| Calling All Mothers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Recorded | November 1993 at Streetville Studios, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 55:51 | |||
| Label | Quinnah Records Q05 | |||
| Producer | Mars Williams & Steve Lake | |||
| NRG Ensemble chronology | ||||
| ||||
Calling All Mothers is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their first after the death of bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1993 and released on the Quinnah label.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| DownBeat | [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [3] |
The AllMusic review by William York states that "the album has a nice element of diversity, yet it still coheres well... They play virtually every piece like it's an encore, but, fortunately, the material is strong enough to sustain such intensity". [1]
The DownBeat review by Bill Shoemaker states: "Though the set includes three Russell pieces utilizing everything from nimble swing pastiches to full-bore sax blasts, the compositional strengths of Williams, Hunt and newcomer multi-reedist Ken Vandermark preclude the possibility of NRG ever becoming a ghost band." [2]
Ken Vandermark is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist.
Hal Russell was an American free jazz composer, band leader and multi-instrumentalist who performed mainly on saxophone and drums but occasionally on trumpet or vibraphone. Russel's fiery music was marked by significant humor, not unlike much of Dutch drummer Han Bennink's output. His music was so accessible that People magazine hailed The Finnish Swiss Tour on ECM as one of its top 5 albums of the year. Russell set the table for the free improv and free jazz scene which exploded later in the 1990s in Chicago.
Marc Charles "Mars" Williams was an American jazz and rock saxophonist. He was a member of the American new wave band The Waitresses from 1980 to 1983, and a member of the British post-punk band The Psychedelic Furs from 1983 to 1989 and again from 2005 until his death in 2023. Williams also was a founding member of the acid jazz group Liquid Soul, and a member of the free jazz-oriented NRG Ensemble.
Kent Kessler is an American jazz double-bassist.
NRG Ensemble was an American free jazz ensemble founded in the late 1970s by saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell.
NRG Ensemble is the debut album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1981 and released on Nessa. It was reissued in 2012 with new artwork and two bonus tracks previously unreleased from a demo tape the band gave to producer Chuck Nessa prior to the sessions.
The Finnish/Swiss Tour is a live album by the Hal Russell NRG Ensemble recorded in November 1991 at Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland and the Internationales Jazz Festival in Switzerland and released on ECM October the following year. The quintet features saxophonist Mars Williams and rhythm section Brian Sandstrom, Kent Kessler and Steve Hunt.
The Hal Russell Story is the final album by the Hal Russell NRG Ensemble, recorded in Switzerland in July 1992 and released on ECM the following year—Russell's final recording before his death, five weeks later.
Hal on Earth is an album by American avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell recorded in 1989 which was originally released on cassette and released on CD on the Abduction label in 1995.
Generation is an album by American avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble with Charles Tyler, recorded in 1982 and originally released on the Nessa label. It was reissued in 2014 with two bonus tracks previously unreleased from an early audition recording made when the band was a pre-Sandstrom quartet.
Caffeine is the eponymous debut album by the free improvisation trio consisting of Jim Baker on piano, Steve Hunt on percussion and Ken Vandermark on reeds. It was recorded in 1993 and released on Okka Disk. By the time of recording, Vandermark and Hunt were members of the NRG Ensemble.
Solid Action is an album by the American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, recorded in 1994 and released on Platypus. It was the second record by the Vandermark Quartet, which includes bassist Kent Kessler, drummer Michael Zerang and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Scanlan replacing former guitarist Todd Colburn.
Standards is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1994 and released on the Quinnah label.
Utility Hitter is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Quinnah label. He leads the Barrage Double Trio, composed of one bass-drums-reeds trio from Boston and other from Chicago. The whole band plays six Vandermark compositions, the remaining five tracks are short improvisations: one for each of the trios and three duos.
Hoofbeats of the Snorting Swine is an album by Cinghiale, a reed duo composed of Mars Williams and Ken Vandermark, which was released in 1996 on Eighth Day Music. At the time of recording Vandermark was member of the post-Hal Russell NRG Ensemble under Williams' leadership.
Blow Horn is an album by FJF, a quartet formed by Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and American reedist Ken Vandermark with the Chicago's NRG Ensemble rhythm section of bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Steve Hunt. It was recorded in 1995 and released on Okka Disk.
Target or Flag is an album by the American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, recorded in 1997 and released on Atavistic. It was the second recording of the Vandermark 5, which includes Mars Williams on reeds, Jeb Bishop on trombone and guitar, Kent Kessler on bass and Tim Mulvenna on drums.
Stumble is the second album by the AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark, which was recorded live at Chicago's Unity Temple in 1998 and released on Wobbly Rail, a short-lived imprint started by Merge Records/Superchunk principal Mac McCaughan. AALY Trio is a Swedish free jazz band led by saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Originally just a guest, Vandermark became a full member of the group.
Simpatico is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1998 and released on Atavistic. It was the third recording of the Vandermark 5, the first with Dave Rempis replacing former saxophonist Mars Williams.
This Is My House is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their second with saxophonist Ken Vandermark in place of the bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1995 and released on Delmark.