Mayor of Punkville

Mayor of Punkville

ASIN: B00004UASS

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra is one of the New York jazz scene's great treasures. Led by bassist William Parker, one of avant-garde jazz's preeminent bassists, the orchestra features 17 members of the downtown improvised music scene tackling the tricky concept of large-group improvisation. Recorded over the course of several live shows in 1999, the group's third album aptly captures the orchestra's unique chemistry--coalitions of instruments step up to lobby their ideas, individuals rise above the glorious cacophony to speak their mind, and everyone gets their say. The material varies from track to track on this double disc, seemingly taking on bits of music from the Far East, New Orleans, swing, gospel, and Parker's own singular style. The highlights here are many, but the epic title track is a sublime half-hour adventure in which the band truly swings. For fans of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Charles Mingus, and even Ellington. --Tad Hendrickson

Mayor of Punkville,The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra,Aum Fidelity,Avant-Garde Jazz,Free Jazz,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Progressive Big Band

Average customer rating:

Brilliant, but uneven

Ellington, Dolphy and Garcia would have loved this, too

Even Better Than Sunrise!!!

Mayor of Punkville
The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
Manufacturer: Aum Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00004UASS
Release Date: 2000-06-20

Tracks:

Interlude #1 (The Next Phase)
James Baldwin To The Rescue
Oglala Eclipse
I Can't Believe I Am Here

Tracks:

Interlude #7 (Huey's Blues)
3 Steps To Noh Mountain: Departure
3 Steps To Noh Mountain: Soft Wheel
3 Steps To Noh Mountain: Laughing Eyes And Dancing Hearts
The Mayor Of Punkville
Interlude #8 (Holy Door)
Anthem

Amazon.com

The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra is one of the New York jazz scene's great treasures. Led by bassist William Parker, one of avant-garde jazz's preeminent bassists, the orchestra features 17 members of the downtown improvised music scene tackling the tricky concept of large-group improvisation. Recorded over the course of several live shows in 1999, the group's third album aptly captures the orchestra's unique chemistry--coalitions of instruments step up to lobby their ideas, individuals rise above the glorious cacophony to speak their mind, and everyone gets their say. The material varies from track to track on this double disc, seemingly taking on bits of music from the Far East, New Orleans, swing, gospel, and Parker's own singular style. The highlights here are many, but the epic title track is a sublime half-hour adventure in which the band truly swings. For fans of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Charles Mingus, and even Ellington. --Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant, but uneven.......2007-01-10

It helps to think of Mayor of Punkville as a collection rather than as an album. Although in scope and stature, Mayor of Punkville is brilliant and possibly one of the best jazz records ever, what the previous reviewers fail to mention is that the album is also strikingly uneven, both sonically and structurally.

My first complaint is that the sound quality varies greatly from song to song, due to the fact that the recordings are compiled from various performances by the group during the year 1999. For instance, the recording of "James Baldwin to the Rescue," though not pristine, is airy and mixed well, capturing the live presence of the music. On the other hand, the title track, though amazingly composed and performed, sounds as if it was recorded by a fan's tape deck in the front row.

Another problem with this massive undertaking is the fact that tracks which are epic, sprawling, multi-part masterpieces are coupled side-by-side with short, fragment-like songs held together by a single theme. The title track would have probably worked better as an album unto itself, but instead it is packaged next to the short (though poignant) "...Noh Mountain" series. Also, some songs, such as "James Baldwin..." run a bit too long with instrumental sections which don't enhance the overall effect of the work. Needless to say, the sequencing of this beast of a record leaves something to be desired.

The only other gripe I have about Mayor of Punkville is the drumming of Andrew Barker on some of the tracks. I found his playing to be a bit tempered and methodical in relation to the organic style of the rest of the ensemble. I felt that there were sections in some songs where, should he have instituted a rhythmic change rather than plowing on with the same beat, the group would have really taken off into the stratosphere. During the climax of "Oglala Eclipse," for example, the horns begin to break down into a free jazz cacophony, but Barker continues to play a standard bop-ish rhythmic structure. Rarely should a drummer be led on by the melodic voices in any ensemble, yet this is what seems to be happening here.

