The Joy of Flying

Last updated

The Joy of Flying
The Joy of Flying.jpg
Studio album by
Tony Williams
Released1978 (1978)
Genre Jazz fusion [1]
Length49:37
Label Columbia
Producer Tony Williams

The Joy of Flying is a jazz fusion album by Tony Williams. It was recorded at the end of the Tony Williams Lifetime years, and is considered his first solo album since 1966. It included three duets, two with Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist Jan Hammer, and one with free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, and three different quartets: the first featured Hammer along with guitarist George Benson and bassist Paul Jackson, the second featured pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Stanley Clarke and Tom Scott on Lyricon, and the third featured guitarist Ronnie Montrose, keyboardist Brian Auger, and bass guitarist Mario Cipollina. "Hip Skip" also featured a five-piece horn section.

Contents

The third quartet mentioned above performed a single concert on July 27, 1978, at Japan's Denen Coliseum (billed as "The Tony Williams All Stars"), which was recorded. Along with "Open Fire," their set list included "Rocky Road" and "Heads Up" by Montrose, "Red Alert", "Wildlife" and "There Comes a Time" by Williams, "Dragon Song" by John McLaughlin, and "Tropic of Capricorn" and a dual drum solo (with special guest drummer Billy Cobham).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

The Bay State Banner wrote that Williams "presents polarities of rock and R&B, contrasting styles of music woven into an electric tapestry of shifting, pulsating, surging hues and moods." [4]

Track listing

  1. "Going Far" (Jan Hammer) - 4:13
  2. "Hip Skip" (George Benson) - 8:03
  3. "Hittin' on 6" (Tom Scott) - 6:16
  4. "Open Fire" (Ronnie Montrose, Edgar Winter) - 6:16
  5. "Tony" (Stanley Clarke) - 6:50
  6. "Eris" (Hammer) - 3:33
  7. "Coming Back Home" (Hammer) - 6:06
  8. "Morgan's Motion" (Cecil Taylor) - 8:18

Personnel

(adapted from the original LP notes)

Horn Section (track 2):

Production

Produced by Tony Williams

Recording engineers: Jan Hammer (tracks 1 & 6); Don Puluse (tracks 2 & 7); Fred Catero (tracks 3 & 5); Tom Suzuki (track 4); Stan Tonkel (track 8)

References

  1. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 22, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  2. ↑ The Joy of Flying at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 209. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  4. ↑ Shepard, T. Brooks (June 21, 1979). "Tony Williams fuels the fusion movement". Bay State Banner. No. 37. p. 18.

Sources

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.