Variations on a Blue Line

Variations on a Blue Line
Live album by Joe McPhee
Released	1979
Recorded	October 11, 1977
Venue	Salle Ste Croix des Pelletiers, Rouen, France
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:23
Label	HatHut hat HUT O
Producer	Craig Johnson, Pia Uehlinger, Werner X. Uehlinger
Joe McPhee chronology

Last updated June 19, 2019

Variations on a Blue Line (subtitled 'Round Midnight) is a live album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1977 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label in 1979.^[1]

Joe McPhee is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is most notable for his free jazz work done from the late 1960s to the present day.

Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Huthut encompasses the labels hat ART, hatOLOGY, and hat NOIR.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars.^[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Joe McPhee except as indicated

"Beanstalk" - 17:06
"Motian Studies" - 7:39
"Variations on a Blue Line (After a Theme for Knox)" - 6:33
"'Round Midnight" (Thelonious Monk) - 5:05

Personnel

Joe McPhee - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone

Related Research Articles

<i>Nation Time</i> 1971 live album by Joe McPhee

Nation Time is a live album by saxophonist and composer Joe McPhee recorded in late 1970 and originally released on the CjR label, then reissued by Atavistic in 2000.

<i>Trinity</i> (Harold E. Smith, Mike Krull and Joe McPhee album) 1972 live album by Joe McPhee, Harold E. Smith, Mike Krull

Trinity is an album by American mult-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee recorded in 1972 and originally released on the CjR label, then reissued by Atavistic in 2001.

<i>The Willisau Concert</i> 1976 live album by Joe McPhee

The Willisau Concert is a live album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1975 it was the second album released on the Swiss HatHut label.

<i>Glasses</i> (album) 1979 live album by Joe McPhee

Glasses is a live album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1977 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label 1979.

<i>Rotation</i> (Joe McPhee album) 1977 live album by Joe McPhee

Rotation is a live album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1976 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label.

<i>Graphics</i> (album) 1978 live album by Joe McPhee

Graphics is a live solo album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1977 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label.

<i>Old Eyes</i> 1980 studio album by Joe McPhee

Old Eyes is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1979 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label in 1980. It was rereleased on CD in 1992 as Old Eyes & Mysteries with bonus tracks recorded in 1990.

Topology is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1981 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label, it was rereleased on CD in 1990.

Visitation is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1983 and first released on the Canadian Sackville label, it was rereleased on CD in 2003.

<i>MFG in Minnesota</i> 1979 live album by Joe McPhee, Milo Fine and Steve Gnitka

MFG in Minnesota is a live album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1978 and first released on the Swiss HatHut label in 1979.

<i>Élan • Impulse</i> 1991 live album by Joe McPhee, Milo Fine and Steve Gnitka

Élan • Impulse is a live duet album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1991 and released on the French In Situ label.

<i>Legend Street One</i> 1996 studio album by Joe McPhee Quintet

Legend Street One is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee recorded in 1996 and first released on the CIMP label.

Inside Out is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee with violinist David Prentice recorded in 1996 and first released on the CIMP label.

<i>McPhee/Parker/Lazro</i> 1996 live album by Joe McPhee, Evan Parker and Daunik Lazro

McPhee/Parker/Lazro is a live album by saxophonists Joe McPhee, Evan Parker and Daunik Lazro recorded in France in 1995 and first released on the Vand'Oeuvre label.

<i>Finger Wrigglers</i> 1997 studio album by Michael Bisio and Joe McPhee

Finger Wigglers is an album by bassist Michael Bisio and multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee recorded in 1996 and first released on the CIMP label.

<i>Zebulon</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Michael Bisio and Joe McPhee

Zebulon is an album performed by bassist Michael Bisio and multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee recorded in 1998 and first released on the CIMP label.

Voices & Dreams is a live album by guitarist Raymond Boni and multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee recorded in France in 2000 and first released on the French Emouvance label.

<i>No Greater Love</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Joe McPhee, Joe Giardullo, Michael Bisio and Dominic Duval

No Greater Love is a live album of performed by multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee recorded in 1999 and first released on the CIMP label. The album was recorded at the same sessions that produced In the Spirit.

What/If/They Both Could Fly is a live album by Evan Parker and Joe McPhee recorded Norway in 2012 and released on the Norwegian Rune Grammofon label.

<i>In Black and White</i> (Trio X album) 2002 live album by Trio X

In Black and White is a live album by multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee's Trio X featuring bassist Dominic Duval and percussionist Jay Rosen recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1999 and at the Vision Festival in NYC in 2001 and released on the Cadence Jazz label in 2002.

References

↑ Joe McPhee discography accessed April 20, 2015
1 2 Allmusic listing, accessed April 20, 2015

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.

[Joe_McPhee_discography-1] Joe McPhee discography accessed April 20, 2015

[Allmusic-2] 1 2 Allmusic listing, accessed April 20, 2015

v t e Joe McPhee
Studio albums	Pieces of Light (1974) Old Eyes (1980) Topology (1981) Oleo (1982) Visitation (1985) Linear B (1990) Impressions of Jimmy Giuffre (1992) Sweet Freedom - Now What? (1995) A Meeting in Chicago (1996) As Serious As Your Life (1996) Legend Street One (1996) Legend Street Two (1996) Inside Out (1996) Finger Wrigglers (1996) The Brass City (1997) Chicago Tenor Duets (1998) Zebulon (1998) In the Spirit (1999) No Greater Love (1999) Grand Marquis (1999) Tales Out of Time (2002)
Live albums	Underground Railroad (1969) Nation Time (1971) Black Magic Man (1971) At WBAI's Free Music Store, 1971 (1971) Trinity (1972) Rotation (1976) The Willisau Concert (1976) Tenor (1977) Graphics (1977) Variations on a Blue Line (1977) Glasses (1977) MFG in Minnesota (1978) Élan • Impulse (1991) McPhee/Parker/Lazro (1995) Common Threads (1995) Specific Gravity (1997) The Dream Book (1998) Emancipation Proclamation: A Real Statement of Freedom (1999) Manhattan Tango (2000) Port of Saints (2000) Voices & Dreams (2000) Mister Peabody Goes to Baltimore (2000) Remembrance (2001) In Finland (2004) Guts (2005) What/If/They Both Could Fly (2012)
Trio X	Rapture (1999) The Watermelon Suite (1999) On Tour (2001) In Black and White (2002) Journey (2003) The Sugar Hill Suite (2004) Moods: Playing with the Elements (2005) Roulette at Location One (2005) Air: Above and Beyond (2006)