The Freestyle Band

Last updated
The Freestyle Band
The Freestyle Band album cover.jpg
Studio album by
The Freestyle Band
Released1984; 2012
Recorded1984
StudioSorcerer Sound, New York City
Genre Free jazz
Label Adeyeme Productions
NoBusiness Records
Producer Marie C. Noto (original release); Danas Mikailionis and Valerij Anosov (reissue)

The Freestyle Band is an album by the collective free jazz trio of the same name, featuring clarinetist Henry P. Warner, double bassist and pianist Earl Freeman, and hand drummer Philip Spigner. The group's sole release, it was recorded during 1984 at Sorcerer Sound in New York City, and was initially released on vinyl the same year by Adeyeme Productions Unlimited with cover art by Freeman. In 2012, it was reissued on CD with the title Freestyle Band by NoBusiness Records. The reissue contains two additional tracks, along with extensive notes by Ed Hazell, plus photos and reproductions of flyers. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Free Jazz CollectiveStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Tom Hull – on the Web B+ [8]

In a review for All About Jazz , John Sharpe described the album as "another fascinating artifact helping to fill in a few more of the blanks on the NYC scene at the tail end of the loft era." [6]

The Free Jazz Collective's Martin Schray called the album a "gem," and noted that the sound of the group is "unlike anything you have ever heard before." He stated: "there are hand drums... that... sound like an African war rhythm. Even more confusing is the bass guitar... You can hear the primordial soup bubbling. Above the brew flutters a clarinet... The blues is whispering its mournful melody. Is there communication or is everybody playing independently of each other?" [7]

Critic Tom Hull commented: "Spigner's hand drums set up a nice homely vibe that Warner's clarinet sometimes flows with and sometimes cuts against; Freeman plays electric bass and piano, most often against the current, just to keep it all interesting." [8]

Ken Waxman of JazzWord remarked: "Jumbling the stridency of Energy Music with the sonic circumspection of minimalism, the textures of these all-original compositions were both ahead of their time and behind them... there are many instances when each man sounds as if he's playing parallel yet unaffiliated lines. Yet somehow through sequence repetition and bravura tone bending, cohesion is achieved." [9]

Writing for Point of Departure, Bobby Hill called the album "a fine example of music that's been underground for too long," stating that it "has a searching freshness that belies its age." He noted that Freeman's "extraterrestrial approach to his instrument is reminiscent of the deep, rubbery sound made famous by Funkadelic's Bootsy Collins, which he successfully brings to an avant, improvisational-based setting." [10]

In a Paris Transatlantic review of the 2012 CD release, Clifford Allen called the trio "one of the most distinctive ensembles to emerge from New York's DIY scene," and wrote: "This reissue is a testament to how much differentiation existed within loft jazz, and it's great to have the opportunity to spread the Freestyle Band's gospel once again." [11]

Original LP track listing

Track timings not provided.

Side A
  1. "Dr Nuñez"
  2. "The Roach Approach"
Side B
  1. "Pelican"

CD reissue track listing

  1. "Dr. Nunez" – 4:13
  2. "The Roach Approach" – 13:04
  3. "Beef Thrust" – 11:43
  4. "Pelican" – 21:06
  5. "Bird Knows!" – 10:09

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pee Wee Russell</span> American jazz clarinetist (1906–1969)

Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.

The Shaolin Afronauts are an Afrobeat band based in Adelaide, Australia. Their music is heavily influenced by West African Afrobeat artists such as Fela Kuti, but also incorporates elements of avant-garde jazz, soul and other traditional African and Cuban percussive rhythms. They describe their music as "interstellar futurist afro-soul".

<i>Rimbaud</i> (album) 2012 studio album by John Zorn

Rimbaud is an album by John Zorn. The album was released on Zorn's own label Tzadik Records in August 2012. It was dedicated to French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

<i>The Concealed</i> 2012 studio album by John Zorn

The Concealed is an album composed by John Zorn. The album was released on Zorn's own label, Tzadik Records, in November 2012. The world premiere of this piece took place on 18 May, 2012, in Victoriaville. It was recorded on 21 May, 2012, in East Side Sound Studio in New York City.

<i>Swift Are the Winds of Life</i> 1976 studio album by Rashied Ali and Leroy Jenkins

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.

