| Illusions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | April–May 1980 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 36:09 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Jim Fishel, Arthur Blythe | |||
| Arthur Blythe chronology | ||||
| ||||
Illusions is jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe's third album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1980.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [2] |
From contemporary reviews, Robert Palmer placed the album at fifth place in his best of 1980 list for The New York Times , proclaiming Blythe to be a "formidable alto saxophonist" and that the funk tunes on the album "proved that substantial yet danceable jazz isn't an impossible dream." [3]
From retrospective reviews, Scott Yanow of AllMusic states that "the distinctive alto of Blythe is heard in top form on six of his unusual originals ... It's recommended." [1]
Arthur Murray Blythe was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a fast, wide vibrato and an aggressive, precise manner of phrasing" and furthermore as straddling the avant garde and traditionalist jazz, often with bands featuring unusual instrumentation.
Home is an album by David Murray, released in 1982 on the Italian Black Saint label and the second to feature his Octet. It features performances by Murray, Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, George E. Lewis, Anthony Davis, Wilbur Morris and Steve McCall.
Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet is an album by the jazz group the World Saxophone Quartet, released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1979. The album features performances by Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and David Murray.
The Greeting is a 1978 live album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, his thirteenth release on the Milestone label. It was recorded in March 1978 at the Great American Music Hall and features performances by Tyner with a sextet featuring tenor saxophonist George Adams, alto saxophonist Joe Ford, bassist Charles Fambrough, drummer Woody Theus and percussionist Guilherme Franco. Tyner’s performance of John Coltrane's "Naima" is a piano solo.
Quartets 4 X 4 is a 1980 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in March and May 1980 by Tyner with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Al Foster and featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, guitarist John Abercrombie, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, each for one side of the original double LP. The album was digitally remastered and first issued on a single CD in 1993.
Metamorphosis is a live album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe which was recorded at the Brook, New York City in 1977 and released in 1979 on the India Navigation label. The album was released on CD as a compilation with The Grip which was recorded at the same concert.
The Grip is a live debut album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe, recorded at the Brook, New York City in 1977 and released on the India Navigation label. The album was released on CD as a compilation with Metamorphosis which was recorded at the same concert.
Bush Baby is an album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe. It was recorded in December 1977 and released in 1978 on the Adelphi label.
In the Tradition is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe. His first album for the Columbia label, it was recorded in New York City in 1978.
Blythe Spirit is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe. It was his fourth album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1981.
Elaborations is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe, released in 1982.
Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk is jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe's sixth album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1983. The album features Blythe's quintet performing compositions by Thelonious Monk.
Clubhouse is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon. It was recorded in 1965, but not released until 1979 by Blue Note Records.
Broken Shadows is an album by the American jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman recorded in 1971, at the same sessions that produced Science Fiction, but not released on the Columbia label until 1982.
New York, Fall 1974 is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton, recorded in 1974 and released on the Arista label. The album was subsequently included on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
The Iron Men is an album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in 1977 but not released on the Muse label until 1980. The Iron Men was reissued by Mosaic Records as part of Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions in 2013.
United is an album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in 1981 and released on the Columbia label.
Loxodonta Africana is the debut album by saxophonist Ricky Ford, recorded in 1977 and released on the New World label.
Focus, is an album by saxophonist Arthur Blythe which was recorded in 2002 and released on the Savant label the following year.
Another Time/Another Place is an album by drummer Barry Altschul. It was recorded on March 13, 1978, and April 14, 1978, at Rosebud Studio in New York City, and was released later that year by Muse Records. On the album, Altschul appears in a variety of instrumental combinations, and is joined by saxophonist Arthur Blythe, trombonist Ray Anderson, pianist Anthony Davis, guitarist Bill DeArango, cellists Abdul Wadud and Peter Warren, and double bassists Dave Holland and Brian Smith.