Search - Sunny Murray, Charles Gayle :: Illuminators

Pleasantly surprised

11/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm always wary/skeptical when a musician well known on one instrument starts making records on a new one. At the same time, it makes me curious. I love Charles Gayle's tenor playing and was pleasantly surprised to hear his piano playing is equally (well, maybe not "equally") idiosyncratic and interesting. His playing on this CD is more sparse than I expected. I don't think he's modelling himself after Sunny Murray's past partner in crime, Cecil Taylor. While his piano playing has a great vibe, when Gayle finally picks up the horn the heavens open up. That Sunny Murray sounds great is no surprise...and he sounds different from usual. But then again what's usual about Sunny Murray! Every note the man plays is a new lesson in how to play drums. I hate to use such a cliche to describe him but Sunny Murray plays with soul. Each note is meaningful and the feel is always loose.
The sound quality is very clean and clear so you can hear (as much as one can expect from a mere recording) the depth and beauty of these two men's sound. I do wish they put 5 tracks for the 5 tunes/movements rather than 2 long ones, but you can't have everything."