| Beneath Tones Floor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Live album by Oluyemi Thomas, Sirone, and Michael Wimberly | |
| Released | 2010 |
| Recorded | 2008 |
| Venue | Brecht Forum, New York City |
| Genre | Free jazz |
| Label | NoBusiness Records |
| Producer | Danas Mikailionis |
Beneath Tones Floor is a live album by reed player Oluyemi Thomas, bassist Sirone, and drummer Michael Wimberly recorded at the Brecht Forum in New York City in 2008. It was released in 2010 by NoBusiness Records. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |   [3] |
In a review for All About Jazz , John Sharpe wrote: "Part of the strength of this set... is the tension created as the three never totally cut loose. They simmer with fierce intent, occasionally flaring but avoiding total combustion. Another of the main attractions is the intersection between Sirone's rich so-deep-it-is-almost-subterranean bass and Thomas' bass clarinet. Working through insistent phrases with the vocalized edge of an Eric Dolphy, the reed man overlays a nervy yelp in the upper register onto his gruff exclamations, while he is nasal on the musette but full-toned and astringent on soprano saxophone. Wimberly colors the exchanges, stoking the fires when needed, but largely supplies unselfish support for the double act of celebrated protagonists." [3]
In a separate All About Jazz article, Tim Niland commented: "this beautiful package... makes for a fitting send off for the great bassist Sirone who passed away not long after this recording was completed... the music unfolds gradually, with a sense of calm dignity that shows the musicians compassion for the performance and the Cosmos at large. There is spaciousness amongst the trio that allows their music to develop in an organic and unhurried manner... The trio's ability to improvise together as a collective unit and to sculpt the sound world around them makes this an impressive recording that deserves careful consideration and close listening." [4]
Writing for Moment's Notice, Ed Hazell stated: "Oluyemi Thomas has said that music has an element of prayer in it. That's certainly true of the music on this album... its supplication, compassion, and sanctified joy is prayerful indeed. It's also artfully contrived free jazz improvisation that makes brilliant use of contrasts in color and texture, instrumentation, and structure... The trio... are sure hands at free jazz improvisation. Each improvisation develops organically at its own pace, and without any fixed plan... Thomas, Sirone, and Wimberly play with a fervor imparted by a belief that what they're creating is more majestic, vaster, than the individual. There's a genuine feeling of praise and celebration, a hope borne of faith in a spiritual realm, and an energy and urgency that's needed to break the bonds and illusions of this world and reach a higher truth. Beautiful stuff." [5]
Ken Waxman, in an article for JazzWord, remarked: "Sirone's tough strumming and col legno patterning add the appropriate connecting thread to the 10 tracks which flow seamlessly into one another. Wimberly... knows exactly how to color the proceedings; using cross sticking, focused rim shots and clattering rumbles... Sirone's death means this rare example of cohesive, in-the-moment improvising can never be repeated. Luckily someone had the foresight to record this program." [6]
Clifford Allen, writing for Paris Transatlantic, commented: "While Sirone is not the leader here, the recording presents him front and center, directing the improvisations with furious growling wisps and surges that crackle with electricity and dovetail with Thomas's bass clarinet squawk... Sirone was never as well documented as he should have been, so it's all the more wonderful that this fine release captures his artistry within this very sympathetic trio." [7]
Barry John Guy is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras in the UK and Europe. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music under Buxton Orr, and later taught there.
Norris Jones, better known as Sirone was an American jazz bassist, trombonist, and composer.
The People's Republic is an album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded in late 1975 and released on the A&M/Horizon label the following year.
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Oluyemi Thomas is a free jazz bass clarinetist and saxophonist.
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Nigeria is an album by reed player Oluyemi Thomas. It was recorded in September 2001 at Solid Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was released in 2006 by Not Two Records.
First Ones is an album by Positive Knowledge, the jazz group founded and led by reed player Oluyemi Thomas and poet Ijeoma Chinue Thomas. It was recorded in April 2005 in Richmond, California, and was released later that year by Charles Lester Music.
Live in New York is a live album by Positive Knowledge, the jazz group founded and led by reed player Oluyemi Thomas and poet Ijeoma Chinue Thomas. It was recorded in May 2001 at the Vision Festival in New York City, and was released in 2003 by Edgetone Records. On the album, the duo are joined by bassist Wilber Morris and drummer Michael Wimberly.
Live is a live album by the cooperative jazz ensemble known as The Group, featuring saxophonist Marion Brown, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, violinist Billy Bang, bassists Sirone and Fred Hopkins, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The band's sole release, it was recorded on September 13, 1986, at the Jazz Center of New York in New York City, and was issued on LP and CD by NoBusiness Records in 2012, over 25 years after the concert.
NoBusiness Records is an independent record label, based in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The Freestyle Band is an album by the collective free jazz trio of the same name, featuring clarinetist Henry P. Warner, double bassist and pianist Earl Freeman, and hand drummer Philip Spigner. The group's sole release, it was recorded during 1984 at Sorcerer Sound in New York City, and was initially released on vinyl the same year by Adeyeme Productions Unlimited with cover art by Freeman. In 2012, it was reissued on CD with the title Freestyle Band by NoBusiness Records. The reissue contains two additional tracks, along with extensive notes by Ed Hazell, plus photos and reproductions of flyers.
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