Intents and Purposes | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1967 | |||
Recorded | October 10, 1966, January 17 & February 21, 1967 | |||
Studio | RCA Victor's Studio B, New York City | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 31:40 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Producer | Brad McCuen | |||
Bill Dixon chronology | ||||
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Intents and Purposes is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon, which was released in 1967 on RCA Victor. Despite critical acclaim at the time, it was soon out of print except for appearances in 1972 on Japanese RCA and later in 1976 on French RCA. The album was reissued on CD by International Phonograph in 2011. The album's title is an example of a Siamese twins idiomatic expression.
In 1966 Dixon premiered his composition "Pomegranate" at the Newport jazz festival with dancer Judith Dunn, and this performance led to a contract with RCA. Dixon signed with producer Brad McCuen to do a quartet piece, but instead he started working on "Metamorphosis 1962-1966", for an ensemble of ten musicians. The personnel was an unusual mix of freemen and mainstream jazzers. Pozar and Levin were Dixon's students at the time, and Lancaster and Kennyatta frequent participants in Dixon-Dunn projects. [1]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
All About Jazz | [3] |
DownBeat | [4] |
In his review for All About Jazz, Troy Collins states "Intents And Purposes has long been revered as Bill Dixon's singular masterpiece...The reissue allows the record to finally take its rightful place alongside such masterpieces as Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz , John Coltrane's Ascension and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew . [3]
The JazzTimes review by Mike Shanley says that "The whole release compares to very little from that period and offers a stellar example of the composer’s vision". [5]
In a 2011 Village Voice article following the CD reissue, Francis Davis wrote: "If ever a jazz LP literally qualified as 'legendary,' Intents is it... I envy anyone first hearing it now, because it's as bold and surprising as anything newly released this year." [6]
Writing for The Vinyl District, Joseph Neff noted that the album, "if often gripping and raw is never chaotic," and commented: "Intents and Purposes' large group template combined with compositional fortitude and improvisational vigor makes it essential to any free jazz library." [7]
Point of Departure's Ed Hazell stated: "What's apparent from the opening moments of 'Metamorphosis'... is how well Dixon grasps the dichotomies and contradictions in the music of the time and how completely he controls them... Dixon the composer expertly transitions from one theme or passage to another; his ability to shape compositions into self-contained wholes would remain a hallmark of his art." [8]
William Robert Dixon was an American composer and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. His was also a prominent activist for artist's rights and African American music tradition. He played the trumpet, flugelhorn, and piano, often using electronic delay and reverb.
Dogon A.D. is an album by saxophonist Julius Hemphill. It was recorded in February 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri, and was initially released on LP in limited quantities later that year by Hemphill's own Mbari Records, a label he created for the express purpose of issuing his own music. The album was reissued on LP by the Freedom label in 1977, and was reissued on CD in 2011, with extra liner notes and reproductions of the artwork from both the Mbari and Freedom releases, by International Phonograph. A fourth track from the recording session, titled "Hard Blues," and featuring guest saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, was originally released on Hemphill's 1975 album Coon Bid'ness, and was included as a bonus track on the 2011 reissue of Dogon A.D., bringing together all the music from the session.
A Night in Tunisia is a 1958 jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, released by the RCA Victor subsidiary label Vik. It features the only recorded instances of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Johnny Griffin playing together.
1958 Miles is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1974 on CBS/Sony. Recording sessions for tracks that appear on the album took place on May 26, 1958, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio and September 9, 1958, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. 1958 Miles consists of three songs featured on side two of the LP album Jazz Track, which was released in November 1959, one song from the same session not appearing in the album, and three recordings from Davis' live performance at the Plaza Hotel with his ensemble sextet. The recording date at 30th Street Studio served as the first documented session to feature pianist Bill Evans performing in Davis' group.
The Individualism of Gil Evans is an album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans originally released on the Verve label in 1964. It features Evans' big band arrangements of five original compositions and compositions by Kurt Weill, Bob Dorough, John Lewis and Willie Dixon.
Archie Shepp – Bill Dixon Quartet is the debut album by saxophonist Archie Shepp and trumpeter Bill Dixon released on the Savoy label in 1962. The album features three performances by Shepp & Dixon with Don Moore and Paul Cohen and a version of Ornette Coleman's composition "Peace" with Reggie Workman and Howard McRae. The album was also rereleased in 1970 as Peace on the French BYG label, flipping the running order on side two, and on CD in 2010 as a "unauthorized European" edition on the Free Factory label, using the Savoy title but the BYG running order.
Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5 is an album released on the Savoy label originally featuring one LP side by Bill Dixon's septet and one LP side by the New York Contemporary Five featuring saxophonist Archie Shepp. The album resulted from Dixon and Shepp's contractual obligations to provide Savoy Records with a second album after the Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet (1962) but following a professional separation.
Manhattan Fever is an album by American jazz saxophonist Frank Foster recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD reissue added five previously unreleased recordings from a 1969 session as bonus tracks.
Afrique is a 1971 studio album by Count Basie and his orchestra, arranged & conducted by Oliver Nelson released by the Flying Dutchman label
Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy is an album by the American jazz double bassist William Parker, recorded in 1995 and released on Homestead.
Envoi is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon, which was recorded live at the 2010 edition of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville and released on the Canadian Victo label. Dixon reassembled the nonet previously employed on Tapestries for Small Orchestra. It was his last concert, which took place less than a month before he died. Dixon’s failing health required that his solos were prerecorded and played back during the performance.
Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin' Shoes is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell which was recorded in 1980 and released on Nessa. It was the debut of the Sound Ensemble which introduced four young musicians: trumpeter Hugh Ragin, guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal. The album was reissued on CD in 2003.
Planet Dream is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell which was recorded in 2008 and released on the Portuguese Clean Feed label. He leads a trio with Rob Brown on alto sax and Daniel Levin on cello.
The Slightest Shift is the second album by Canadian jazz pianist Kris Davis, which was recorded in 2005 and released on the Spanish Fresh Sound New Talent label.
Man'ish Boy is the debut album by American jazz saxophonist Darius Jones, which was recorded in 2009 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. The cover art is a three-piece commission by Randal Wilcox entitled Portrait of a Man'ish Boy.
Grass Roots is the eponymous debut album by the free jazz collective quartet consisting of Sean Conly on bass, Alex Harding on baritone sax, Darius Jones on alto sax and Chad Taylor on drums. It was recorded in 2011 and released on the AUM Fidelity label.
The Messenger is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble, which was recorded live at the Chicago's Velvet Lounge in 2005 and released on Delmark. The event was also filmed and issued on DVD.
The Gerry Mulligan Songbook is an album by American jazz saxophonist Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in late 1957 and released on the World Pacific label.
Last Year's Ghost is the debut album by Loose Assembly, a quintet led by American jazz drummer Mike Reed featuring alto saxophonist Greg Ward, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomeka Reid and bassist Josh Abrams. It was released in 2007 on 482 Music. The recording started in 2005 and completed in 2006, but the original sessions were lost and the album is a re-creation of the lost recordings.
Unreleased is a live album by the Philadelphia-based jazz collective Sounds of Liberation. It was recorded during 1973 at Columbia University in New York City, and was initially released in 2018 in very limited quantities by Dogtown Records in conjunction with the Brewerytown Beats record store, after which it was made available with broader distribution the following year by both Dogtown and the Corbett vs. Dempsey label. The recording, which was thought to have been lost, features vibraphonist and band leader Khan Jamal, saxophonist Byard Lancaster, guitarist Monnette Sudler, electric bassist Billy Mills, drummer Dwight James, conga player Rashid Salim, and percussionist Omar Hill.