<i>Corona</i> (album) 2018 live album by Cecil Taylor

Corona is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil", the headquarters of the Kulturprojekte Berlin non-profit organisation, on November 1, 1996, one day before the recording of the Taylor album Almeda, and two days before the recording of The Light of Corona. It was released in 2018 in digital format by the FMP label as part of their Archive Edition, and was reissued in 2021 in CD format by Corbett vs. Dempsey.

<i>Göttingen</i> (album) 2021 live album by Cecil Taylor

Göttingen is a double-CD live album by pianist Cecil Taylor. It was recorded at the Junges Theater in Göttingen, Germany in September 1990, and was released in 2021 by Fundacja Słuchaj!. On the album, Taylor is joined by an ensemble of a dozen musicians. The recording took place roughly two years after the concert documented on Legba Crossing, and features many of the same players.

<i>Actions</i> (album) 1971 live album by Krzysztof Penderecki and Don Cherry

Actions is a live album featuring debut performances of works by composer Krzysztof Penderecki and trumpeter and composer Don Cherry. It was recorded on October 17, 1971, at the Donaueschingen Festival in Donaueschingen, Germany, and was released on LP later that year by Philips. The music was performed by an ensemble called The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, composed of top European improvisors. In 1998, the album was reissued on CD by Transparency Records. It was remastered and reissued again in 2001 by Intuition Records.

<i>Live</i> (The Group album) 2012 live album by The Group

Live is a live album by the cooperative jazz ensemble known as The Group, featuring saxophonist Marion Brown, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, violinist Billy Bang, bassists Sirone and Fred Hopkins, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The band's sole release, it was recorded on September 13, 1986, at the Jazz Center of New York in New York City, and was issued on LP and CD by NoBusiness Records in 2012, over 25 years after the concert.

<i>Burn Baby Burn</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Norman Howard and Joe Phillips

Burn Baby Burn is an album by trumpeter Norman Howard and saxophonist Joe Phillips, who are accompanied by bassist Walter Cliff and drummer Corney Millsap. It was recorded in Cleveland, Ohio, in November 1968 as part of a session that was originally intended for release by ESP-Disk as catalogue number 1073. However, the material was shelved until 1989, when some of the tracks were released by Homeboy Music, a label run by British musicologist Roy Morris, on a limited-edition cassette titled Signals. In 1993, Homeboy reissued the contents of Signals, along with additional tracks from the session, on a second cassette called Burn, Baby, Burn. In 2007, ESP-Disk issued eight of the tracks in remastered form on CD as Burn Baby Burn.

<i>Tribal Ghost</i> 2013 live album by John Tchicai, Charlie Kohlhase, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart

Tribal Ghost is a live album by saxophonists John Tchicai and Charlie Kohlhase, guitarist Garrison Fewell, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Billy Hart. It was recorded on February 9 and 10, 2007, at Birdland in New York City, and was released on vinyl in limited quantities in 2013 by NoBusiness Records.

<i>Live at Maya Recordings Festival</i> 2013 live album by Evan Parker, Barry Guy, and Paul Lytton

Live at Maya Recordings Festival is a live album by saxophonist Evan Parker, double bassist Barry Guy, and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded during September 23–25, 2011, at the Theater am Gleis in Winterthur, Switzerland, and was released on both vinyl and CD in 2013 by NoBusiness Records.

<i>Muntu Recordings</i> 2009 compilation album by Jemeel Moondoc

Muntu Recordings is a three-CD box-set compilation album by alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc and the ensemble known as Muntu. Disc 1 restores to circulation the group's debut album First Feeding, recorded in a New York City studio in 1977, and originally issued on vinyl that year by Moondoc's Muntu Records as the label's inaugural release. On First Feeding, Moondoc is joined by trumpeter Arthur Williams, pianist Mark Hennen, double bassist William Parker, and drummer Rashid Bakr. Disc 2 is a reissue of Muntu's second recording The Evening of the Blue Men, recorded live at St. Mark's Church in New York City in 1979, and originally issued on vinyl that year as the Muntu label's second and final release. On this recording, Moondoc is accompanied by trumpeter Roy Campbell, double bassist Parker, and drummer Bakr. Disc 3 is a previously unissued 1975 live recording from Ali's Alley in New York City featuring Moondoc, Parker, and Bakr. Muntu Recordings, released in 2009 by NoBusiness Records, also includes a 115-page book containing essays, photographs, and a complete Muntu sessionography.

