Nine to Get Ready

Nine to Get Ready

ASIN: B000023Z3T

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The previous effort from Roscoe Mitchell's chamber jazz ensemble, the Note Factory, was the highly recommendable This Dance Is for Steve McCall, a session that, while showing tender and graceful moves from such a large group, often burned white hot. On Nine to Get Ready, Mitchell guides his sound further into the contemplative territory Dance suggested--restraining this most powerful post-free-jazz band (including improvising titans like Matthew Shipp and William Parker) with compositions more about color and nuance than energy and direction. Tracks like "Leola," "For Lester B.," "Move Toward the Light," and the exquisite "Jamaican Farewell" (a different version of which appeared on the Art Ensemble's Coming Home Jamaica) are constructed by Mitchell out of fragile, delicate sound. His sound studies, though graceful and played with amazing feel, seem to hang together by the thinnest of silk threads. There are exceptions and breaks in the quietude--this is Roscoe, after all! The charming "Bessie Harris" swings hard, only pausing for Mitchell's slicing solo while "Hop, Hip, Bip, Bir, Rip" is a dense, gusty blowout highlighted by a gust of Mitchell's circular-breathing technique. The final track, "Big Red Peaches," ends this strangely beautiful CD with a goofy, fried-funk twist, as if Mitchell is tweaking our noses to rouse us from the moodiness. Excellent. --S. Duda

Tracks:

Leola
Dream And Response
For Lester
Jamaican Farewell
Hop Hip Bip Bir Rip
Nine To Get Ready
Bessie Harris
Fallen Heroes
Move Toward The Light
Big Red Peaches

Amazon.com

The previous effort from Roscoe Mitchell's chamber jazz ensemble, the Note Factory, was the highly recommendable This Dance Is for Steve McCall, a session that, while showing tender and graceful moves from such a large group, often burned white hot. On Nine to Get Ready, Mitchell guides his sound further into the contemplative territory Dance suggested--restraining this most powerful post-free-jazz band (including improvising titans like Matthew Shipp and William Parker) with compositions more about color and nuance than energy and direction. Tracks like "Leola," "For Lester B.," "Move Toward the Light," and the exquisite "Jamaican Farewell" (a different version of which appeared on the Art Ensemble's Coming Home Jamaica) are constructed by Mitchell out of fragile, delicate sound. His sound studies, though graceful and played with amazing feel, seem to hang together by the thinnest of silk threads. There are exceptions and breaks in the quietude--this is Roscoe, after all! The charming "Bessie Harris" swings hard, only pausing for Mitchell's slicing solo while "Hop, Hip, Bip, Bir, Rip" is a dense, gusty blowout highlighted by a gust of Mitchell's circular-breathing technique. The final track, "Big Red Peaches," ends this strangely beautiful CD with a goofy, fried-funk twist, as if Mitchell is tweaking our noses to rouse us from the moodiness. Excellent. --S. Duda

Customer Reviews:

an elegiac masterpiece.......2000-07-25

Duke Ellington composes for and conducts the Art Ensemble. Well, not exactly, but I'm trying to give you the feel of this quite beautiful album. Roscoe expands his long-time Sound Ensemble to the larger Note Factory with the addition of several top players, including George Lewis on trombone and William Parker on bass, and leads the Nine through 10 compositions. The passing of Lester Bowie seems to hang over the proceedings. Roscoe must have known that Lester's time wasn't long, and both "For Lester B" and "Jamaican Farewell" serve as moving tributes to his longtime Art Ensemble compatriot (with Hugh Ragin on masterful trumpet). "Hop Hip Bip Bir Rip" is the only piece that utilizes the full outside roar that most associate with the Art Ensemble and other avant units. "Bessie Harris" sounds very much like Sun Ra to me, swinging, but on another planet -- maybe Saturn, maybe not... Most of the pieces are on the contemplative side, and emphasize composition and ensemble texture over individual improvisation, bop-style. The closer, "Big Red Peaches," is a funky little number, and a classic Roscoe gambit, going out on a backbeat after traversing the outer realms, the way the Art Ensemble used to close live shows with "The Odwalla Theme." I first heard -- and saw! -- them at the Chicago Jazzfest in 1980, an unforgettable ritual experience.

The early '90s was a lull period for Roscoe, and he has recently reasserted his position in the jazz pantheon with the CD reissue of SOUND (1966) by Delmark, his pathbreaking and influential first record, and with a series of increasingly confident recordings. This is the best of them, and one of his best ever! Thankfully he was able to record for ECM, with much better distribution than the various independent labels that cutting edge artists are usually relegated to, and the sound and packaging are superb. The cover photo of 9 parallel railroad tracks is a classic. If you are a fan of Mitchell, this is a must-have. If you are just checking him out, this is a fine place to start!

