Search - Anderson, Parker :: 2 Days in April

2 great days in April

John C. Graham | toronto, ontario Canada | 06/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a two disc set. Each disc is a different concert with the same players: Kidd Jordan and Fred Anderson play tenor saxophones with William Parker on bass and Hamid Drake on drums. Both concerts are recorded extremely well. All the instruments are heard in fine detail.

The first disc (1st day)begins with Hamid Drake's torrential drumming and the intensity doesn't let up when the others join in. The saxophones are breathing fire, each man deftly weaving ribbons of sound within a rhythmic pool, grounded by the choice bass notes of William Parker. The horns occasionally meet when an agreeable melodic line is repeated...then it's back to the stratosphere where the testifying continues. Both Jordan and Anderson are playing at the top of their game. The continuous string of ideas that flow out of each player's horn is breathtaking.

The second concert(day 2)starts slowly and with less ferocity. The intensity is still there yet the saxophones take their time soloing and playing collectively. It's another day and everyone seems to have a relaxed feel to their playing. It makes a nice contrast to the very hot first disc.

All the musicians are really giants on their instruments. What makes this 2 disc set required listening is the stellar playing of the two grandfathers. Jordan and Anderson both elected to stay in their home towns and it's there they developed their particular and distinctive tenor voices. To listen to them together is exilarating and challenging. It's a challenge I wouldn't want to do without.

Thanks to Erimite for releasing the set and thanks to Amazon for carrying it- at such a bargain price!

"

Eremite reissued this. Don't miss another chance at it!

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 09/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"IMPORTANT MESSAGE: This fantastic 2-disc set of live improvisations recorded on 4/1 and 4/2/99 by Kidd Jordan (tenor sax), Fred Anderson (tenor sax), William Parker (double bass) and Hamid Drake (trap drums) is BACK IN PRINT. I don't know why it's no longer carried here, but it has been available from the label's website (www.eremite.com) for several months now. If you have any interest in any of these guys individually or collectively, this is must-own.



I looked forward to the re-release of this for almost 2 years and wasn't disappointed when I finally bought it/heard it. This set is four of the best Adventurers In HeartSound the USA has ever produced, doing what only a few musicians can do. Genuinely create together. There is jazz, which alot of people can play, and then there's THIS. University music programs all over the world crank out graduates every year who will never approach the stuff that goes down on these 2 discs.



If you've seen any of my reviews elsewhere on this site and know how I feel about all these guys (and William and Hamid as a core bass & drums unit specifically), consider this set to be another (a little less than) 2 hours of prime reasons why I love them so much. This group can go from being more outside than Ayler or '66 Coltrane (though neither Kidd nor Fred play like either of them), or more quiet and pensive than most any "jazz" anywhere, and then they start pushing and pulling and the mercury congeals and they're grooving so hard you're dancing in your chair. I don't mean 1 song ends and a new uptempo one begins. There are no breaks here. 4 guys stand in the corner of a room and say hey let's hear what can happen tonight. Then they proceed to cut holy rivers out of sound.



These guys play the collective moment. At times they scour the edges of your mind only to lay you gently on a pillow of melancholy, or power-groove you outside of yourself. This is not the more famous free-jazz of 40+ years ago where oftentimes it was always ecstatic catharsis with little dynamic range. This is total freedom music, not just a strict rejection of the straight-ahead rulebook.



The only reason I give this 4 stars is because musically it's one of their best ever but on disc 1 William's bass isn't recorded with as much oomph and presence as on other discs, or even disc 2 here. I try to give the stars out at certain levels since I've reviewed so many William and Hamid, etc... albums. Still, your ears will adjust and then... WOW."