In the Key of the Universe | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1, 2019 | |||
Studio | Tempest Recording, Tempe, AZ [1] | |||
Genre | Jazz [2] | |||
Length | 58:27 | |||
Label | Mack Avenue [1] | |||
Producer | Joey DeFrancesco, Gloria DeFrancesco | |||
Joey DeFrancesco chronology | ||||
|
In the Key of the Universe is a studio album by Joey DeFrancesco, released March 1, 2019. [2] The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. [3]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
All About Jazz | [1] |
AllMusic | [2] |
DownBeat | [4] |
All About Jazz 's Chris Mosey called In the Key of the Universe "an important, even historic album" for featuring Pharoah Sanders' "return from oblivion", and that without Sanders, "the album would be just one more round of Hammond organ tunes that adhere to DeFrancesco's dictum 'I just like to swing.'" [1] AllMusic's Matt Collar said that "While DeFrancesco has always played with an earthy soulfulness, on In the Key of the Universe he elevates that soulfulness to a divine musical plane." [2] DownBeat 's Jim Macnie says "there's an exquisite flow to the entire program." [4]
All tracks are written by Joey DeFrancesco, except for track 6 which was written by Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas. All tracks are produced by Joey and Gloria DeFrancesco
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Inner Being" | 5:18 |
2. | "Vibrations in Blue" | 6:42 |
3. | "Awake and Blissed" | 3:01 |
4. | "It Swung Wide Open" | 3:54 |
5. | "In the Key of the Universe" | 5:05 |
6. | "The Creator Has a Master Plan" | 11:00 |
7. | "And So It Is" | 7:52 |
8. | "Soul Perspective" | 5:30 |
9. | "A Path Through the Noise" | 4:47 |
10. | "Easier to Be" | 5:14 |
Total length: | 58:27 |
Pharoah Sanders was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", Sanders played a prominent role in the development of free jazz and spiritual jazz through his work as a member of John Coltrane's groups in the mid-1960s, and later through his solo work. He released more than thirty albums as a leader and collaborated extensively with vocalist Leon Thomas and pianist Alice Coltrane, among many others. Fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world".
Ptah, the El Daoud is the third solo album by American jazz pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane, released on Impulse! Records in September 1970. The album was recorded in the basement of her home in Dix Hills, New York, in a session on January 26, 1970.
Joey DeFrancesco was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz performers as trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist Houston Person, and guitarist John McLaughlin.
Black Unity is a composition and album by jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, recorded and released in late 1971. The whole album consists of a single thirty-seven-minute track, which was described by critic Joe S. Harrington as "an exercise in sustained harmonic groove that cannot be beaten" when he listed it at #38 on his Top 100 Albums. The compact disc reissue of 1997 unites the two parts as a single track, timed at 37:21.
Thembi is the seventh album by American free jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, released in May 1971. It is dedicated to his South-African wife Nomathemba "Thembi", as noted on the back sleeve of the original album.
The Jazz Composer's Orchestra is a 1968 album by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra recorded over a period of six months with Michael Mantler as composer, leader and producer. Many of the key figures in avant-garde jazz from the time contributed on the album including Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, Larry Coryell, Roswell Rudd, and Carla Bley. The album's finale features a two-part concerto for Cecil Taylor and orchestra.
Blues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane is a 1987 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner released on the Impulse! label. It features performances by Tyner, tenor saxophonists David Murray and Pharoah Sanders, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Roy Haynes. The album received a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance in 1988.
Tauhid is a jazz album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was the second album released under his name, and his first album on the Impulse! label. It was recorded on November 15, 1966 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, four days after the concert heard on the John Coltrane album Offering: Live at Temple University, and was released in 1967, after the death of Coltrane, with whom Sanders had played since 1965. Tauhid was reissued in 2017 on Anthology Recordings. The album marks guitarist Sonny Sharrock's first appearance on a record, as well as one of pianist Dave Burrell's earliest recordings.
Jewels of Thought is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City on October 20, 1969, and was released on Impulse! Records in the same year. The 1998 reissue merged "Sun In Aquarius" into one 27-minute-long track.
Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson is an album by jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, a tribute to deceased entertainer Michael Jackson. The album was released in 2010 on HighNote Records and was produced by DeFrancesco and Glenn Ferracone. It was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You) is an album by Cuban jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2013. The album is Sandoval's tribute to his friend, Dizzy Gillespie. Musicians on the album include Gary Burton, Eddie Daniels, Joey DeFrancesco, and Bob Mintzer.
Izipho Zam (My Gifts) is the third album led by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded in 1969 but not released on the Strata-East label until 1973. It features Sanders with a large ensemble.
Pharoah is an album by the saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, recorded in 1976 and released on the India Navigation label. The album was reissued in 2023, along with two live performances of "Harvest Time".
Journey to the One is a double album led by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, recorded in 1979 and released on the Theresa label.
For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver is a studio album by American jazz bassist Christian McBride together with his big band. Mack Avenue Records released the album on September 25, 2020. This is the third release for McBride's big band; the band received Grammy Awards for its first two albums: The Good Feeling (2011) and Bringin' It (2017). The album also produced two singles: "Don Is" and "Medgar Evers Blues".
Live in Paris (1975) is an LP album by American free jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded live at the Grand Auditorium, Studio 104 of Maison de la Radio, Paris, France on November 17, 1975 and released in 2020 on the Transversales Disques label. It features recordings of Sanders performing with a quartet featuring pianist Danny Mixon, bassist Calvin Hill, and drummer Greg Bandy. The album fills in a chronological gap between Sanders' final Impulse! albums and Pharoah, recorded in 1976 for India Navigation.
Beyond the Wall is the twelfth studio album by Kenny Garrett released in August 2006 from Nonesuch Records. Among the musicians are legendary tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Mulgrew Miller and drummer Brian Blade.
Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium is one of the few live albums by Kenny Garrett, his first for Mack Avenue Records, released in 2008. The Mack Avenue label was based out of Garrett’s hometown of Detroit. Garrett is featured in a quintet with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, keyboardist Benito Gonzalez, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Jamire Williams. The "MD" of the title track refers to Garrett’s old bandleader Miles Davis.
Save Our Children is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in West Orange, New Jersey, and was released in 1998 by Verve Records. On the album, which was produced by Bill Laswell, Sanders is joined by keyboardists Jeff Bova, William Henderson, and Bernie Worrell, harmonium player Tony Cedras, bassist Alex Blake, and percussionists Trilok Gurtu and Zakir Hussain. Abiodun Oyewole, Asante, and Abdou Mboup also provide vocals on one track. Save Our Children was Sanders' second release with Verve, and the second to be produced by Laswell.
Wisdom Through Music is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in New York City and Los Angeles, California, and was released in 1973 by Impulse! Records. On the album, Sanders is joined by flutist James Branch, pianist Joe Bonner, bassist Cecil McBee, drummer Norman Connors, and percussionists Badal Roy, James Mtume, and Lawrence Killian. The recording was produced by Lee Young, the younger brother of saxophonist Lester Young.