We Is: Live at the Bop Shop

Artist: Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray
Label: Delmark
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 038153055721
EAN: 0038153055721
ASIN: B00065GIIM

Release Date: 2004-10-12

Related Categories:

Avant Garde & Free Jazz

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Groove Allure
We Is
Blues Affirmation
One World Family
Sweet Meat

Similar Items:

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note

Customer Reviews:

CENTERING THE STORM, FOCUSING THE EYE........2004-10-28

Enter the heart of ritual, the cry of Music uplifting the
spirit, quickening the heart, and bolstering the hour at
hand. Courtesy Delmark Records, here is a gathering of
grand mastery and raging skill, wielding and sharing
their gifts with a quiet fire that casts haunting
lyrical spells.
WE IS: LIVE AT THE BOP SHOP is a consummate live recording
of a stalwart duo whose music spans the entire spectrum
of African American song, from the grittiest Blues to the
fiercest Swing, unafraid to jam freely, and sail with the
most soulful groove.
Not that one could have any doubt about this duo's versatility,
given just who they are. Pistol-packing reedslinger David
Murray has been a juggernaut of Great Black Music for over
25 years. His romping diddy-wah dirt talk is matched
solidly by the sweet croon of his cacao tonality, and
the serpentine snap of his devil-snatching gospel. More
than ever, his tenor saxophone play and wistful
bass clarinet work each distinguishes one the great
wonders in Jazz. Add to this his peerless vision as
a composer, and his tireless achievements as a
bandleader and orchestrator, and you may see why
Murray is one of the great champions of creative,
uncompromising Music; throwing a gauntlet to the
vested interests of arid Marsalis revisionism and
glib Kenny G parlor room antics alike.
Bringing his fire to bear in the past decade or so, Kahil
El'Zabar is a wonder. A percussion houngan of the first
water, El'Zabar's spirit flow runs quite deep. A wizard
on the "traditional" traps, El'Zabar has the roots at
his fingertips with his cunga play. Almost single-handedly,
he has brought the African finger piano to full stature
in Jazz, tickling the ear with all one needs to hear,
making the conjurous bite as tasty as it is nutritious.
His leadership in bringing the Jazz vanguard to the
limelight over the years has been paramount in the
exposure of song which many still refuse to play, or
even respect.
Listen to the majesty, the humility, and the sheer joy
of all El'Zabar and Murray accomplish here, recorded in
the heart of a great independent Jazz & Blues store in
Rochester, New York. Be enchanted. Then ask why such
superb Music is perpetually denied its fair share of
exposure in the marketplace, or the airways, or the
"greater" concert stages of this land.

Take up your pursuit of a vital artistry here.

Smokin' live album.......2004-10-12

This album, recorded live at the Bop Shop in Rochester, NY further documents Kahil El'Zabar and David Murray's decade plus musical partnership. A forceful and impassioned pair, El'Zabar and Murray literally take no prisoners on this energetic and vivacious session.

Chicago based percussionist Kahil E'Zabar has over 25 years on the scene, and is leader of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and the Ritual Trio. Tenor saxophonist David Murray rose to prominence at the close of the loft scene in the late 1970's as one of the finest neo-traditionalists around. The pair has previously recorded two duet albums, 1989's "Golden Sea," and 1999's "One World Family." "Love Outside of Dreams," from 2002 found the late bassist Fred Hopkins expanding the pair to a trio. As the leader of various quartets, octets and big bands, Murray shines as star soloist in these intimate duo settings. As their partnership goes back well over a decade so benefits their level of improvisational interplay.

"Blues Affirmation," the calm center of the album finds Murray blowing soft melodic lines that brush up against more quietly agitated phrasing while El'Zabar plays an amplified sanza that sounds both futuristic and ancient at once. Tunes like "Groove Allure" and "One World Family" allow the duo a chance to truly get their groove on. That's Afro-centric styled groove by the way, as tribal hand drumming coaxes Murray's playing into a thick and sinuous down home funk. Further up the scale are "Sweet Meat" and the title track, which feature El'Zabar's hyper-kinetic trap set work driving Murray's tenor along. Chromatic scales surge by as he launches off into the stratosphere with piercing altissimo runs that occasionally get sidelined by Dolphy-esque bleats and honks. Murray hasn't played this aggressively in quite some time and it is a delight to hear him sound so unrestrained.

For those looking for a taste of what truly sounds "Ancient to the Future" as the AACM's motto goes, this well recorded live date will more than fit the bill.

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