taylor's solo efforts to those of the Unit, but Almeda is an entirely different animal.... this 76-minute piece focuses on timbral exploration, which is apparent from the first hushed moments. Groans, ululations, sharp exclamations, a faint drone and occasional shamanic drums fade in, as if arising from the earth. Small fragments of history gradually encroach – slides, squeaks and shrills reminiscent of what Taylor calls 'that fictitious term "jazz."'... pointillism jousts and rebounds, with Taylor spending much of the disc's early portion inside the piano, thumping, strumming and plucking... Essentially, Almeda is a huge circle, ending where it began as the sounds slowly submerge. This is a work of lightning-fast whip-crack transformation, glacial ebb and flow and static grandeur all in one, huge slab of sound. This one might even be tough going initially for longtime Taylor enthusiasts, but I can promise, top-notch playing from all, rewards a-plenty and hours of transcendental fun." [8]

Matthew Sumera, writing for One Final Note, wrote: "Almeda must certainly go down as one of the great long-form pieces this genre of music has ever produced. Even compared with Taylor's own high standards, Almeda is a striking piece for large group improvisation, a composition of continual reinvention, constant revolution, where the whole is vastly superior to the sum of its parts... Beyond the sheer multitude of sound and device, Almeda exhibits an ironclad discipline clearly driven by Taylor's own genius. Even though his own playing is rarely featured..., the piece has his stamp all over it. The best method for approaching this 74-minute piece is, perhaps, as a solo performance, with The Ensemble representing one unified instrument rather than the work of nine men. Just as Taylor behind the piano often blurs keys and strings, his rhythms and intervals creating massive clusters that cannot be separated into constituent pieces, so too is The Ensemble similarly convened... This is group music of the highest order. Perhaps most important for its example of Taylor as band leader, a leader certainly equal to Ellington and Mingus, Almeda stands soundly beside any of the former's suites and the latter's epochal Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Taken with Coltrane's Ascension and Coleman's Free Jazz, Almeda is a pinnacle of long-form Great Black Music, both ancient and future." [9]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "a transcendent live set" with "some marvelous episodes along the way", but noted issues with the recording, stating: "the textures are often muddled, the piano... frequently indistinct." [6]

Track listing

Composition by Cecil Taylor
  1. "Almeda" – 1:16:47

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Taylor</span> American composer and poet (1929–2018)

Cecil Percival Taylor was an American pianist and poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Rivers (jazz musician)</span> American jazz musician and composer

Samuel Carthorne Rivers was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica, piano and viola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Parker</span> British saxophone player

Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.

<i>Love for Sale</i> (Cecil Taylor album) 1959 studio album by Cecil Taylor

Love for Sale is an album by the pianist Cecil Taylor, recorded for the United Artists label in April 1959. The album features performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, and Denis Charles with Bill Barron and Ted Curson added on three tracks.

<i>Cecil Taylor Unit</i> 1978 studio album by Cecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor Unit is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in April 1978 and released on the New World label. The album features three performances by Taylor on piano with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, trumpeter Raphe Malik, violinist Ramsey Ameen, bassist Sirone and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. The album was recorded during the same sessions that produced 3 Phasis. Taylor is heard on a 96-key Bösendorfer piano about which he commented: it "will stop you cold if you're not ready."

<i>Live in the Black Forest</i> 1978 live album by Cecil Taylor

Live in the Black Forest is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in June 1978 at the SWF-Radio JazzConcert in Kirchzarten, Black Forest, West Germany, and released on the MPS label. The album features two performances by Taylor with Raphe Malik, Jimmy Lyons, Ramsey Ameen, Sirone and Ronald Shannon Jackson.

<i>Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)</i> 1985 studio album by Cecil Taylor

Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Milan, Italy on October 22–24, 1984 and released on the Soul Note label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Enrico Rava, Tomasz Stanko, Frank Wright, John Tchicai, Gunter Hampel, Karen Borca, Andre Martinez, William Parker and Rashid Bakr who are billed as The Orchestra of Two Continents.

<i>Always a Pleasure</i> 1996 live album by Cecil Taylor

Always a Pleasure is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the Workshop Freie Musik at the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin on April 8, 1993, and released in 1996 on the FMP label. The album features a concert performance by Taylor with Longineu Parsons, Harri Sjöström, Charles Gayle, Tristan Honsinger, Sirone and Rashid Bakr.