Jazz_in_my_head.......2000-07-02

Fans of good jazz should dig this album. This is a "sweet" contemporary jazz album. Roscoe Mitchell, Tani Tabbal, and William Parker rock... A very nice addition to your collection

Average customer rating:

happy memorial day
Spiritual
This album is NOT for everyone
Choppy and Unpleasant
Meditative, quirky, unobtrusive free music

Nine to Get Ready
Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000I73R
Release Date: 1999-03-09

Tracks:

Leola
Dream And Response
For Lester
Jamaican Farewell
Hop Hip Bip Bir Rip
Nine To Get Ready
Bessie Harris
Fallen Heroes
Move Toward The Light
Big Red Peaches

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

An album of graceful intimacy fleshed out by the understated power of jazz's most profound, resourceful innovators, Nine to Get Ready is not just a showcase for Art Ensemble vet Mitchell, it's a tour de grace from a brilliant ensemble pushed to create beauty on a restrained, delicate scale. A challengingly modern yet exquisitely refined set of modern jazz. --S. Duda

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

happy memorial day.......2007-05-28

it is altogether fitting that i should be listening to this recording a memorial day weekend, the first four selections sound like dirges, forms of solemn anthems, but incredibly rhythmic, as is the whole cd, the rhythm holds everything together and gives it majesty in a democratic way.

things pick up with hop hip bip bir rip, with mitchell's sax as a ball of twine dropped that slowly begins to unravel before spinning crazily down a steep hill with everyone else in mad pursuit. hop hip etc reminds me of coltrane's my favorite things.

bessis harris is a series of wonderful solos by the group members.

fallen heroes attempts a talking horn, my guess as a eulogy.

big red peaches is an upbeat tribute to robert johnson's hot tamales, hot tamales can be heard on cassandra wilson's belly of the sun. not to be disrespectful or anything, but listening to leola the second time around i heard a bit of big red peaches and for a brief moment had a vision of a big hip woman.

Spiritual.......1999-12-31

This music represents spirituality to me. The musicians evoke deep feeling and inner peace. Thank you, Roscoe Mitchell.

This album is NOT for everyone.......1999-12-31

I am a pretty open-minded person when it comes to music, but I just could not get myself to enjoy this album. The music was erratic and moody, as if it was the soundtrack to a nightmare. I only recommend this album to listeners who can appreciate the art behind the music, not casual jazz fans such as myself.

Choppy and Unpleasant.......1999-12-15

I was terribly disappointed with the jazz album Amazon.com rated as the best of 1999. I found this recording unpleasant to listen to because the music was depressingly low key, but in no way melodious. It often sounded like the musicians were simply tuning their instruments. A terrible purchase.

Meditative, quirky, unobtrusive free music.......1999-07-26

Roscoe Mitchell's "Nine to Get Ready" is a brilliant recording featuring Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory. The musicians on this album are all creative improvisors with a keen perception of the "ins" and "outs" of creative music. The approach is orchestral. The personnel has a distinctive Detroit/Michigan flavor. Fans of the James Carter quartet will be familiar with Jaribu Shahid, Craig Taborn, and Tani Tabal. The rhythm section of Tabal/Shahid is one of jazz's most intense and well matched. Craig Taborn on piano is a delight. Taborn has yet to receive the acclaim he is due. I remember hearing him during his days as a student at the University of Michigan and have been pleased to watch his progress and development in the jazz world. Joining Tani Tabal on drums in this ensemble is Gerald Cleaver. Cleaver is a dedicated drummer with Michigan roots as well thrilling the Sunday evening jazz crowd at the popular Del Rio bar in Ann Arbor quite often.

Roscoe Mitchell featured on soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, as well as flute is joined by two other horn musicians on this tour de force. Hugh Ragin fills in on trumpet and the profound George Lewis can be heard on trombone. Included in the ensemble are William Parker (bass) and Matthew Shipp (piano). This pair needs no description or explanation other than great musicians. Fans of the "out" stuff will agree I am sure.

I've listened to many jazz records in my lifetime and I've listened to the music that some deem avante-garde, free, or creative. The music on this album defies category. Simply put it is unobtrusive music that causes one to contemplate on the nature of ensemble improvisation.

Nine to Get Ready
Average customer rating:
Nine to Get Ready
Roscoe Mitchell
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000565EG

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Jazz Music

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