| The Truth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 2020 | |||
| Recorded | December 8, 2018 | |||
| Venue | Cafe Oto, London | |||
| Genre | Free jazz | |||
| Length | 37:01 | |||
| Label | Otoroku ROKU024 | |||
| Matana Roberts chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Truth is a live album by saxophonist Matana Roberts and pianist Pat Thomas. Consisting of four improvised tracks, it was recorded on December 8, 2018, at Cafe Oto in London, and was released on vinyl in 2020 by the Otoroku label. [1] [2] [3] [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ [5] |
In an article for The Quietus , Peter Margasak noted the musicians' "sympathetic connection, with the reedist's innate lyricism blending beautifully with the keyboardist's more outward bound machinations," and stated: "their quicksilver adoptions of a quickly morphing sonic landscape keeps listeners on their edge of their seats... There's nothing tentative or unsure about their spontaneous dialogues, which pulsate with a real sense of community." [6]
Phil Freeman of Stereogum called the album "terrific," noting that, at times, Thomas and Roberts "sound like Cecil Taylor and Jimmy Lyons, creative partners for more than 25 years." He commented: "Roberts and Thomas absolutely have their own individual and collective languages... this is a fascinating and thrilling encounter." [7]
Writing for Point of Departure, David Grundy and Gabriel Bristow remarked: "Roberts and Thomas both will let a melodic statement ring out, consider it, repeat it, then develop in tandem. There's something suite-like about the music, despite its improvised nature, as they move in blocks of resonant mood and emotion... this is moving music, and an album you will listen to more than once." [8]
Spectrum Culture's Jake Cole described the pair as "ideal dance partners for a duet," and wrote: "the two gel so well that the album could easily be pitched as a concise summary of either artist's career... the album could have come across as an attempt to match other seminal LP-length jazz classics, but there's never any sense that Roberts and Thomas are attempting to enter the canon, merely to do what jazz has always done: let one person leap out ahead to watch the other chart their own path to meet them." [9]
A writer for Marlbank called the album "wonderful," and stated: "a key point is how two instrumentalists in the moment adapt their own vision to the other's not by submission but by comprehension and intuition, the two indistinguishable." [10]
Anthony Osborne of A Jazz Noise included the album in his "2020 Picks," writing: "Two extraordinary musicians, alto sax and piano, just beautiful." [11]
The Free Jazz Collective's Stef Gijssels commented: "the interaction is free in spirit, open-ended in their journey, but solidly anchored in jazz idioms... Roberts thrives by the interaction with Thomas, creating wonderful jubilant, playful, angry or moaning tunes, navigating with dexterity the sudden changes and new ideas in the pianist's approach, while managing to keep the continuity in her playing." [12]
Matana Roberts is an American sound experimentalist, visual artist, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, composer and improviser based in New York City. They have previously been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), and a member of the B.R.C. Black Rock Coalition.
Relativity Suite is a free-jazz LP by Don Cherry on Jazz Composer's Orchestra Records which was released in 1973.
Live at the Loft is the second album by Danish jazz saxophonist Lotte Anker with her trio with pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver, which was recorded in 2005 at the Loft in Cologne and released on the Danish ILK label.
Floating Islands is the third album by Danish jazz saxophonist Lotte Anker with her trio with pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver, which was recorded live at the 2008 Copenhagen Jazz Festival and released on the Danish ILK label.
Birthmark is an album by Danish jazz saxophonist Lotte Anker with two Portuguese members of the RED Trio, pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and double bassist Hernani Faustino. Anker played at Lisbon in 2012 with Fred Frith and Ikue Mori, and Pinheiro invited her to play on this record session. The album was released on the Portuguese Clean Feed label.
Alien Huddle is an album by a free improvisation trio consisting of Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker, Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and Japanese electronic artist Ikue Mori, which was recorded in 2006 and released by Intakt Records. It takes its title from a large wooden sculpture by Martin Puryear. The eleven improvisations are inspired by bird songs. Courvoisier and Mori collaborated in two projects previously: Courvoisier's Lonelyville and the improvising trio Mephista with Susie Ibarra.
