| Far Side | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory | ||||
| Released | 2010 | |||
| Recorded | March 17, 2007 | |||
| Venue | Stadtsaal Burghausen, Germany | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 65:53 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 2087 | |||
| Producer | Steve Lake | |||
| Roscoe Mitchell chronology | ||||
| ||||
Far Side is a live album by jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory recorded at the Stadtsaal in Burghausen, Germany on March 17, 2007, and released on ECM in 2010. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| DownBeat | [3] |
| All About Jazz | [4] |
| PopMatters |   [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| Financial Times | [7] |
The AllMusic review by Matt Collar awarded the album 4 stars stating "If you're a hardcore Mitchell aficionado and/or fan of ECM's cerebral jazz catalog, Far Side would be a stellar addition to your library." [2]
In a review for DownBeat , Alain Drouot stated that Mitchell's "ability to create a maelstrom powered by his dazzling circular breathing technique, his keen interest in textures or his use of extremely sparse notes are all highlighted and, as a result, Far Side is a fine addition to his ... discography." [3]
All About Jazz reviewer John Kelman described Far Side as "an album that, while not for the faint-at-heart, delivers reward after reward to the intrepid ear, so thorough and so compelling, that it's impossible to truly capture what's happening on the first, second, or even tenth listen." [4]
John Garratt, writing for PopMatters, remarked: "the granddaddy of the Chicago avant-garde is still exploring the abstract nature of sound with acoustic instruments. Although Mitchell has recorded under the Note Factory name before, Far Side is a far less jazzy affair than its predecessors... For those faithful to the Art Ensemble of Chicago and beyond, Roscoe Mitchell's experimental sound will still be a welcome challenge." [5]
In an article for Jazz Times, Britt Robson stated: "Looking over the nearly half-century that Roscoe Mitchell has been expanding the envelope of avant-garde jazz, it is remarkable how consistent his principles and sound have remained... Let's get this man more opportunities to play when the tapes are rolling. What's beyond the Far Side?" [8]
The Guardian's John Fordham wrote: "this subtly assembled show gets a lot out of its participants – and mixes the anticipated maelstroms of collective tussling with passages of a kind of rough-surfaced tranquillity, eloquent layering of the qualities of reeds, brass, deep strings and percussion, and some scaldingly imaginative flights from its premier-league pianists." [6]
Mike Hobart of the Financial Times commented: "The somewhat bleak hovering dissonance, off-kilter rhythms and swirling ensembles are remarkably contained for a live performance... Craig Taborn’s space-aware piano stands out, Corey Wilkes adds soulful trumpet spike and pianist VJ Iyer warms up the final track, though its the leader’s sustained burst of circular-breathed saxophone that lingers most." [7]
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).
Tim Berne is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones.
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.
Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 is a live album by jazz saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell recorded in Germany in September 2004 and released on ECM in 2007.
Boustrophedon is a live album by free jazz saxophonist and composer Evan Parker and the Transatlantic Art Ensemble, featuring Roscoe Mitchell, recorded in Germany in September 2004 and released on ECM in 2008.
Ken Stubbs is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
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.
The Sirens is a 2013 studio album by jazz saxophonist Chris Potter, recorded in September 2011 and released on ECM in January 2013, his first venture for the label. It features Potter with longtime collaborators, pianist Craig Taborn and bassist Larry Grenadier, along with keyboardist David Virelles and drummer Eric Harland.
Mutations is a studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in September 2013 and released on ECM the following year. The titular suite features a string quartet consisting violinists Michi Wiancko and Miranda Cuckson, violist Kyle Armbrust, and cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman.
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.
Made in Chicago is a live album by drummer and composer Jack DeJohnette recorded at the 35th Chicago Jazz Festival on August 29, 2013 and released on ECM in March 2015. The quintet features fellow Chicagoan musicians pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, bassist Larry Gray and saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill—a reunion of DeJohnette with colleagues from Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.
Daylight Ghosts is an album by Craig Taborn, with Chris Speed, Chris Lightcap, and Dave King. It was released by ECM Records in 2017.
Jaribu Abdurahman Shahid is an American jazz bassist. He plays both double-bass and electric bass.
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.
Imaginary Cities is a studio album by the Chris Potter Underground Orchestra recorded in December 2013 and released on ECM in January 2015, Potter's second album for the label. The ensembles features the return of his "Underground Quartet"—consisting rhythm section Craig Taborn, Adam Rogers, and Nate Smith—alongside vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Scott Colley, bass guitarist Fima Ephron, and a string quartet.
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.
Sunshine is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his third as a leader. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label later that year. On the album, Murray is joined by Arthur Jones and Roscoe Mitchell on alto saxophone, Archie Shepp and Kenneth Terroade on tenor saxophone, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Dave Burrell on piano, and Malachi Favors and Alan Silva on bass.
