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"Boring" feels like such a pejorative description. It's better to call this all-star summit conference of sleepy time jazz players, led by alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and including pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Charlie Haden, in addition to Paul Motian on drums, "stately," "refined," or "relaxed". The fact that the tunes -- all standards -- are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and go on at least five, and in one case, ten minutes too long in order to make room for just one more lugubrious bowed bass solo from Haden or one more slow-motion Mehldau keyboard interlude, should not be taken as prima facie evidence of the emptiness of this sort of pseudo-event, all too common in New York jazz clubs. After all, the live audience eats it up, as can clearly be heard. But is this album of any value to jazz as a whole? It is not. This is the sound of three men whose reputations rest on work done decades earlier, and one younger man whose reputation is difficult to explain, delicately tiptoeing through six pieces, some of which have been recorded hundreds if not thousands of times already. It is as far as possible from the sound of jazz moving forward, or preserving the creative vitality that is supposedly the heart of the genre. If all you want is to hear four accomplished musicians playing standards, this album provides an hour's worth of that. If you want more from jazz, you're out of luck.
© Phil Freeman /TiVo
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Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmie Davis, ComposerLyricist - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Sherman, ComposerLyricist - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Roger J. "Ram" Ramirez, ComposerLyricist - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - GEORGE DAVID WEISS, ComposerLyricist - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - George Shearing, ComposerLyricist - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, ComposerLyricist - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Jule Styne, ComposerLyricist - Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sammy Cahn, ComposerLyricist - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - NACIO HERB BROWN, ComposerLyricist - Gus Kahn, ComposerLyricist - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brad Mehldau, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Haden, Double Bass, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sonny Rollins, ComposerLyricist - PAUL MOTIAN, Drums, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Album review
"Boring" feels like such a pejorative description. It's better to call this all-star summit conference of sleepy time jazz players, led by alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and including pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Charlie Haden, in addition to Paul Motian on drums, "stately," "refined," or "relaxed". The fact that the tunes -- all standards -- are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and go on at least five, and in one case, ten minutes too long in order to make room for just one more lugubrious bowed bass solo from Haden or one more slow-motion Mehldau keyboard interlude, should not be taken as prima facie evidence of the emptiness of this sort of pseudo-event, all too common in New York jazz clubs. After all, the live audience eats it up, as can clearly be heard. But is this album of any value to jazz as a whole? It is not. This is the sound of three men whose reputations rest on work done decades earlier, and one younger man whose reputation is difficult to explain, delicately tiptoeing through six pieces, some of which have been recorded hundreds if not thousands of times already. It is as far as possible from the sound of jazz moving forward, or preserving the creative vitality that is supposedly the heart of the genre. If all you want is to hear four accomplished musicians playing standards, this album provides an hour's worth of that. If you want more from jazz, you're out of luck.
© Phil Freeman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 6 track(s)
- Total length: 01:11:18
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Lee Konitz Brad Mehldau Charlie Haden Paul Motian
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: ECM Records
- Genre: Jazz
© 2011 ECM Records GmbH ℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
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