The Owner of the River Bank

Last updated
The Owner of the River Bank
Cecil Taylor The Owner of the River Bank.jpg
Live album by
Cecil Taylor
Released2003
RecordedSeptember 10, 2000
VenueTalos Festival, Ruvo di Puglia, Italy
Genre Free jazz
Length1:02:57
Label Enja Records
ENJ-9465 2

The Owner of the River Bank is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor. It was recorded at the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia, Italy in September 2000, and was released in 2003 by Enja Records. On the album, Taylor is joined by members of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. [1] The concert was presented in honor of the tenth anniversary of the orchestra. [2]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

In a review for The Guardian , John Fordham wrote: "Parts of the performance echo Taylor's great concerto performance of the late 1960s, with the American Jazz Composers Orchestra under Michael Mantler. But this music, though showing a similarly sculptural approach to the overlaying of sounds, is less bleak, more vivacious and varied than Mantler's. It displays Taylor's fondness for mirroring his explosive piano playing with restlessly intense percussion. The leader's nervous, mercurial runs and low-register chords contrast sharply with this virtuosic orchestra's softer voices, particularly Gianluigi Trovesi's alto sax and the airborne brightness of the trumpet players. The Instabile's free-collective confidence builds rich textures of trombone smears, wriggling trumpet lines and raw sax voicings around Taylor's surging intensity. And if the leader's early roots in Ellington and Thelonious Monk are barely audible nowadays, his models still drive his faith in open music-making and a conviction that your own personal momentum, rather than a borrowed one, can drive a unique kind of swing." [3]

Writing for All About Jazz , Jim Santella commented: "From the sounds of an orchestra warming up, to a subdued conclusion that rumbles deeply and insignificantly, Taylor's piece takes his audience on a journey through scenery that changes gradually and often... His form of communication at the piano provides instant connection with the other artists. They 'speak out' through their instruments and the leader replies. If it were that easy, then every little boy or girl could be a world-class musician. The veteran members of the Italian Instabile Orchestra... respond collectively with clarion tones and seamless phrases that knowingly communicate with musical sounds... All the rest is highly creative art that comes from the mind of Taylor, a pioneer and innovator of avant-garde fashion." [2]

In a second article for All About Jazz, Jerry D'Souza stated: "Taylor sets up the soundscape with the strings in oleaginous flow, the horns coming in to twitter, the rhythm scattershot. The eddying eye of the timbre whirls giddily as the horns rip in with caterwaul and coil the driving forces. The diminuendo comes in, drums, a skeetering horn, the soft notes of the piano filtering in and through. The Orchestra has a penchant for using voices in full throated animation. These players' trait does not escape them, and in giving vent to it they wrap themselves around the trajectory of the instruments. Taylor splashes colour across a divergent canvas in the fourth movement, on which he gives himself plenty of room. He is poetry in motion, in free verse." [4]

Track listing

Composed by Cecil Taylor.

  1. "Part 1" - 6:57
  2. "Part 2" - 11:22
  3. "Part 3" - 12:29
  4. "Part 4" - 3:37
  5. "Part 5" - 11:29
  6. "Part 6" - 8:21
  7. "Part 7" - 6:12

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Escalator over the Hill</i> 1971 studio album by Carla Bley and Paul Haines

Escalator over the Hill is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction", with "words by Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Michael Mantler", performed by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra.

<i>Vocalese</i> (album) 1985 studio album by The Manhattan Transfer

Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.

<i>The Jazz Composers Orchestra</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Jazz Composers Orchestra

The Jazz Composer's Orchestra is a 1968 album by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra recorded over a period of six months with Michael Mantler as composer, leader and producer. Many of the key figures in avant-garde jazz from the time contributed on the album including Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, Larry Coryell, Roswell Rudd, and Carla Bley. The album's finale features a two-part concerto for Cecil Taylor and orchestra.

<i>Suite for Pops</i> 1975 studio album by Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra

Suite for Pops is a 1975 big band jazz album recorded by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and released on the A&M Horizon label.

<i>New Life</i> (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra album) 1976 studio album by Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra

New Life (Dedicated to Max Gordon) is a 1976 big band jazz album recorded by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and released on the A&M/Horizon Records label. The album was nominated for a 1976 Grammy award in the Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band category.