Sleepthief is the eponymous debut album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock's free improvisation trio with British pianist Liam Noble and American drummer Tom Rainey. It was recorded in 2007 and released on the Swiss Intakt label. Laubrock and Noble played together since 2005 and recorded the duo Let's Call This.... While Rainey was visiting the UK they decided to get together and Sleepthief was born.
Haste is the eponymous debut album by the free improvisation trio consisting of British pianist Veryan Weston, German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and British cellist Hannah Marshall. It was recorded live in 2011 during the XV Festival Internacional de Improvisacion Hurta Cordel in Barcelona and released on the British Emanem label.
Pat Thomas is a jazz pianist from Oxford, England.
Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile is a studio album by Matana Roberts. It is the second installment of the 12-part Coin Coin series. It was released by Constellation Records October 1, 2013.
Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis is the ninth solo studio album by American jazz musician Matana Roberts. It was released via Constellation on October 18, 2019, as CST145. The album is the fourth installment in the proposed 12-part Coin Coin and was preceded by Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee (2015).
Relative Pitch Records is an American independent record label specializing in free jazz and avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, and experimental music. Run by Kevin Reilly, Relative Pitch has been ranked among the top jazz record labels in The New York City Jazz Record and DownBeat year-end lists, and praised by publications and organizations including The Guardian, NPR Music, The Brooklyn Rail, and in Bandcamp Daily's label profile, "Relative Pitch is Built on Enthusiasm for Experimental Music".
Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee is the seventh solo studio album by American jazz musician Matana Roberts. It was released via Constellation on February 2, 2015. The album is the third installment in the proposed 12-part Coin Coin album series, in which it was preceded by Mississippi Moonchile (2013) and followed by Memphis (2019). The series, named after Marie Thérèse Coincoin, is an exploration of African-American history, the Civil rights movement, the roots of American slavery, Roberts' familial ancestry, and more.
The Summer House Sessions is a live album by trumpeter Don Cherry. It was recorded in July 1968 at the summer home of musician and recording engineer Göran Frees in Kummelnäs, Nacka, Sweden, after Frees invited Cherry to visit for a series of jam sessions and rehearsals.
Music Delivery/Percussion is a solo album by percussionist Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded on January 17 and 18, 2022, at Sound On Sound Recording in Montclair, New Jersey, and was released in 2023 by Intakt Records.
Live in London is a live album by saxophonist and composer Matana Roberts. It was recorded during 2009 at the Vortex Jazz Club in London, and was released in 2011 by Central Control International. On the album, Roberts is joined by pianist Robert Mitchell, double bassist Tom Mason, and drummer Chris Vatalaro.
Always is a solo album by saxophonist and composer Matana Roberts. Consisting of an untitled 33 minute track, followed by a 10-minute encore, it was recorded on May 6, 2014, at Park West Studios in Brookyln, New York, and was released in 2015 by Relative Pitch Records.
The Chicago Project is an album by saxophonist and composer Matana Roberts. Produced by Vijay Iyer and engineered by John McEntire, it was recorded at Soma Studios in Chicago, Illinois, and was released on CD and vinyl in 2008 by Central Control International. The album pays homage to Roberts's home town, and features guitarist Jeff Parker, double bassist Josh Abrams, and drummer Frank Rosaly, with guest saxophonist Fred Anderson appearing on three tracks for which he shares writing credits with Roberts.
Circle Down is an album by drummer Chad Taylor. It was recorded on December 20, 2008, at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 2009 by 482 Music. On the album, Taylor is joined by pianist Angelica Sanchez and double bassist Chris Lightcap.
Reggaeology is the third album by drummer Hamid Drake and his group Bindu. Tracks 1 through 6 were recorded during May 6–8, 2009, at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, while the remaining track was recorded on July 28, 2009, at Sape Shoppe Studio in Chicago. The recording, which blends jazz and reggae, was released on CD in 2010 by Rogueart. On the album, Drake is joined by vocalist Napoléon Maddox, who also provided most of the lyrics, trombonists Jeff Albert and Jeb Bishop, guitarist Jeff Parker, and double bassist Josh Abrams.