Great Bliss, Vol. 1 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1991 | |||
Recorded | January 8, 9 & 10, 1990 | |||
Studio | Sound on Sound Recording, New York | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 72:48 | |||
Label | Silkheart | |||
Producer | David S. Ware | |||
David S. Ware chronology | ||||
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Great Bliss, Vol. 1 is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware recorded in 1990 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label. Great Bliss was conceived as a two-installment project and marks the debut of the David S. Ware Quartet, one of the most highly acclaimed musical groups of the decade.
The original lineup of the quartet included pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Marc Edwards. Parker and Edwards were the rhythm section on Ware's previous 1988 trio album Passage to Music , but in 1989 Ware was looking for a pianist for adding to the mix. William Parker and Reggie Workman both recommended Matthew Shipp, who was 29 at the time of these recordings, only his second appearance on record (the first was Sonic Explorations , a duo with alto saxophonist Rob Brown released on Cadence Jazz Records). [1] Shipp says "I was a big fan of Ware's work. Playing with Ware is like being at home. My style of piano really fits his compositions. He gives me freedom to be me." [2]
Ware began rehearsing the members of the quartet over three months in advance, and they played for five days straight before heading into the studio. [2] Besides tenor sax Ware plays saxello, a variant of the soprano sax, stritch, a straight alto sax, and for the first time on records flute. "Roland Kirk was really my catalyst to play the flute and the stritch", Ware says. [1]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
In his review for AllMusic, Don Snowden states "it's safe to say Great Bliss, Vol. 1 is the launching pad for the quartet that helped make the tenor saxophonist's name and reputation." [3]
William Parker is an American free jazz double bassist. Beginning in the 1980s, Parker played with Cecil Taylor for over a decade, and he has led the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra since 1981. The Village Voice named him "the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time" and DownBeat has called him "one of the most adventurous and prolific bandleaders in jazz".
Matthew Shipp is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader.
David Spencer Ware was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.
Silkheart Records is a Swedish record company and label dedicated to improvised music and free jazz.
Passage to Music is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware recorded in 1988 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label. Besides tenor sax Ware plays saxello, a variant of the soprano sax played by English jazz musician Elton Dean, and stritch, a straight alto sax associated with multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The CD edition adds two bonus tracks.
Great Bliss, Vol. 2 is an album by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, the second installment of a two-albums project recorded in 1990 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label. As in the companion Great Bliss, Vol. 1, besides tenor sax Ware plays saxello, stritch and flute.
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.
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.
Earthquation is an album by the American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1994 and released on the Japanese DIW label.
Cryptology is an album by jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1994 and released by Homestead Records.
Oblations and Blessings is an album by jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1995 and released on the Silkheart label. It features the David S. Ware Quartet with pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey playing all original Ware compositions.
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.
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".
Breath Rhyme is an album by American jazz saxophonist Rob Brown recorded in 1989 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label.
Points is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp recorded in 1990 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label.
This Dance Is for Steve McCall is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 1992 and released on the Italian Black Saint label.
Strata is an album by the American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, recorded in 1997 and released on the Swiss hatOLOGY label.
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.
Saturnian is a live solo album by saxophonist David S. Ware, who plays the saxello, stritch and tenor saxophone which was recorded in 2009 and released on the AUM Fidelity label.
Live in the World is a live album by the David S. Ware Quartets. Six tracks were recorded in Switzerland in 1998, and feature Ware on saxophone, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Susie Ibarra on drums. The remaining tracks were recorded in two locations during 2003: Terni, Italy, with Ware, Shipp, Parker and drummer Hamid Drake; and Milano, Italy, with Drake replaced by Guillermo E. Brown. The album was released as a triple CD set by Thirsty Ear Recordings in 2005.