<i>Jazz Casual – Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Woody Herman and His Swinging Herd</i>

Jazz Casual - The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd consists of a recording of a Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd appearance from 1963 and a Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra appearance from 1968 that were combined and released as a single DVD video and also as an audio CD. Jazz Casual was a KQED-produced television show of studio performances by major jazz musicians. The same material has also been released in different packages

The Italian Instabile Orchestra (IIO) is an eighteen piece experimental big band that performs orchestral jazz and avant-garde jazz. Its members include Alberto Mandarini, Bruno Tommaso, Carlo Actis Dato, Daniele Cavallanti, Eugenio Colombo, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Gianluigi Trovesi, Giorgio Gaslini, Giovanni Maier, Guido Mazzon, Mario Schiano, Martin Mayes, Paolo Damiani, Pino Minafra, Sebi Tramontana, Tiziano Tononi, Umberto Petrin, and Vincenzo Mazzone.

Mario Schiano was an Italian alto saxophonist and soprano saxophonist associated with avant-garde/free jazz.

Pino Minafra is an Italian trumpeter and flugelhorn player who is associated with free improvisation, avant-garde jazz. A founding member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Minafra has recorded with such musicians as Gianluigi Trovesi, Mario Schiano, Han Bennink, Ernst Reijseger, Willem Breuker and Michel Godard.

Giancarlo Schiaffini is an Italian jazz trombonist and tubist most associated with avant-garde music, free improvisation and free jazz. A member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Schiaffini has worked with such artists as Mario Schiano, Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo and also Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Also, he has collaborated with the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza.

<i>Alms/Tiergarten (Spree)</i> 1989 live album by Cecil Taylor

Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) is a live album by Cecil Taylor with the Cecil Taylor European Orchestra recorded in Berlin on July 2, 1988, as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.

<i>Communication</i> (Jazz Composers Orchestra album) 1965 live album by Jazz Composers Orchestra

Communication is the debut album by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra featuring compositions by Michael Mantler and Carla Bley performed by Paul Bley, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Roswell Rudd, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, Fred Pirtle, Willie Ruff, Ken McIntyre, Robin Kenyatta, Bob Carducci, Kent Carter, Steve Swallow, Milford Graves, and Barry Altschul. The album was released on the Fontana label in 1965. AllMusic described it as "one of the masterpieces of creative music in the '60s".

<i>Relativity Suite</i> 1973 studio album by Don Cherry and the Jazz Composers Orchestra

Relativity Suite is a free-jazz LP by Don Cherry on Jazz Composer's Orchestra Records which was released in 1973.

<i>Super Hits</i> (Miles Davis album) 2001 greatest hits album by Miles Davis

Super Hits is a greatest hits album from Miles Davis. Released in 2001, it reached #22 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.

<i>Memphis Jazz Box</i> 2004 box set by various Memphis jazz artists

"The Memphis Jazz Box" is a 3-CD box set by Memphis jazz artists, first released by Ice House Records in March 2004 and then re-released to the public in 2008. Volume one and two have a combined 24 tracks from a wide variety of artists who were currently working in Memphis during the time the set was produced. The third CD is the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter recorded in 2003 for Summit Records.

<i>Big Boss Band</i> 1990 studio album by George Benson

Big Boss Band is the 1990 studio album of American musician George Benson on Warner Bros. featuring the Count Basie Orchestra. This is Benson's second consecutive album which returns to his jazz roots after his successful pop career in the 1980s, and also his debut as sole producer of an album. The genre is mainly big band swing with some Michel Legrand and R&B thrown in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umberto Petrin</span> Italian jazz pianist, composer and poet (born 1960)

Umberto Petrin is an Italian jazz pianist, composer and poet. He devoted himself to the study of the piano at the age of 12. After studying Chemistry, he graduated in Piano at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, where he is now Professor of Jazz Piano. From the age of 18 he took an active interest in contemporary poetry and began a long collaboration with literary magazines, winning several prizes and being a finalist in numerous poetry competitions.

<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>Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra</i> 2001 live album by Alan Silva

Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra is a live album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded in May 1999 at St. Nicholas of Myra Church in New York City during the annual Vision Festival, and was released in 2001 by Eremite Records. On the album, Silva is joined by a large ensemble known as the Sound Visions Orchestra.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cecil Taylor: The Owner of the River Bank". AllMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Santella, Jim (July 2, 2004). "Cecil Taylor: The Owner of the River Bank". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Fordham, John (November 20, 2003). "Cecil Taylor: The Owner of the River Bank". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  4. ↑ D'Souza, Jerry (May 25, 2004). "Cecil Taylor: The Owner of the River Bank". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 31, 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.