The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings

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The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
Frank Wright The Complete ESP Disk Recordings.jpg
Compilation album by
Released2005
RecordedNovember 11, 1965; March 26, 1967
Genre Free jazz
Length1:40:02
Label ESP-Disk
ESP 4007
Frank Wright chronology
Eddie's Back in Town
(1982)
The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
(2005)
Unity
(2006)

The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings is a two-CD compilation album by saxophonist Frank Wright. Issued by ESP-Disk in 2005, it contains two studio albums released by the label during the 1960s: Frank Wright Trio , recorded in 1965 and issued in 1966, featuring bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Tom Price, and Your Prayer , recorded and released in 1967, featuring saxophone Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, bassist Steve Tintweiss, and drummer Muhammad Ali. The compilation also features a twelve-part interview with Wright, conducted by ESP-Disk founder Bernard Stollman. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

In a review for AllMusic, Michael G. Nastos wrote: "An important landmark in the making of new music for this time period, and one that launched Wright on a long journey into progressive jazz up to his death in 1990, this is where it started for him and many others. It's a CD that has to be considered essential in the lexicon of creative improvised African-American music." [1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that the album "at least restores some of the small but neglected Wright canon... It isn't a revelatory reissue, of the kind that can reposition a reputation, but it's a solid body of work that gives some substance to Wright's musicianly reputation." [4]

Writing for All About Jazz , Germein Linares commented: "Forty years after their inception, the material... remains remarkably fresh... While Wright was never fully appreciated while he was alive, this release hopes to, at the very least, give a new generation of jazz aficionados a chance to hear his music." [5] AAJ's Clifford Allen noted the "pronounced bar-walking influence" audible in Wright's playing, and remarked "Though these ESP sessions are only an early indicator, Frank Wright was one to get it 'on.'" [6]

Track listing

Disc 1

All compositions by Frank Wright.

Frank Wright Trio
  1. "The Earth" – 7:52
  2. "Jerry" – 12:10
  3. "The Moon" – 14:56
Interview
  1. "Bernard Stollman Meets Frank Wright" – 1:03
  2. "Recording" – 0:47
  3. "The Voice of Life" – 1:03
  4. "Playing with Other Musicians" – 1:45
  5. "Bernard Advises Frank on Europe" – 0:53
  6. "Europe vs. America (Part One)" – 3:05
  7. "Europe vs. America (Part Two)" – 1:56
  8. "Other Recordings, Books, and More" – 2:52
  9. "All Is Said" – 0:28

Disc 2

Track 1 by Arthur Jones. Tracks 2–5 by Frank Wright.

Your Prayer
  1. "The Lady" – 7:12
  2. "Train Stop" – 7:44
  3. "No End" – 7:10
  4. "Fire of Spirits" – 12:56
  5. "Your Prayer" – 16:10

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Michael G., Michael G. "Frank Wright: Complete ESP-Disk Recordings". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  2. "Frank Wright - The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  3. "ESP-Disk' Catalog: 4000 series". JazzDisco. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. pp. 1531–1532.
  5. Linares, Germein (January 26, 2006). "Frank Wright: The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings". All About Jazz. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  6. Allen, Clifford (July 13, 2005). "Frank Wright: Frank Wright: The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings". All About Jazz. Retrieved October 3, 2022.