Far Side of Here

Far Side of Here Artist: Brooklyn Sax Quartet
Label: Omnitone Records
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 686281220629
EAN: 0686281220629
ASIN: B00082MXA0


Release Date: 2005-06-14

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Tie Me Sufre
  2. Fishing Song Of The East China Sea
  3. I Understand Now
  4. A Night In Tunisia
  5. The Black Nation Suite: O, Freedom
  6. The Black Nation Suite: We Shall Overcome
  7. The Black Nation Suite: Free New Afrika! Boogaloo
  8. The Black Nation Suite: Song For A United Socialist Pan Africa
  9. Lush Life
  10. Spinning
  11. Jajo

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  1. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The tradition just got fatter, deeper weirder! Praise Be!.......2005-12-31

One of my foundational epistemolgical precepts is that "Everything we know is wrong, it is just a matter of time before it is shown to be so". I like this precept, it keeps me humble.
So I am probably wrong when I say this but to my sense of jazz history, the tradition of the contemporary sax quartet can be dated to the emergence of the World Saxophone Quartet (WSQ) and ROVA in the mid to late seventies.
If the WSQ (still going strong) ever needs to anoint a successor then may I suggest the Brooklyn Saxophone Quartet (BSQ). This is (I believe)their second CD- the first is called The Way Of The Saxophone on the Innova label. There are a lot of similarities between the WSQ and the BSQ. They both have a great love of the tradition which shows up in many covers. This BSQ CD has covers of tunes by Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Strayhorn and Pete Seeger. In comparison ROVA seems more interested in commissioning works by composers like Barry Guy or Lindsay Cooper.
All three groups have lots of inside/outside chops and have fully absorbed technical and harmonic innovations of recent times. The BSQ is in many ways the most traditional and melody driven of the three. They may be the best intro to the genre as a result.
On this CD the BSQ is David Bindman on tenor, Fred Ho on baritone and John O'Gallagher on the soprano. Sam Furnace plays the alto on pieces 4 through 8. He must have taken ill during the recording and passed away as the CD is dedicated to his memory. The alto chair was then turned over to Rudresh Mahanthappa.
This is another similarity to the WSQ. All of these guys (except possibly Sam Furnace) are solo artists of note on various independent labels. Mahanthappa's and Ho's CDs are available on Amazon. Bindman's presence on Amazon is limited to his work on Royal Hartigan's extremely fine Blood Drum Spirit. He can also be heard leading his own session of the CIMP label as can O'Gallagher. Furnace can be heard on sessions with Bill Cole and the great Saxophone Sextet of Julius Hemphill. By the way, if you are curious about any of the above CDs and can't find them write me an email and I will guide you to sources. Cultural richness must be shared.
The final similarity to note is that all three groups have members who are excellent composers who use the quartet to refine their arranging and compositional skills. With the BSQ, the members in question are Fred Ho and Bindman. I find Bindman in particular to be an emerging voice worth listening to. Others may prefer Ho.
On most of the compositions, the lead voice is O'Gallagher's soprano who is as nimble as any I know. His soloing has a physical presence of darting movement that makes you want to see it choreographed. All of the others have fine solos turns as well. I really enjoyed Ho's baritone turn on Lush Life.
As a group, their playing can be infectious and joyful. They seem wild sometimes but then stop on a dime and change directions completely. Great group playing.
If your are new to the genre of the contemporary sax quartet this is a great intro. If you are an old friend of ROVA and WSQ and others like the 29th Street SQ ad infinitum, this is a great and impressive new addition to the genre. Give it a listen and see if you don't agree.

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