Cryptology (album)

Last updated
Cryptology
Cryptology David Ware Cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Released1995
RecordedDecember 2, 1994
StudioSound on Sound, New York
Genre Jazz
Length61:36
Label Homestead
Producer David S. Ware
David S. Ware chronology
Earthquation
(1994)
Cryptology
(1995)
Oblations and Blessings
(1996)

Cryptology is an album by jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1994 and released by Homestead Records.

Contents

Background

In fall 1992, Steven Joerg took over as Homestead Records' manager. While he continued the label's indie-rock trajectory, Joerg adopted a radically different vision integrating free jazz on the same label where Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Big Black recorded seminal records. [1] Pianist Matthew Shipp, who had a duo record with bassist William Parker on a Texas punk-rock label which had a deal with Homestead's parent company, talked him into signing the David S. Ware Quartet. [2] According to Ware, Cryptology was "a meditation on Coltrane's example of using music as a vehicle for transcendence." [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek says about the album "It is raw, unwavering, and intense almost beyond measure." [4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz states that "the long-form, linked improvisations on Cryptology is an impressive first draft." [5]

The album garnered a Lead Review slot in Rolling Stone by David Fricke, who says about the title piece "It's a sharp lesson for anyone who thinks free jazz is just a euphemism for no discipline". [6]

The Wire placed the album in their "50 Records Of The Year 1995" list. [7]

Track listing

All compositions by David S. Ware
  1. "Solar Passage" – 6:42
  2. "Direction: Pleiades" – 9:04
  3. "Dinosauria" – 10:03
  4. "Cryptology / Theme Stream" – 14:19
  5. "Panoramic" – 10:45
  6. "The Liberator" – 10:44

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Shipp</span> American pianist, composer, and bandleader

Matthew Shipp is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader.

AUM Fidelity is an independent record label in New York City primarily devoted to avant-garde jazz artists such as William Parker, Matthew Shipp, and David S. Ware. It has also released recordings by improvisational rock band Shrimp Boat and exclusively distributes the CaseQuarter and Riti labels. It was founded in 1997 by former Homestead Records label manager Steven Joerg.

<i>Flight of I</i> 1992 studio album by David S. Ware

Flight of I is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware recorded in 1991 and released by the Japanese DIW label and through a temporary licensing arrangement in the United States by Columbia Records. This is the last recording of the David S. Ware Quartet's original lineup with drummer Marc Edwards, who would be replaced by Whit Dickey. Unlike previous albums, Ware only plays tenor sax and tackles two of his favorite standards, Harry Warren's "There Will Never Be Another You" and Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays", and the ballad "Sad Eyes", composed by free jazz saxophonist Arthur Jones.

<i>Third Ear Recitation</i> 1993 studio album by David S. Ware

Third Ear Recitation is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware recorded in 1992 and released on the Japanese DIW label. This is the first recording by the David S. Ware Quartet with Whit Dickey replacing former drummer Marc Edwards.

<i>DAO</i> (album) 1996 studio album by David S. Ware

DAO is an album by the American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1995 and released on Homestead. In contrast with most of the quartet's previous albums, they didn't undergo the usual rigorous rehearsals for the recording, getting into the studio the day after the Oblations and Blessings sessions. DAO was the fifth and last recording by the David S. Ware Quartet with drummer Whit Dickey, who would be replaced by Susie Ibarra.

<i>Godspelized</i> 1996 studio album by David S. Ware

Godspelized is an album by the American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1996 and released on the Japanese DIW label. It was the first recording by the David S. Ware Quartet with drummer Susie Ibarra replacing Whit Dickey. The album includes a version of Sun Ra composition "The Stargazers".

<i>Wisdom of Uncertainty</i> 1997 studio album by David S. Ware

Wisdom of Uncertainty is the eleventh album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware which was recorded in 1996 and became the first release on the AUM Fidelity label.

<i>Go See the World</i> 1998 studio album by David S. Ware

Go See the World is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware which was recorded in 1997 and became his first release on the Columbia label.

<i>Surrendered</i> (album) 2000 studio album by David S. Ware

Surrendered is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware which was recorded in 1999 and became his second and final release on the Columbia label.

<i>Circular Temple</i> 1992 studio album by Matthew Shipp

Circular Temple is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp featuring his trio with bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey, which was recorded in 1990 and released on the tiny label Quinton Records. The album was reissued in 1994 by Infinite Zero, a label founded by Henry Rollins and Rick Rubin to re-release out-of-print records, which was a division of American Recordings, under the umbrella of Warner Bros. Records. It will be reissued on CD and, for the first time, on vinyl in 2023 on ESP-Disk'.

<i>Zo</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Matthew Shipp

Zo is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp with bassist William Parker, which was recorded in 1993 and released on the tiny label Rise Records. The album was reissued in 1997 by the 2.13.61 label, founded by Henry Rollins, in partnership with Thirsty Ear Recordings.

<i>Thesis</i> (Matthew Shipp and Joe Morris album) 1997 studio album by Matthew Shipp

Thesis is an album by the American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, featuring a duo with guitarist Joe Morris, recorded in 1997 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label. Shipp played previously with the Joe Morris Ensemble on the album Elsewhere, but Thesis represents their first collaboration with Shipp as a leader.

<i>The Multiplication Table</i> 1998 studio album by Matthew Shipp

The Multiplication Table is an album by the American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, recorded in 1997 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label.

<i>Strata</i> (Matthew Shipp album) 1998 studio album by Matthew Shipp

Strata is an album by the American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, recorded in 1997 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label.

<i>Time Is of the Essence Is Beyond Time</i> 2000 live album by Other Dimensions In Music

Time Is of the Essence Is Beyond Time is the third album by free jazz collective quartet Other Dimensions In Music, composed of trumpeter Roy Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, bassist William Parker and drummer Rashid Bakr. For this special quintet, recorded live in 1997 and released on the AUM Fidelity label, they are joined by pianist Matthew Shipp.

<i>Freedom Suite</i> (David S. Ware album) 2002 studio album by David S. Ware

Freedom Suite is an album by saxophonist David S. Ware featuring his interpretation of the Sonny Rollins composition which was recorded in 2002 and released on the AUM Fidelity label.

<i>Threads</i> (David S. Ware album) 2003 studio album by David S. Ware String Ensemble

Threads is an album by saxophonist and composer David S. Ware's String Ensemble which was recorded in 2003 and released on the Thirsty Ear label.

<i>BalladWare</i> 2006 studio album by David S. Ware Quartet

BalladWare is an album by saxophonist and composer David S. Ware's Quartet which was recorded in 1999 but not released on the Thirsty Ear label until 2006.

<i>Equilibrium</i> (Matthew Shipp album) 2003 studio album by Matthew Shipp

Equilibrium is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp recorded in 2002 and released on Thirsty Ear. According to Shipp, this fourth Blue Series record is a synthesis of what he learned from all their other albums in the series. He continues exploring beat elements with modern jazz.

<i>Renunciation</i> (album) 2007 live album by David S. Ware

Renunciation is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, which was recorded live at the 2006 Vision Festival and released on the AUM Fidelity label. It was the last U.S. performance by the David S. Ware Quartet.

References

  1. The oral history of AUM Fidelity at The Village Voice
  2. In Praise of David S. Ware at The Village Voice
  3. David S. Ware interview at Perfect Sound Forever
  4. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. David S. Ware – Cryptology: Review at AllMusic . Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2002). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1516. ISBN   0-14-051521-6.
  6. Rolling Stone review Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine by David Fricke
  7. 1995 Rewind at The Wire