| Burning Spirits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | November 24, 1970 Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 79:18 | |||
| Label | Contemporary S7625/26 | |||
| Producer | Lester Koenig | |||
| Sonny Simmons chronology | ||||
| ||||
Burning Spirits is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Simmons (credited as Huey Simmons on the initial release), which was recorded in 1970 and released on the Contemporary label. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Rolling Stone | favorable [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ (  ) [6] |
AllMusic awarded the album four stars with its review by Alex Henderson stating: "Burning Spirits is generally more free jazz than post-bop. But regardless of whether Simmons is playing inside or outside (usually outside), the saxman plays with tremendous conviction on this album." [3]
Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone commented: "Simmons and friends have taken the developments of the past ten years [...] and compacted them into an ever-changing kaleidoscope of spaces and densities that make a lot of what's au courant seem pale by comparison. If you buy only one LP of 'jazz' music this year, make it this one." [4]
Writing for All About Jazz, Jeff Stockton commented: "it would be nearly 22 years before [Simmons] made another significant recording after Burning Spirits. The harrowing intensity of the solos, the unrelenting quest for transcendence, and the overriding spirituality of the compositions indicate a substantial amount of recovery time was in order... For 80 minutes Burning Spirits grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go. It's a full dose of old school energy music that's hard to come by these days." [7]
All compositions by Huey Simmons
Song for My Father is a 1965 album by the Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label in 1965. The album was inspired by a trip that Silver had made to Brazil. The cover artwork features a photograph of Silver's father, John Tavares Silver, to whom the title composition was dedicated. "My mother was of Irish and Negro descent, my father of Portuguese origin," Silver recalls in the liner notes: "He was born on the island of Maio, one of the Cape Verde Islands."
Huey "Sonny" Simmons was an American jazz musician.
In Concert is a live double album by American jazz musician Miles Davis. It was recorded in 1972 at the Philharmonic Hall in New York City. Columbia Records' original release did not credit any personnel, recording date, or track listing, apart from the inner liner listing the two titles "Foot Fooler" and "Slickaphonics."
Iron Man is an album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, recorded in 1963 and released by the Douglas International label in 1968. The album was reissued on disc two of Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions, released in 2018 by Resonance Records.
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Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is a 1959 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track. It was the last studio record Rollins made in the 1950s. Following the recording of "Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders", Rollins toured Europe in the spring of 1959, then took a hiatus from recording and performing in public that ended in 1962 with his LP The Bridge.
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Serenade to a Soul Sister is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1968, featuring performances by Silver with Charles Tolliver, Stanley Turrentine, Bennie Maupin, Bob Cranshaw, John Williams, Mickey Roker and Billy Cobham.
Conversations is a 1963 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy first released by the FM label and later reissued by Vee-Jay as The Eric Dolphy Memorial Album the following year. The album was reissued on disc one of Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions, released in 2018 by Resonance Records.
Social Studies is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley, recorded in 1980 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1981.
Solid is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green, containing performances recorded in 1964 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1979. McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Bob Cranshaw from Green’s previous session are joined by alto saxophonist James Spaulding and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson.
Evolution is the debut album led by the American trombonist Grachan Moncur III, recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. Featuring alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Lee Morgan, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Tony Williams, Evolution is considered a significant contribution to the jazz avant-garde. Two McLean albums also recorded for Blue Note in 1963 featured Moncur and his compositions, and explored the same "inside/outside" musical approach.
Jazz in ¾ Time is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in late 1956 and early 1957 and released on the EmArcy label.
Staying on the Watch is the debut album by jazz musician Sonny Simmons. It was released as ESP-1030 on the ESP-Disk label in 1966. The cover photograph is a mirror image displaying Simmons playing left handed against the NYC skyline.
Spirits is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1964 and first released on the Danish Debut label then later released on the Freedom label as Witches & Devils.
Spirits Rejoice is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1965 and first released on the ESP-Disk label. The recording session took place without an audience at Judson Hall, which had been rented solely for recording purposes.
The Cry! is an album by saxophonists Prince Lasha and Sonny Simmons which was recorded in late 1962 and released on the Contemporary label.
Tara's Song is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. It was recorded on May 10, 2004, at Loho Studios in New York City, and was released in 2005 by TUM Records. On the album, Abdullah is joined by members of his band Ebonic Tones: saxophonist Alex Harding, violinist Billy Bang, bassist Alex Blake, and drummer Andrei Strobert.
