| Virtuosi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Recorded | June 28, 1967 Nola's Penthouse Sound Studios, NYC | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 33:11 | |||
| Label | Improvising Artists IAI 373844 | |||
| Producer | Paul Bley | |||
| Paul Bley chronology | ||||
| ||||
Virtuosi is an album by drummer Barry Altschul, pianist Paul Bley and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1967 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1976. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| MusicHound Jazz | [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [5] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz | [6] |
The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 2½ stars, and reviewer Eugene Chadbourne suggested that listeners could find the music "either endlessly fascinating if the time is there to focus on every detail, or a kind of irrelevant background patter whose components could be reordered endlessly without any change in meaning." [2]
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings noted that the album "sounds... very much like Bley's own trio work of the period," and stated: "Bley... tends to dominate proceedings, though Altschul's continuous flow of ideas would be impressive were it registered more distinctly; not even CD gives a faithful rendition of some of his softer figures and effects." [4]
Writing for MusicHound Jazz , Steve Holtje commented: "to hear this trio's kaleidoscopic deployment of its considerable yet restrained resources is to witness improvisational interaction at the highest level." [3]
Barry Altschul is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.
Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s.
Soulville is a 1957 album by swing tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, recording a session from October 15, 1957, which Webster played with the Oscar Peterson Trio.
Fontainebleau is a 1956 album by jazz musician Tadd Dameron. The title track, inspired by a trip to the French palace of the same name, is a through-composed composition with no solos, while "Flossie Lou" is a contrafact of "Jeepers Creepers".
Straight Ahead is an album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.
Ballads is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded on March 31 and July 28, 1967 and released on ECM in 1971. The sessions' trios feature rhythm sections Mark Levinson and Barry Altschul on side B, and Gary Peacock and Altschul on side A, respectively.
While We're Young is an album by the jazz guitarist John Abercrombie recorded in June 1992 and released by ECM the following year. The trio features organist Dan Wall and drummer Adam Nussbaum.
Duster is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton that was recorded in 1967 and released by RCA. It features Burton with electric guitarist Larry Coryell, bassist Steve Swallow and legendary drummer Roy Haynes.
Closer is the seventh album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley, featuring seven compositions by Carla Bley, recorded in 1965 and released on the ESP-Disk label.
The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show is an album by Paul Bley performing compositions by Annette Peacock which was released on the Milestone label in 1971.
Japan Suite is a live album by pianist Paul Bley, drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in Japan in 1976 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1977.
MusicHound was a compiler of genre-specific music guides published in the United States by Visible Ink Press between 1996 and 2002. After publishing eleven album guides, the MusicHound series was sold to London-based Music Sales Group, whose company Omnibus Press had originally distributed the books outside America. The series' founding editor was Gary Graff, formerly a music critic with the Detroit Free Press.
Paul Bley & Scorpio is an album by Paul Bley performing compositions by Annette Peacock and Carla Bley which was released by the Milestone label in 1973.
Oakland Duets is a live album by saxophonist Julius Hemphill and cellist Abdul Wadud. It was recorded at the Oakland Museum in Oakland, California, on November 13 and 14, 1992, and was released by Music & Arts in 1993.
Live from the New Music Cafe is a live album by the Julius Hemphill Trio, led by saxophonist Hemphill, and featuring cellist Abdul Wadud and drummer Joe Bonadio. It was recorded on September 27, 1991, at the New Music Cafe in New York City, and was released by Music & Arts in 1992.
You Can't Name Your Own Tune is an album by drummer Barry Altschul. His first release as a leader, it was recorded on February 8 and 9, 1977, at Rosebud Studio in New York City, and was issued later that year by Muse Records. On the album, Altschul is joined by saxophonist and flutist Sam Rivers, trombonist George Lewis, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, and double bassist and cellist Dave Holland.
Another Time/Another Place is an album by drummer Barry Altschul. It was recorded on March 13, 1978, and April 14, 1978, at Rosebud Studio in New York City, and was released later that year by Muse Records. On the album, Altschul appears in a variety of instrumental combinations, and is joined by saxophonist Arthur Blythe, trombonist Ray Anderson, pianist Anthony Davis, guitarist Bill DeArango, cellists Abdul Wadud and Peter Warren, and double bassists Dave Holland and Brian Smith.
For Stu is an album by the Barry Altschul Quartet, led by drummer Altschul, and featuring trombonist Ray Anderson, pianist Anthony Davis, and double bassist Rick Rozie. Dedicated to the memory of fellow drummer Stu Martin, it was recorded on February 18, 1979, at Sound Ideas Studios in New York City, and was released in 1981 by Soul Note.
Irina is an album by the Barry Altschul Quartet, led by drummer Altschul, and featuring saxophonist John Surman, trumpeter Enrico Rava, and double bassist Mark Helias. It was recorded on February 12, 1983, at Barigozzi Studio in Milan, Italy, and was released on vinyl later that year by Soul Note. The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 1998.
That's Nice is an album by the Barry Altschul Quartet / Quintet, led by drummer Altschul, and featuring saxophonist Sean Bergin, trombonist Glenn Ferris, double bassist Andy McKee, and, on two tracks, pianist Mike Melillo. It was recorded on November 25–26, 1985, at Barigozzi Studio in Milan, Italy, and was released on vinyl in 1986 by Soul Note.