Baritone saxophonist Dave Sewelson leads this collective quartet of New York associated players Steve Swell on trombone, William Parker on bass, abd Marvin Bugalu Smith on drums, a masterful example of modern creative jazz with a strongly lyrical attitude, through two extended improvisations and ending with a shorter "Reflections"; exemplary free jazz.
Label: Mahakala Music Catalog ID: MAHA-020-002 Squidco Product Code: 28678
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2020 Country: USA Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Recorded at Park West Studios, in Brooklyn, New york, on December 17th, 2018, by Jim Clouse.
"This offering was recorded in Brooklyn, New York, the music capital of the world, at Park West Studios on December 17 of 2018 by Jim Clouse, a guy who knows and honors this music with his highly advanced recording methods. The way this came about is somewhat miraculous.
William Parker had included a talk he had with Dave Sewelson, the instigator of these proceedings, in his latest book Conversations III. Chad Fowler was reading the chapter in his kitchen in Arkansas when he read Sewelson mention a recording "tried to put another one out. If anybody out there wants to put that out..." He immediately knew he wanted to release in on Mahakala Music. He knew master recording engineer Jim Clouse had it in the can and was the one to talk to connect him with Sewelson. The results of these synchronous events are a delight to hear.
The music here is completely improvised. Maybe someone was going to tell the musicians to try to make some shorter pieces, less challenging for a casual listener but they didn't. Perhaps someone said, let the drums kick this one off or "go" but no instruction was given. These sounds come out of the silence that is already swinging. The results show what has been known since 2017, that when these four musicians start playing together the result is exquisite music. Call it chemistry, collaboration, community but it is contagious."-Mahakala Music
"Baritone saxophonist Dave Sewelson may not possess the avant-garde star power of downtown New York City brethren like Matthew Shipp, William Parker, or Daniel Carter, but there's no denying he's a major player. Best known as a longtime member of Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and a cofounder of Microscopic Septet, and more recently heard in guitarist Brad Farberman's Middle Blue, Sewelson has a tone as big as his flowing white beard. But his recorded output as a leader has been just the opposite. He first debuted under his own name in 1979 with Synchro-incity; nearly four decades separated that recording and its followup, 2018's Music for a Free World.
Luckily, Sewelson didn't make us wait another 40 years for his next disc. On More Music for a Free World, he's reconvened the previous album's lineup of bassist Parker, trombonist Steve Swell, and drummer Marvin Bugalu Smith (Archie Shepp, Sun Ra) for another all-improvised set. But while their debut pushed the skronk envelope, More Music for a Free World is lyrical and cosmic. The members of this quartet are all stalwarts of the NYC-based Arts for Art, the not-for-profit dedicated to the promotion and advancement of free jazz, and they've sublimely captured the spirit of the shows that organization puts on year-round in these three epic tracks.
The opening "Memories" is a world-class lesson in psychic interplay, as infectious melodic phrases free-float over bluesy bebopping rhythmic fury. It's 23 minutes of pure bliss and kinetic energy. "Dreams" follows with 27 minutes of similarly effortless euphoric melodicism, before the album concludes with the introspective "Reflections."
2020 is still young, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better free-jazz record-or one that more deeply oozes the hustle and bustle of NYC-than More Music for a Free World."-Brad Cohan, JazzTimes