| Three for Shepp | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Recorded | December 1, 1966 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
| Genre | Free jazz | |||
| Length | 34:43 | |||
| Label | Impulse! A-9139 | |||
| Producer | Bob Thiele | |||
| Marion Brown chronology | ||||
| ||||
Three for Shepp is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B [4] |
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars, stating: "Marion Brown's Three for Shepp is the image-in-the-mirror companion to Archie Shepp's Four for Trane recorded the year before. The program is equally divided between Brown's originals, which occupy the first half of the album, and Shepp tunes that take up the latter half. What is immediately striking is how similar in tone, color, and texture the two men were when it came to composition. Brown arms himself here with crack bands for these recordings... This is a classic Impulse! recording of the period by an overlooked master." [2]
The authors of the Penguin Jazz Guide wrote: "Brown's Impulse! records are routinely overlooked... In the wake of this, his first successful record, Brown took to the road, playing tirelessly but curbing his studio activities. Impulse! had already released Shepp's Four For Trane. This was explicitly intended as a companion project and its arresting opening... establishes it as one of the most inventive in the label's distinguished catalogue... Brief as it is at just 35 minutes, Three For Shepp is so densely packed with musical information that it takes many, many listens to deconstruct: a living lesson in musical history, a passionate manifesto for the future." [5]
A reviewer at SoundOhm included the album in the "Best of 2019" playlist, and stated: "Three For Shepp balances fiery energy and delicate precision... Even this early in his career, Brown stood apart from his peers in "the new thing." His solos were as gentle as they were furious. Informed by the African American folk traditions of his native Georgia and an enthusiastic embrace of the avant-garde, his music would confront and challenge society. As Brown says in the original liner notes, 'The music is definitely a part of what's going on in the black revolution in America.' Three For Shepp still sounds crucial today (over 50 years later) and remains a vital statement of jazz's past, present and future." [6]
All compositions by Marion Brown except as noted
Marion Brown was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai. He performed on Coltrane's landmark 1965 album Ascension. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described him as "one of the brightest and most lyrical voices of the 1960s avant-garde."
Ascension is a jazz album by John Coltrane recorded in June 1965 and released in 1966. It is considered a watershed in Coltrane's work, with the albums recorded before it being more conventional in structure and the albums recorded after it being looser, free jazz inspired works. In addition, it signaled Coltrane's interest in moving away from the quartet format. AllMusic called it "the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde".
Karma is a jazz recording by the American tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, released in May 1969 on the Impulse! label, with catalog number AS 9181. A pioneering work of the spiritual jazz style, it has become Sanders' most popular and critically acclaimed album.
Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. Originally released in 1972 on the Impulse! label, the album title refers to the Attica Prison riots.
New Thing at Newport is a 1965 live album featuring two separate sets from that year's Newport Jazz Festival by tenor saxophonists John Coltrane and Archie Shepp. It was recorded four days after the recording session for Coltrane's album Ascension, on which Shepp appeared, and is one of several albums documenting the end stages of Coltrane's "classic quartet," which would begin to break up by the end of that year with the departure of McCoy Tyner.
Fire Music is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1965. "Malcolm, Malcolm Semper Malcolm" is dedicated to Malcolm X, whilst "Los Olvidados" is a homage to the 1950 film of the same name. Featured musicians include trumpeter Ted Curson, trombonist Joe Orange, alto saxophonist Marion Brown, bassist Reggie Johnson and drummer Joe Chambers.
Four for Trane is a studio album by tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1965. Four of the five tracks were composed and originally recorded by John Coltrane and rearranged by Shepp and trombonist Roswell Rudd. The other featured players are trumpeter Alan Shorter, alto saxophonist John Tchicai, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Charles Moffett. Coltrane himself co-produced the album alongside Bob Thiele. The album was Shepp's first release for Impulse!
Mama Too Tight is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1967. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, trombonists Grachan Moncur III and Roswell Rudd, tuba player Howard Johnson, clarinetist Perry Robinson, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Beaver Harris in August of 1966.
The Way Ahead is an album by Archie Shepp, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Ron Carter and drummers Roy Haynes and Beaver Harris in January 1968 with two additional tracks featuring baritone saxophonist Charles Davis, pianist Dave Burrell and bassist Walter Booker recorded in February 1969, and first released on Kwanza (1974), added to the CD release.
Cell Walk for Celeste is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded for the Candid label in January 1961 but not released until 1988. The album features performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Buell Neidlinger and Denis Charles. Additional recordings from these sessions were released on New York City R&B in 1971 and Jumpin' Punkins in 1987.
Jumpin' Punkins is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded for the Candid label in January 1961 but not issued in the States until 1987. The first release was in Japan by Victor in 1977 as Cecil Taylor All Stars Featuring Buell Neidlinger. The album features performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Buell Neidlinger and Denis Charles with Billy Higgins, Clark Terry, Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy and Charles Davis added on one track. Additional recordings from these sessions were released on New York City R&B in 1971 and Cell Walk for Celeste in 1988.
Mixed is a compilation album of two avant-garde jazz sessions featuring performances by the Cecil Taylor Unit and the Roswell Rudd Sextet. The album was released on the Impulse! label in 1998 and collects three performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Jimmy Lyons, Henry Grimes and Sunny Murray with Ted Curson and Roswell Rudd added on one track which were originally released under Gil Evans' name on Into the Hot (1961). The remaining tracks feature Rudd with Giuseppi Logan, Lewis Worrell, Charlie Haden, Beaver Harris and Robin Kenyatta and were originally released as Everywhere (1966). Essentially these are the three Cecil Taylor tracks from the "Gil Evans album" teamed with Roswell Rudd's Impulse album Everywhere, in its entirety.
Archie Shepp & the New York Contemporary Five is a live album by the New York Contemporary Five recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 15, 1963, and featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and John Tchicai, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Don Moore and drummer J. C. Moses. The album was originally released on the Sonet label in 1964 as New York Contemporary 5 in two separate volumes on LP and later as an edited concert on a single CD, removing the track "Cisum."
Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5 is an album released on the Savoy label originally featuring one LP side by Bill Dixon's septet and one LP side by the New York Contemporary Five featuring saxophonist Archie Shepp. The album resulted from Dixon and Shepp's contractual obligations to provide Savoy Records with a second album after the Archie Shepp - Bill Dixon Quartet (1962) but following a professional separation.
The October Suite is an album by American jazz pianist Steve Kuhn and composer/arranger/conductor Gary McFarland featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.
Little Red Moon is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
California Meeting: Live on Broadway is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
The Golden Number is an album of four duets by bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1976 and released on the Horizon label in 1977. Haden’s duet partners are trumpeter Don Cherry, tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, pianist Hampton Hawes and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Hawes died shortly before the album’s release, and Haden dedicated the work to him in the liner notes.
Marion Brown Quartet is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown, his debut as a leader. It was recorded in November 1965 in New York City, and was released in 1966 on the ESP-Disk label. The album features Brown on alto saxophone, Alan Shorter on trumpet, Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone, Reggie Johnson and Ronnie Boykins on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums.
Sunshine is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his third as a leader. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label later that year. On the album, Murray is joined by Arthur Jones and Roscoe Mitchell on alto saxophone, Archie Shepp and Kenneth Terroade on tenor saxophone, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Dave Burrell on piano, and Malachi Favors and Alan Silva on bass.