Synthesis (Reggie Workman album)

Last updated
Synthesis
Reggie Workman Synthesis.jpg
Live album by
Reggie Workman
Released1986
RecordedJune 15, 1986
Venue Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia
Genre Jazz
Length1:07:35
Label Leo Records
LR 131
Producer Leo Feigin
Reggie Workman chronology
The Standard
(1980)		Synthesis
(1986)		 Images
(1989)

Synthesis is a live album by bassist/composer Reggie Workman. It was recorded on June 15, 1986, in Philadelphia, and was released by Leo Records later that year. [1] On the album, Workman is joined by multi-instrumentalist Oliver Lake, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Workman, Lake, and Cyrille would later go to form the group known as Trio 3. [2]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

In an article for The New York Times , Robert Palmer wrote: "The group is an all-star unit... But they don't play like all-stars here, they play like a unit... the music is very free structurally, with a soaring spirit and incantatory qualities that link it to some of the better small-band sessions from the early days of the mid-60's ESP label. But while he leaves plenty of room for each player, Mr. Workman deploys his forces ingeniously... This is stunning music, with a deeply felt intensity and a purity of intent that haven't been finding their way onto jazz records as often as one would like." [4]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 3 stars and praised Crispell's playing, stating that she gives "the performance its undoubted sense of coherence." [3]

Writing for AllMusic, Thom Jurek remarked: "As a quartet, this band has some interesting things to say. There is fire in the group interplay and Lake's playing in particular is very inspired... Workman gets considerable credit for putting this ensemble together." [1]

Track listing

All compositions by Reggie Workman unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Jus' Ole Mae" - 8:00
  2. "Ogun's Ardor" - 9:27
  3. "Martyrs Hymn" - 6:19
  4. "Earthly Garden" - 15:08
  5. "Chant" (Marilyn Crispell) - 8:35
  6. "Synapse II" - 9:07
  7. "Fabula" - 6:49

Personnel

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Cyrille</span> American avant-garde jazz drummer

Andrew Charles Cyrille is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer Chris Kelsey wrote: "Few free-jazz drummers play with a tenth of Cyrille's grace and authority. His energy is unflagging, his power absolute, tempered only by an ever-present sense of propriety."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Lake</span> American jazz musician, composer, poet, and artist (born 1942)

Oliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. In 1977, he founded the World Saxophone Quartet with David Murray, Julius Hemphill, and Hamiet Bluiett. Lake worked in the group Trio 3 with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille. Lake has appeared on more than 80 albums as a bandleader, co-leader, and side musician. He is the father of drummer Gene Lake. Lake has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Crispell</span> American jazz pianist and composer

Marilyn Crispell is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote: "Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like monitoring an active volcano... She is one of a very few pianists who rise to the challenge of free jazz." In addition to her own extensive work as a soloist or bandleader, Crispell is also known as a longtime member of saxophonist Anthony Braxton's quartet in the 1980s and '90s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Workman</span> American jazz double bassist

Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

<i>Live in Zurich</i> (Marilyn Crispell album) 1990 live album by Marilyn Crispell

Live in Zurich is an album by American jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell, which was recorded in 1989 and released on the English Leo label. It was the second of three concerts which her trio with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Paul Motian gave in Switzerland.

<i>Gaia</i> (Marilyn Crispell album) 1988 studio album by Marilyn Crispell

Gaia is an album by American jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell, which was recorded in 1987 and released on the English Leo label.

<i>Live in Willisau</i> 1997 live album by Trio 3

Live in Willisau is the debut album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in 1992 at the Swiss Jazz Festival Willisau and released in 1997 on the German Dizim label.

<i>Open Ideas</i> 2002 studio album by Trio 3

Open Ideas is an album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in 2001 and released on the Palmetto label.

<i>At This Time</i> (Trio 3 album) 2009 studio album by Trio 3 Geri Allen

At This Time is an album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille, with guest pianist Geri Allen. It was recorded in 2008 and released by Intakt Records.

