Silver Cycles

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Silver Cycles
Silver Cycles.jpg
Studio album by Eddie Harris
Released 1969
Recorded September 4 and December 3, 1968
New York City
Genre Jazz
Length38:29
Label Atlantic
SD 1517
Producer Arif Mardin and Joel Dorn
Eddie Harris chronology
Pourquoi L'Amérique
(1968)		Silver Cycles
(1969)		 High Voltage
(1969)

Silver Cycles is an album by American jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris recorded in 1968 and released on the Atlantic label. [1] [2]

Eddie Harris American saxophonist

Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", recorded and popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here."

Atlantic Records American record label

Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American labels, specializing in jazz, R&B, and soul by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Ruth Brown and Otis Redding. Its position was greatly improved by its distribution deal with Stax. In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by Led Zeppelin and Yes.

Contents

Reception

The Allmusic review states "The music is by turns swinging, touching, feverish, detached, nightmarish, and peaceful, bursting with new ideas generated from Harris' plunge into electronics. This album has been unjustly overlooked, probably because Harris was selling a lot of records and getting airplay at the time (a cardinal sin for purists), or perhaps for its free, anything-goes '60s spirit". [3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]

Track listing

All compositions by Eddie Harris except as indicated

  1. "Free at Last" - 3:15
  2. "1974 Blues" - 4:22
  3. "Smoke Signals" - 2:55
  4. "Coltrane's View" (Jodie Christian) - 4:08
  5. "I'm Gonna Leave You by Yourself" - 3:00
  6. "Silver Cycles" (Harris, Melvin Jackson) - 5:50
  7. "Little Bit" - 5:29
  8. "Electric Ballad" - 2:54
  9. "Infrapolations" - 6:36

Personnel

Tenor saxophone type of saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B♭ (while the Alto is pitched in the key of E♭), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F♯ key have a range from A♭2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists".

The Varitone was a woodwind pickup and effects unit, allowing direct amplification of the instrument and the introduction of various electronic effects. It was marketed in 1967 by the Selmer Company, which developed units for flute, saxophone, and clarinet. The system included an integrated pickup microphone and a control box which allowed the player to use effects such as tremolo, basic EQ, simultaneous sub-octaves and echo in conjunction with a purpose built amplifier. The ceramic microphone was developed to withstand high sound pressure and moisture levels, and built into the head joint of the flute, the neck-joint of the saxophone, and the barrel joint of the clarinet. The pickup was wired to a preamplifier and control box which was either mounted to the bottom key guard, clipped to the player's belt, or hung on a cord around the players neck.

Jodie Christian was an American jazz pianist, noted for bebop and free jazz.

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References

  1. ↑ Atlantic Records discography accessed May 10, 2012
  2. ↑ Eddie Harris discography, accessed June 22, 2017
  3. 1 2 Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed May 10, 2012
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