| Conversations II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Roscoe Mitchell with Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku | ||||
| Released | April 15, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | September 13 and 14, 2013 | |||
| Studio | Wide Hive Records, Berkeley, California | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 63:10 | |||
| Label | Wide Hive WH-0319 | |||
| Producer | Gregory Howe | |||
| Roscoe Mitchell chronology | ||||
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Conversations II is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, with pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Kikanju Baku which was recorded in 2013 and released on Wide Hive. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| DownBeat |   [2] |
In his review for Sydney Morning Herald, John Shand states, "Here the anguished energy of the '60s continues to burn (as it does in St Louis) in a series improvisations so dense that it is like peering through the layers of paint on a Jackson Pollock painting. Its very relentlessness is thrilling, independently of the high levels of invention, but it is assuredly not for the faint-hearted" [3]
Regarding Conversations I and II, DownBeat's Bill Meyer commented: "Both of these CDs are remarkably consistent; the engagement and invention never flags, which makes it hard to favor one over the other... Not only is the sound crisp and immaculate, it imparts a spacial experience that makes it feel like the music is happening all around the listener." [2]
All compositions by Roscoe Mitchell, Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku except were noted
Roscoe Mitchell is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". The Penguin Guide to Jazz described him as "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz; All About Jazz stated in 2004 that he had been "at the forefront of modern music" for more than 35 years. Critic Jon Pareles in The New York Times has mentioned that Mitchell "qualifies as an iconoclast". In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Mitchell is known for cofounding the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Tani Tabbal is a jazz drummer who has worked with Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, and Cassandra Wilson.
Craig Marvin Taborn is an American pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer. He works solo and in bands, mostly playing various forms of jazz. He started playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was influenced at an early stage by a wide range of music, including by the freedom expressed in recordings of free jazz and contemporary classical music.
Gerald Cleaver is a jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan.
Nine to Get Ready is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell recorded in May 1997 and released on ECM in 1999. The nonet features brass section Hugh Ragin and George Lewis, and double-rhythm section Matthew Shipp and Craig Taborn, Jaribu Shahid and William Parker, and Tani Tabbal and Gerald Cleaver.
Far Side is a live album by jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory recorded at the Stadthalle in Burghausen, Germany on March 17, 2007 and released on ECM in 2010.
Chants is an album by the Craig Taborn Trio recorded in New York in June 2012 and released on ECM April the following year. The trio features Taborn on piano with rhythm section Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver.
Craig Taborn is a pianist, keyboard and electronics player, chiefly in jazz. By the end of 2020, he had appeared on 14 albums as a leader or co-leader and more than 100 as a sideman.
Turn is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 2005 and released on the French RogueArt label. He leads a new quintet with longtime rhythm section Jaribu Shahid on bass and Tani Tabbal on drums, pianist Craig Taborn and new Art Ensemble of Chicago trumpeter Corey Wilkes.
Song for My Sister is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 2002 and released on Pi Recordings. It was the third studio recording by the Note Factory, a nonet with twin rhythm sections. Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn will later record duo album The Transitory Poems in 2019.
The Bad Guys is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and The Note Factory, which was recorded live in 2000 at the Jazz by the Sea Festival in Fano. It was released by the Around Jazz label in 2003.
Farmers by Nature is an album by a collective trio consisting of Gerald Cleaver on drums, William Parker on bass and Craig Taborn on piano. The three of them were specifically brought together by Cleaver. They had played previously on Rob Brown's album Crown Trunk Root Funk. The album was recorded live at The Stone in 2008 and released on the AUM Fidelity label.
Daylight Ghosts is an album by Craig Taborn, with Chris Speed, Chris Lightcap, and Dave King. It was released by ECM Records in 2017.
Bells for the South Side is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, which was recorded live in 2015 at Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in the context of The Freedom Principle, a 50th-anniversary exhibition devoted to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and released on ECM.
Duets with Tyshawn Sorey and Special Guest Hugh Ragin is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, which was recorded in 2012 and released on Wide Hive.
Conversations I is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, with pianist with Craig Taborn and drummer Kikanju Baku which was recorded in 2013 and released on Wide Hive.
Improvisation is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell recorded in London at the Cafe Oto, with bassist John Edwards and drummer Tony Marsh which was recorded and released the venue's Otoroku label as a limited edition double LP and download.
Uncharted Territories is a two-disc studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland together with saxophonist Evan Parker, percussionist Ches Smith, and pianist Craig Taborn. The album was released on May 11, 2018 via Holland's own Dare2 Records label.
The Transitory Poems is a live album by pianists Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn recorded at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest on March 12, 2018 and released on ECM a year later.
Activate Infinity is an album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus that was released by Edition on October 25, 2019. The album contains eight original compositions written by band members.
