Track Listings (9) - Disc #1| All Artists: Ben Allison, Medicine Wheel Title: Third Eye Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Palmetto Records Original Release Date: 6/1/1999 Release Date: 6/1/1999 Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, Pop Styles: Avant Garde & Free Jazz, Modern Postbebop, Bebop Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 753957205423 |
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Search - Ben Allison, Medicine Wheel :: Third Eye
 | Ben Allison, Medicine Wheel Third Eye Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, Pop
Bassist Ben Allison is one of a few jazzers who has successfully reinvigorated interest in long-gone bop-era enigma Herbie Nichols. His playful mix of catchy melodies and structure-testing excursions makes him good company... more » |
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Amazon.com Bassist Ben Allison is one of a few jazzers who has successfully reinvigorated interest in long-gone bop-era enigma Herbie Nichols. His playful mix of catchy melodies and structure-testing excursions makes him good company for Nichols, and here Allison presents a great sextet of musicians who share his fondness for the wavy line separating "inside" postbop melodies and solos and the more "outside" elements of expressive soloing, hidden harmonies, and high-energy execution. The combination of saxophonist Michael Blake and Ted Nash's horns with Tomas Ulrich's cello and Allison's bass makes for great chatter, with the horns dancing through each other as the strings lay down a grain--or go spastic--in proportion to the overall mood. Third Eye starts coolly enough, with a Lounge Lizards-ish set of "Four Folk Songs." But then the band's off, galloping and halting and pouncing through tunes that have all the architecture of the post-Wayne Shorter melodicists and all the abandon of players schooled equally in the import of intricate composition and maximal expression. --Andrew Bartlett Similarly Requested CDs
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CD Reviews...the future of jazz David Cosper | Chapel Hill, NC | 04/16/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "Ben Allison is unique and dynamic musician. His compositional concept is fully developed on this disk. His melodies are substantial, though untraditional. This music does not really sound "outside" at all. But it encompasses a world of musical styles. Its individuality lies in that it is coherent (despite its eclecticism)and sincere (despite its novelty). This could be be owing to the amazing group of musicians on the record. These are not "session" players--this is a band. Which is something modern jazz is lacking. These guys have played together for years, and have developed a real sound, which does not come only from Allison, himself. Ben is the master of the bass ostinato, but usually with a twist, whether an odd time signature or an unorthodox playing technique. (I swear he's hitting the strings with a drum stick on "Mantra.") Frank Kimbrough is a genius, and a real "color" player. You might have to hear him play to know what I mean. I love his left hand in particular. Ted Nash plays like no one else. He seems to be an "open channel," so fluent is his improvisation. Nash's playing, like Allison's, is never what one would expect, but it always makes sense. Nash understands that the energy of creation is not always pretty, but uses dissonance and ambience masterfully. Ulrich is tastefully sparse on the cello. Jeff Ballard's dynamism and musical sensibility are perfect; he always serves the tune. If there is a weak link in this band, it is trumpeter Horton, who--while his playing is enjoyable--doesn't seem to be on the same page as the rest of the band. As hackneyed as the phrase has become, Ben Allison has something to say. And it is well worth listening to." One of the best jazz albums of the 1990s David Cosper | 12/22/1999 (5 out of 5 stars) "This is a great album--the compositions are interesting and appealing, the playing is inspired. It is enjoyable listening even as it pulls no punches and goes "outside" from time to time. This is the type of album that takes the listener on a journey, which is what albums used to be like."
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