| Firestorm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Recorded | July 12 and 13, 1992 | |||
| Studio | East Side Sound Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Free jazz | |||
| Length | 56:48 | |||
| Label | Les Disques Victo CD 020 | |||
| Diedre Murray and Fred Hopkins chronology | ||||
| ||||
Firestorm is an album by cellist Diedre Murray and bassist Fred Hopkins. It was recorded at East Side Sound Studio in New York City during July 1992, and was released later that year by Les Disques Victo. [1] [2] [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [4] |
In a review for AllMusic, François Couture wrote: "Murray favors a written-down approach; her compositions lay out melodies, phrases, and sections, but also include lots of improvisation and time stretching, and they require the kind of underlying complicity very few are capable of... Strings in jazz... don't have to sound pompous: When freed from all clichés, they can lie somewhere between jazz and classical, while being pledged to neither of them." [1]
David Grundy, writing for Point of Departure, praised the track titled "Dedicated to Wilbur Little," commenting: "Murray plays the melody over Hopkins' arco counter-figurations: an ecstatic yet restrained chorale. Murray's slides and slurs exemplify the cry of the string while her horn-like phrasing, carefully weighing each note, judging each pause, is a masterclass in emotional timing and depth. The music rises and falls like an engraved sigh." [5]
In an article for JazzTimes , bassist Linda Oh also singled out the closing track for praise, and stated: "Bookended by excellent arco work..., this simple, sentimental ballad travels many places. Hopkins' solo interlude explores a range of dynamics and sounds-from striking double stops and hammer-ons, to lush sounds with full vibrato, to the extreme buzzes and rattles his instrument is capable of." [6]
Fred Hopkins was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Steve McCall, and for his numerous performances and extensive recordings with major jazz musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. He was a member of the AACM, and a frequent participant in the loft jazz scene of the 1970s. He also co-led a number of albums with the composer and cellist Diedre Murray. Gary Giddins wrote that Hopkins' playing "fused audacious power with mercuric reflexes." Howard Reich, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated that "many connoisseurs considered [Hopkins] the most accomplished jazz bassist of his generation" and praised him for "the extraordinarily fluid technique, sumptuous tone and innovative methods he brought to his instrument."
Diedre Murray is an American cellist and composer specializing in jazz and musical theater. She also works as a record producer and curator.
Jim Nolet is an American jazz violinist, artist, performer, and educator known internationally as a composer/improviser in world and jazz idioms. He has a particular interest in the music of Brazil. He has performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Latin America.
You Know the Number is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the RCA Novus label in 1986. The album and features six of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Sextett with Frank Lacy, Rasul Siddik, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, Pheeroan akLaff and Reggie Nicholson.
Easily Slip Into Another World is an album by saxophonist/composer Henry Threadgill, recorded for the RCA Novus label in 1987.
20 Standards (Quartet) 2003 is a live album 4CD box set by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in Europe in 2003 and released on the Leo label in 2005.
Blood Ballad is an album by jazz pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, which was recorded in 2000 and released on the English Leo label. It was the second album featuring his trio with bassist Nate McBride and drummer Randy Peterson. The title piece was inspired by Billy Strayhorn; "Centennial" is a tribute to Duke Ellington on hundredth anniversary of his birth.
Disambiguation is an album by a quintet co-led by jazz pianist Pandelis Karayorgis and violinist Mat Maneri, which was recorded in 2001 and released on the English Leo label. Maneri had the idea to ask Karayorgis to write pieces for a quintet date with saxophonist Tony Malaby and bassist Michael Formanek already in mind. Drummer Randy Peterson was on pianist's trio and has long played with Mat in Joe Maneri's quartet.
The Copenhagen Tapes is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler consisting of six tracks recorded live at the Club Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 3, 1964 plus three tracks recorded in a studio by Danish Radio in Copenhagen on September 10 of the same year. The album was released in 2002 by Ayler Records. The live tracks were also included on disc two of the 2004 compilation album Holy Ghost released by Revenant Records, and were also reissued in 2017 on Copenhagen Live 1964, released by hatOLOGY. In 2016, the three studio tracks were included in the album European Radio Studio Recordings 1964 released by hatOLOGY.
Taylor/Dixon/Oxley is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor, trumpeter Bill Dixon, and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded on May 19, 2002 during the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, and was released in 2002 by Les Disques Victo.
Black Vomit is a live album by experimental music group Wolf Eyes and saxophonist Anthony Braxton. It was recorded on May 21, 2005, at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, and was released by Les Disques Victo in 2006.
Complicité is a three-CD live album recorded on May 22, 2000, at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, and released in 2001 by the Canadian label Les Disques Victo. Disc one features pianist Paul Plimley and saxophonist John Oswald, disc two features pianist Marilyn Crispell, and disc three features pianist Cecil Taylor.
Quartet Improvisations, Paris 1986 is a live album by pianist Marilyn Crispell. It was recorded at Galerie Maximilien Guiol in Paris in November 1986 as part of an event titled "Decade de musique improvisee," and was released in 1987 by Leo Records. On the album, Crispell is joined by cellist Didier Petit, bassist Marcio Mattos, and percussionist Youval Micenmacher.
Circles is a live album by pianist Marilyn Crispell. It was recorded at the 8th Festival International De Musique Actuelle De Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Canada in October 1990, and was released in 1991 by Les Disques Victo. On the album, Crispell is joined by saxophonists Oliver Lake and Peter Buettner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Gerry Hemingway.
Prophecy is an album by bassist Fred Hopkins and cellist and composer Diedre Murray. It was recorded in August 1990 at RPM Studios in New York City, and was released by About Time Records in 1998. On the album, Hopkins and Murray are joined by guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer Newman Baker.
Perles Noires, Volumes 1 and 2, is a pair of live albums by drummer Sunny Murray. The albums were recorded during 2002–2004 at various locations, and were released by Eremite Records in 2005. On Volume 1, Murray is joined by saxophonists Sabir Mateen and Louis Belogenis, pianist Dave Burrell, and bassist Alan Silva, while on Volume 2, he is heard with Mateen, reed player Oluyemi Thomas, and pianist John Blum.
Inner Cry Blues is an album by trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur III. It was recorded in February 2007, and was released by Lunar Module Records later that year. On the album, Moncur is accompanied by saxophonist Mitch Marcus, trumpeter Erik Jekabson, vibraphonist Ben Adams, bassist Lukas Vesely, and drummer Sameer Gupta. Issued three years after Exploration, it was Moncur's second album following a lengthy hiatus, during which he wrote, taught, and dealt with dental issues.
Gheim is an album by trombonist Paul Rutherford and his trio, featuring bassist Paul Rogers and drummer Nigel Morris. The first two tracks were recorded live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival on July 2, 1983, and were originally released by the Ogun label in 1986 on a cassette titled Bracknell '83. In 2004, Emanem Records reissued the live tracks, along with three tracks that were recorded in a London studio on December 12, 1983, on a CD titled Gheim. The disc, with all five tracks, was reissued by Emanem in 2014.
The Bishop's Move is a live album that combines two trios, one led by saxophonist Evan Parker, and the other led by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. It was recorded on May 19, 2003, at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, Canada, and was released in 2004 by Les Disques Victo. Parker is accompanied by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Paul Lytton, while Brötzmann is joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake.
Stringology is an album by cellist Diedre Murray and bassist Fred Hopkins. It was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City during September 1993, and was released in 1994 by Black Saint. On the album, Murray and Hopkins are joined by guitarist Marvin Sewell and percussionists Ray Mantilla and Newman Baker.