Think All, Focus One

Think All, Focus One
Studio album by Muhal Richard Abrams
Released	1995
Recorded	15-16 July 1994
Genre	Jazz
Label	Black Saint
Producer	Muhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams chronology

Last updated September 08, 2019

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[2]

Think All, Focus One is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams which was released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1995 and features performances of seven of Abrams' compositions by Abrams, Eddie Allen, David Gilmore, Eugene Ghee, Alfred Patterson, Brad Jones, and Reggie Nicholson.

Muhal Richard Abrams was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the United States, Canada and Europe with his orchestra, sextet, quartet, duo and as a solo pianist. His musical affiliations constitute a "who's who" of the jazz world, including Max Roach, Dexter Gordon, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Art Farmer, Sonny Stitt, Anthony Braxton, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.

Eddie Allen is a jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist from Milwaukee. He has worked with Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, Art Blakey, Benny Carter, Chico Freeman, Craig Harris, and Dizzy Gillespie. He has used several variants of his name on CDs including: E.J. Allen, Eddie E.J. Allen, and E.J. "Eddie" Allen.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "Due to the frequently dense ensembles of the septet and the complexity of the music, this set will take several listens to fully absorb, but it is well worth the effort".^[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3½ stars calling it "fine, thoroughly thought jazz".^[2]

Scott Yanow is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, two well known chroniclers of jazz resident in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

All compositions by Muhal Richard Abrams

"Before and After" - 8:37
"The Harmonic Veil" - 6:23
"Crossbeams" - 8:42
"The Junction" - 8:33
"Scaledance" - 5:55
"Encore" - 12:46
"Think All, Focus One" - 5:36

Recorded on July 15 & 16, 1994 at East Side Sound, NYC

Personnel

Eddie Allen: trumpet
Eugene Ghee: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Alfred Patterson: trombone
David Gilmore: guitar
Brad Jones: bass
Reggie Nicholson: drums
Muhal Richard Abrams: piano, synthesizer

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B♭ (while the alto is pitched in the key of E♭), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F♯ key have a range from A♭₂ to E₅ (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists".

The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B♭ clarinet, it is usually pitched in B♭, but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B♭ clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist, but are very rare. Bass clarinets regularly perform in orchestras, wind ensembles/concert bands, occasionally in marching bands, and play an occasional solo role in contemporary music and jazz in particular.

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References

↑ Allmusic Review
1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-141-02327-4.
↑ Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed 31 March 2009

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[1] Allmusic Review

[Penguin_Guide-2] 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-141-02327-4.

[3] Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed 31 March 2009