That said, with Mayor of Punkville, William Parker and "Little Huey" have absorbed every compositional and stylistic possibility since the beginnings of jazz onward, from Duke Ellington to the Rova Saxophone Quartet, and spewed it all out into a gigantic, sprawling mess of a masterpiece. This album is a dense landmark of jazz, filled with impassioned playing and imaginative, important compositions (not to mention insightful, fantastical liner notes by Parker). Plus, it's good to hear something like this happening in the rather stagnant climate of contemporary jazz - I just wish it was organized and recorded better!

Ellington, Dolphy and Garcia would have loved this, too.......2004-09-15

This is a masterpiece of composition and improvisation... of the higher purpose of expressing the deeply human. This is one of the discs that makes me feel like if William Parker had never done anything before or after this album, this alone would cement his place as one of the all-time greats in American music. The other disc he was part of that I put into this core group is the Fred Anderson Trio (Fred on Tenor, Hamid Drake on drums, and William on bass) 5/28/99 performance that circulates on CD-R. I'm not sure it can get better than these two.

I want to name the whole band here because they deserve it. William is the composer and spark behind the magic (and the bassist, plus piano for 3 tracks), but had he not been able to put a band like this together, it wouldn't have worked. Roy Campbell on trumpet/flugelhorn. Lewis Barnes on trumpet. Steve Swell on trombone. Chris Jonas on soprano sax. Rob Brown on alto sax/flute. Charles Waters on alto sax/clarinet. Dave Hofstra on tuba. Cooper-Moore on piano. Richard Rodriguez on trumpet. Masahiko Kono on trombone. Alex Lodico on trombone. Darryl Foster on tenor/soprano sax. Ori Kaplan on alto sax. Dave Sewelson on baritone sax. Andrew Barker on drums. Aleta Hayes on vocals for one track (James Baldwin to the Rescue).

This is what I'd call an AvantSpiritOrchestra. The way this band eases in and out of William's beautiful melodies and themes is a joy to hear. Rhythmically, this band is a dream come true. They have this subtle sense of swing that permeates everything... you get sucked into the thematic movement of this music, and then you realize you've probably been bobbing your neck like this for the past 30 minutes without even realizing it.

I think it was that Delroy (Lindo) on Spike (Lee) documentary on IFC where Spike talked about why he chose Aaron Copland's music for the basketball scenes in He Got Game. He talked about how deeply American the themes feel, how they set a whole mood that is American. Spike was right, and that's also how I feel about this disc. At times this music is like wide-open, group-mind improvisation at the ultimate level... beyond where Ellington's Far East Suite meets the Grateful Dead's 5/16/72 Other One... just a completely gorgeous, mind-altering near-Godly experience. At other times they are a marching band parading Boston's streets on the 4th of July of 1890.

You will have your own favorite moments and emotions I'm sure, so I'm not going to say anything specific to any tunes here. I want people to feel this on their own terms, not to be listening to it and thinking "Okay a reviewer said the next tune is better, or this is the best moment on the disc, etc...". One thing I do want to say is that I love how it is plainly obvious that William is culturally/musically omnivorous. If you have any music from various cultures in Laos, you know that that fantastic mouth-organ is like the National Instrument of Laos. There is a section here where William voices the orchestra in a way that gets very near to the timbre of the Laotian mouth-organ. I really love that part, and I'm sure William knew what he was doing.

I don't even really feel like this is a cd I bought. I feel like this was a gift to us from William and I just happened to be blessed enough to have the opportunity to feel it for myself. Thank you to everyone involved.

Even Better Than Sunrise!!!.......2000-08-03

Little Huey's follow-up to the excellent "Sunrise in the Tone World" is even better. The Balance of structure and freedom is RIGHT ON! Perhaps using a smaller band help keep things in check a little more than before.

I tend to play the second disc more often, perhaps this is because of the excitement of Interlude number 7 though every track makes me say "WOW!!!" This is dynamic music that is hard to describe. It burns with power yet is often subtle and complex. If the sound clips interest you at all, get this set. The sound clips cannot give you the breadth of this compelling music.

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