<i>Refraction – Breakin Glass</i> 2013 studio album by Trio 3 Jason Moran

Refraction – Breakin' Glass is an album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille, with guest pianist Jason Moran. It was recorded in 2012 and released by Intakt Records.

<i>Wiring</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Trio 3 Vijay Iyer

Wiring is an album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille, with guest pianist Vijay Iyer. It was recorded in 2013 and released by Intakt Records.

<i>Time Being</i> (Trio 3 album) 2006 studio album by Trio 3

Time Being is an album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in 2005 and released on the Intakt label.

<i>Altered Spaces</i> 1993 live album by Reggie Workman

Altered Spaces is a live album by bassist/composer Reggie Workman. It was recorded in February 1992 at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and was released by Leo Records in 1993. On the album, Workman is joined by vocalist Jeanne Lee, clarinetist Don Byron, violinist Jason Hwang, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Gerry Hemingway.

<i>My Friend Louis</i> 1992 studio album by Andrew Cyrille

My Friend Louis is an album by drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in November 1991 at Power Station in New York City, and was released by DIW Records in 1992. On the album, Cyrille is joined by saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeter Hannibal, pianist Adegoke Steve Colson, and bassist Reggie Workman. "Louis" refers to drummer Louis Moholo, to whom the album is dedicated.

<i>Images</i> (Reggie Workman album) 1990 live album by Reggie Workman

Images is a live album by bassist and composer Reggie Workman. It was recorded at the Knitting Factory in New York City in January and July 1989, and was released in 1990 by Music & Arts. On the album, Workman is joined by clarinetist Don Byron, vocalist Jeanne Lee, guitarist Michele Navazio, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and percussionist Gerry Hemingway.

Trio 3 was a collaborative American jazz group whose members were saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The trio existed for roughly 35 years: the musicians first played together in the late 1980s, and the group disbanded in February 2022. During this time they recorded eleven albums, some of which featured guest pianists. The musicians described their sound as "futuristic music within the idiomatic continuum of jazz."

<i>Whas Nine: Live at the Sunset</i> 2008 live album by Trio 3

Wha's Nine: Live at the Sunset is a live album by Trio 3, a jazz group consisting of saxophonist Oliver Lake, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded at The Sunset in Paris in October 2007, and was released in 2008 by Marge Records.

<i>Highlights from the Summer of 1992 American Tour</i> 1993 live album by Marilyn Crispell

Highlights from the Summer of 1992 American Tour is a live album by pianist Marilyn Crispell. It was recorded at four locations in the United States on dates ranging from November 1991 to April 1992, and was released in 1993 by Music & Arts. On the album, Crispell is joined by bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Gerry Hemingway.

<i>Circles</i> (Marilyn Crispell album) 1991 live album by Marilyn Crispell

Circles is a live album by pianist Marilyn Crispell. It was recorded at the 8th Festival International De Musique Actuelle De Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Canada in October 1990, and was released in 1991 by Les Disques Victo. On the album, Crispell is joined by saxophonists Oliver Lake and Peter Buettner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Gerry Hemingway.

<i>MGM Trio</i> 1996 live album by Marilyn Crispell, Gerry Hemingway, and Michael Moore

MGM Trio is an album by pianist Marilyn Crispell, drummer Gerry Hemingway, and reed player Michael Moore. Four tracks were recorded live at De Singel in Antwerp, Belgium on November 28, 1994, while the remaining tracks were recorded at Nevessa Studio in Saugerties, New York on December 23, 1995. The album, which features compositions by Moore, was released in 1996 by Ramboy Recordings. The trio is named after the players' first initials.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jurek, Thom. "Reggie Workman Ensemble: Synthesis". AllMusic. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ May, Chris (July 9, 2009). "Trio 3 + Geri Allen: At This Time". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1398.
  4. ↑ Palmer, Robert (May 17, 1987). "Top Bassists are the Bottom Line in Jazz Ensembles". New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.