Swift Are the Winds of Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1976 | |||
Recorded | September 18, 1975 | |||
Venue | Studio 77, New York City | |||
Genre | jazz | |||
Length | 30:24 | |||
Label | Survival Records SR 112 | |||
Leroy Jenkins chronology | ||||
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Rashied Ali chronology | ||||
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Swift Are the Winds of Life is an album by drummer Rashied Ali and violinist / composer Leroy Jenkins. It was recorded in September 1975 at Studio 77 in New York City, and was released by Survival Records in 1976. The album was reissued by Knit Classics in 2000. [1]
Regarding the circumstances surrounding the recording, Ali recalled: "It just happened. Le was working with the Revolutionary Ensemble and I was working with my band, and we never played together, and so we decided to get together. We came into the club when it was closed, I turned on the tape recorder and we just started playing. We put it down on tape not even thinking that it was gonna turn out the way that it turned out, and that was the first and the last time we played." [2]
In the album liner notes, Stanley Crouch commented: "The duet has a unique and significant place in Jazz... what the duet has always shown off is the call-and-response as well as the counterpoint so basic to the Jazz ensemble of any size and has made clear the degree of completeness two improvising musicians can achieve. But in the music that has developed within the last two decades, the duet serves another purpose, and that purpose is the same as it served in the days of the collectively improvising New Orleans ensemble: clearing the air." [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
Tom Hull – on the Web | A− [5] |
In a review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick wrote: "Swift Are the Winds of Life represents one of the absolute finest examples of Jenkins' violin playing outside of his Revolutionary Ensemble and arguably one of Rashied Ali's greatest recordings aside from Interstellar Space, his legendary duo session with John Coltrane. A violin/drums duo may strike some as strange and unwieldy, but these musicians pull it off so well one never even considers any 'lack' of depth or richness... The compositions, all by Jenkins, range from torrid and in-your-face... to bluesy to abstract, none of them especially difficult for the new listener. A very fine (if all too short) recording, one of the best to emerge from the New York City 'loft jazz' scene of the '70s." [1]
The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "a forgotten classic," and stated: "Jenkins is in astonishing form, complex, aery, earthy, ruthlessly direct by turns... the blues are never far away, and on 'The Stomp' the two players go for it in a joyously unfettered way." [4]
Robert Palmer, writing for The New York Times , stated: "The two players are so resourceful, especially in their use of changing textures and densities, that their interactions retain a mesmerizing intensity and purpose from beginning to end, making this one of the essential recordings of the new jazz." [6]
In an article for All About Jazz , Jack Gold-Molina remarked: "Here is an album that... features some blazing drum set playing on the part of Ali. At just over 30 minutes in length, Jenkins composes and plays against Ali beautifully." [7]
Henry Kuntz, writing for Bells, commented: "Historically, Ali's work on Interstellar Space... is his most important; if he doesn't actually go beyond those parameters here, he continues in largely the same vein. More than anyone, he captures for me much of the spirit of Art Blakey, with all of the raw, explosive urgency that that implies. Driven by that, Leroy Jenkins offers some of his finest playing on record. He also contributes the album's four compositions." [8]
All compositions by Leroy Jenkins.
Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life.
Leroy Jenkins was an American composer and violinist/violist.
Interstellar Space is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, featuring drummer Rashied Ali. It was recorded in 1967, the year of his death, and released by Impulse! Records in September 1974.
Universal Consciousness is the fifth solo album by Alice Coltrane. It was recorded from April to June, 1971, in New York City and at the Coltrane home studios in Dix Hills, New York, and was released later that year by Impulse! Records. On the album, Coltrane appears on harp and organ, and is joined by bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummers Jack DeJohnette, Rashied Ali, and Clifford Jarvis, and, on three tracks, a quartet of violins playing parts arranged by Ornette Coleman. It was the first in a series of three albums on which Coltrane appeared with an ensemble of strings.
Infinity is an album credited to John Coltrane, released on Impulse! Records in 1972. It features overdubs with strings of Coltrane's pieces recorded in 1965 and 1966, at the hands of Alice Coltrane. Her controversial "re-imagining" of her husband's late works was criticised by both fans and critics, as she took his original performances and superimposed them over lush orchestral backgrounds and re-dubbed rhythm section parts, as well as recording new solos on piano, organ, harp and timpani.