<i>Nailed</i> (Cecil Taylor album) 2000 live album by Cecil Taylor

Nailed is a live album by Cecil Taylor, Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Tony Oxley recorded on September 26, 1990 at the Bechstein Concert Hall in Berlin and released on the FMP label.

<i>Legba Crossing</i> 1989 live album by Cecil Taylor

Legba Crossing is a live album featuring a performance by Cecil Taylor's Workshop Ensemble recorded in Berlin on July 15, 1988 as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label. Taylor did not play the piano on this album, but instead directed the ensemble and contributed vocalizations.

<i>Erzulie Maketh Scent</i> 1989 live album by Cecil Taylor

Erzulie Maketh Scent is a live album featuring a solo performance by pianist Cecil Taylor recorded in Berlin on July 16, 1988 as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.

<i>Leaf Palm Hand</i> 1989 live album by Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley

Leaf Palm Hand is a live album featuring a performance by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley recorded in Berlin on July 17, 1988 as part of month long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.

<i>Melancholy</i> (album) 1999 live album by Cecil Taylor

Melancholy is a live album by Cecil Taylor's Workshop Ensemble featuring Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Tony Oxley recorded on September 30, 1990, at the Bechstein Concert Hall in Berlin and released on the FMP label.

<i>Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3</i> 2007 live album by Roscoe Mitchell

Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 is a live album by jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell recorded in Germany in 2004 and released on the ECM label.

<i>CT: The Dance Project</i> 2008 live album by Cecil Taylor

CT: The Dance Project is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the Summer Music concert series at the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin on July 8, 1990, and released in 2008 by FMP. The album documents a multimedia event that featured Taylor, bassist William Parker, percussionist Masashi Harada, and a group of four dancers.

<i>Algonquin</i> (album) 2004 live album by Cecil Taylor

Algonquin is a live album by American pianist Cecil Taylor. It was recorded on February 12, 1999, at the Library of Congress, which commissioned the work, and was released in 2004 by Bridge Records as part of their series "Great Performances from the Library of Congress". On the album, Taylor is joined by violinist Mat Maneri.

<i>Incarnation</i> (Cecil Taylor album) 2004 live album by Cecil Taylor

Incarnation is a live album by American pianist Cecil Taylor. It was recorded on November 4, 1999 during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil" in Berlin, and was released in 2004 by FMP. On the album, Taylor is joined by guitarist Franky Douglas, cellist Tristan Honsinger, and drummer Andrew Cyrille.

<i>The Light of Corona</i> 2003 live album by Cecil Taylor

The Light of Corona is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil", the headquarters of the Kulturprojekte Berlin non-profit organisation, on November 3, 1996, and released in 2003 on the FMP label. The album features Taylor with eight other musicians, and is a recording of two sections of a piece with a total duration of over an hour. The same group recorded the album Almeda the previous day.

<i>Corona</i> (album) 2018 live album by Cecil Taylor

Corona is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil", the headquarters of the Kulturprojekte Berlin non-profit organisation, on November 1, 1996, one day before the recording of the Taylor album Almeda, and two days before the recording of The Light of Corona. It was released in 2018 in digital format by the FMP label as part of their Archive Edition, and was reissued in 2021 in CD format by Corbett vs. Dempsey.

<i>Aoyama Crows</i> 2002 live album by Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo, William Parker, and Hamid Drake

Aoyama Crows is a live album by the Die Like a Dog Quartet: saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in November 1999 at the "Total Music Meeting" held at the Podewil in Berlin, and was released in 2002 by FMP.

References

  1. "Sessionography of Cecil Taylor". EFI Group. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. "FMP-Publishing: FMPArchive Edition". FMP. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  3. "Cecil Taylor – Almeda (To Matie)". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. Spicker, Volker (2004). Almeda (liner notes). Cecil Taylor. FMP. CD 126.
  5. 1 2 arwulf, arwulf. "Cecil Taylor: Almeda". AllMusic. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1270.
  7. Musto, Russ (July 12, 2005). "Cecil Taylor: Almeda". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. Medwin, Marc (April 23, 2006). "Cecil Taylor: Almeda". FMP. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  9. Sumera, Matthew (February 18, 2005). "Cecil Taylor: Almeda + All The Notes". One Final Note. Retrieved April 13, 2021.