<i>Blue Notes in Concert Volume 1</i> 1978 live album by The Blue Notes

Blue Notes in Concert Volume 1 is a live album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on April 16, 1977, at the 100 Club in London, and was released on vinyl in 1978 by Ogun Records. In 2022, Ogun reissued the album in expanded form on CD with the title Blue Notes in Concert, using tracks that originally appeared on the 2008 compilation The Ogun Collection.

<i>Opened, But Hardly Touched</i> 1981 live album by Peter Brötzmann, Harry Miller, and Louis Moholo

Opened, But Hardly Touched is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, double bassist Harry Miller, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on November 5 and 6, 1980, at the Flöz in Berlin, and was released on vinyl as a two-album set in 1981 by FMP/Free Music Production. In 2014, the album was reissued on CD by the Cien Fuegos imprint of Trost Records.

<i>Berlin Djungle</i> 1987 live album by Brötzmann Clarinet Project

Berlin Djungle is a live album by the Brötzmann Clarinet Project, led by Peter Brötzmann, and featuring an eleven-piece band that was assembled for a concert at JazzFest Berlin. Documenting a performance of a single 47-minute work, it was recorded on November 4, 1984, at the Delphi Theater in Berlin, and was released on vinyl in 1987 by FMP/Free Music Production. In 2004, it was reissued on CD by Atavistic Records as part of their Unheard Music Series. On the album, Brötzmann is joined by clarinetists Tony Coe, J.D. Parran, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Louis Sclavis, and John Zorn, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Alan Tomlinson and Johannes Bauer, double bassist William Parker, and drummer Tony Oxley.

<i>Schwarzwaldfahrt</i> 1977 studio album by Peter Brötzmann and Han Bennink

Schwarzwaldfahrt is an album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and percussionist Han Bennink. It was recorded during May 9–11, 1977, in the open air of the Black Forest in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, using a Stellavox tape recorder, and was initially released on vinyl later that year by the FMP label. In 2005, Atavistic Records reissued the album on CD as part of their Unheard Music Series, with previously unreleased tracks. The album was reissued on vinyl in 2012 by the Cien Fuegos imprint of Trost Records, and, in 2022, Trost reissued it again in limited quantities, accompanied by a 120-page book containing photos and an essay by novelist David Keenan.

<i>Irvins Comet</i> 2020 live album by Barry Guy

Irvin's Comet is a live solo double bass album by Barry Guy. It was recorded on October 29, 2019, at the "Improdimensija" (Improdimension) concert series held at MAMAstudios in Vilnius, Lithuania, and was released on vinyl in 2020 by NoBusiness Records.

<i>The Brain of the Dog in Section</i> 2008 live album by Peter Brötzmann and Fred Lonberg-Holm

The Brain of the Dog in Section is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and cellist and electronic musician Fred Lonberg-Holm. It was recorded on November 28, 2007, at the Hideout in Chicago, and was released in 2008 by Atavistic Records.

Earl Freeman was an American free jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, poet, and artist best known for his work during the 1960s and 70s with Gong, Noah Howard, Sunny Murray, Archie Shepp, and Clifford Thornton.

References

  1. ↑ "Freestyle Band". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Freestyle Band by Henry Warner, Earl Freeman, Philip Spigner - Freestyle Band". NoBusiness Records / Bandcamp. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "NoBusiness discography: CD releases". JazzLists. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Earl Freeman: Poems and Drawings". Aquarium Drunkard. October 19, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lore, Adam. "The Freestyle Band". 50 Miles of Elbow Room. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Sharpe, John (April 24, 2012). "Henry P. Warner / Earl Freeman / Philip Spigner: Freestyle Band". All About Jazz. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Schray, Martin (June 13, 2012). "Henry P. Warner, Earl Freeman, Philip Spigner: Freestyle Band". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Hull, Tom (June 2012). "Jazz Prospecting". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  9. ↑ Waxman, Ken (February 7, 2013). "Earl Freeman/Henry P. Warner/Philip Spigner". JazzWord. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hill, Bobby. "Moment's Notice: Reviews of Recent Recordings". Point of Departure. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  11. ↑ Allen, Clifford (June 2012). "Jazz & Improv". Paris Transatlantic. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
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.