Levels and Degrees of Light is the debut album by Muhal Richard Abrams which was released on the Delmark label in 1968 and features performances of three of Abrams' compositions by Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Charles Clark, Gordon Emmanuel, Maurice McIntyre, Thurman Barker and Leonard Jones with vocals by Penelope Taylor and a poetry recitation by David Moore.
Which Way Is East is a double-album of duets by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd and percussionist Billy Higgins recorded in January 2001 and released on ECM in March 2004. The album contains the last recordings by Higgins before he died in May 2001.
Afternoon of a Georgia Faun is an album by American jazz saxophonist Marion Brown recorded on August 10, 1970 and released on ECM later that year. The sextet features fellow saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Bennie Maupin, pianist Chick Corea, and vocalists Jeanne Lee and Gayle Palmore, backed by two percussionists on one side and five on the other.
Revolutionary Ensemble is an eponymous live album by the free jazz group consisting of violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded in Austria in 1977 and released on the German Enja label and in the U.S. on Inner City Records the following year.
Vietnam, also referred to as Vietnam 1 & 2 is a live album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded in 1972 and released on the ESP-Disk label.
The Psyche is a live album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper. It was initially released on LP in 1975 by the group's own label RE Records, and was reissued on CD in 2002 by Mutable Music.
Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America is an album by violinist and composer Leroy Jenkins. It was recorded in August and September 1978, and was released on LP by Tomato Records in 1979. On the album, Jenkins is joined by George Lewis on electronics and trombone, Richard Teitelbaum on synthesizer, Anthony Davis on electric piano and piano, and Andrew Cyrille on percussion.
Duo Exchange is an album by drummer Rashied Ali and saxophonist Frank Lowe. It was probably recorded in September 1972 at the studio of Marzette Watts in New York City, and was issued by Ali's Survival Records in 1973 as the label's inaugural release. In 2020, Survival Records released an expanded double-CD album titled Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions featuring incomplete and alternate takes, as well as studio discussion.
New Directions in Modern Music is a live album by the Rashied Ali Quartet. It was recorded at The East in Brooklyn, New York, during 1971, and was released in 1973 by Ali's Survival Records. On the album, Ali is featured on drums and percussion, and is joined by saxophonist and flutist Carlos Ward, pianist Fred Simmons, and bassist Stafford James. In 1999, the recording was reissued by Survival in conjunction with Knit Classics.
Live at Ali's Alley is a live album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, listed simply as "Abdullah" on the cover. It was recorded on April 24, 1978, at New York City's Ali's Alley, and released on vinyl in 1980 by Cadence Jazz Records as the label's inaugural release. On the album, Abdullah is joined by saxophonist Chico Freeman, hornist Vincent Chancey, cellist Muneer Abdul Fatah, bassist Jerome Hunter, and drummer Rashied Sinan.
Deals, Ideas & Ideals is an album by drummer Rashied Ali, bassist Peter Kowald, and saxophonist and bass clarinetist Assif Tsahar. It was recorded on May 23 and 24, 2000, at Survival Studio in New York City, and was released in 2001 by Hopscotch Records.
Rashied Ali Quintet is an album by the free jazz ensemble of the same name, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Bob Ralston, trumpeter Earl Cross, guitarist James Blood Ulmer, and bassist John Dana. It was recorded during 1973 at Marzette Watts's studio in New York City, and was released on vinyl that year by Ali's Survival Records. In 1999, the album was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. The recording marks one of Ulmer's first recorded appearances.
Moon Flight is an album by drummer Rashied Ali on which he is featured in quartet and quintet settings. It was recorded on August 26, 1975, at Studio 77 in New York City, and was released on vinyl in 1976 by Ali's Survival Records. In 1999, it was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. On the album, Ali is joined by saxophonists Marvin Blackman and James Vass, pianist Charles Eubanks, and bassist Benny Wilson.
N.Y. Ain't So Bad: Ali Plays the Blues is an album by drummer Rashied Ali that features blues singer Royal Blue. It was recorded during July and August, 1975, and was released on vinyl in 1976 by Ali's Survival Records. In 1999, it was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. On the album, Ali and Blue are joined by saxophonists Marvin Blackman and James Vass, pianist Charles Eubanks, and bassist Benny Wilson.
Rings of Saturn is an album of duets by drummer Rashied Ali and saxophonist Louie Belogenis. It was recorded during August 1997 at Survival Studios in New York City, and was released in 1999 by Knitting Factory Records. Along with six original works, the recording includes two compositions by John Coltrane, including "Saturn," which originally appeared on Interstellar Space, an album of Coltrane/Ali duets recorded in 1967.