Search - Thomas Chapin :: Sky Piece

No More experimenting

Andy Roberts (Eriedell@aol.com) | Greensboro, NC | 08/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For, experimenting implies a new situation, foriegn territory, shaky hands, nervousness--What will happen? More than being an album chapin experiments on, Sky Peice is a home coming. A return to a territory he might of lived in during a former life; for, Chapin is completely comfortable--natural--in this environment that some of us term "out there." Chapin's versatility weaves throughout each track, from the primitive sleeping jungle of the title track to the grand-funk tour de force of bypass. Chapin reminds us that an album is not merely a random assortment of tunes, it is the macro-work of art. And so, the quiet ticking of the clock in the back ground of the hypno-melencholy "just now" leads to the brazen alarm of "alphaville"--is it a call to action, a mood swing? In case we find chapin's territory too foriegn and we ourselves grow unconfortable, he reminds us that like human-kind music is not catagorized and seperated but spiderwebed and mixed--the ingredients proportion themselves differently in his compositions, but are indeed the same as the one standard on the album, "ask me now." For, Sky Peice is not an alien world, but merely chapin's world for which he is both creator and raucus tour guide. Let him lead you, and you will see that Sky Peice is as complex and deep emotionally as each of us are."

Brilliant Thomas Chapin

K. Hooker | Dallas, Texas USA | 06/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was one of the thrills of my concert-going experience, seeing the Thomas Chapin Trio, with Mario Pavone and Michael Sarin, live for the first time at a small club in Vancouver. The intensity of the concert was a bit unexpected, as I'd only heard one early Thomas Chapin LP (Radius), which I liked well enough to attend. The trio was overwhelming, and Mr. Chapin's brilliance on alto, his virtuosity and passion, left me stunned. This recording reflects and captures much of what I heard that night."

4 1/2 stars-- Chapin's final studio effort.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 11/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Sky Piece" was the last studio album recorded by Thomas Chapin in his too-brief career. While the album is not quite the masterwork "Menagerie Dreams" was, it is a fine record that leaves one wishing for me.



Chapin, heard here on alto and sopranino saxes, flute, bass flute, pinkullo (a wooden flute) and bells, is joined by his then-working band, bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Michael Sarin. By this point the trio had reached an extraordinary level of interaction-- when Chapin leaps, the rhythm section catches him, when he cuts loose, they chase him, when he needs to be reeled in, they bring him back.



The resulting album is remarkably diverse and flexible-- Chapin's flutes seems to get more of a workout than usual, from the Middle Eastern tinged "Sky Piece" (on bass flute) to pinkullo solo "Just Now" and agressive "Don't Mind If I Do", his flute playing, always sort of an aside, seems to be focus. Mind you, Chapin rails away on alto as well on several cuts, including a downright stunning Coltranesque solo on the Monkish "Bypass" and a free and expressive performance on the angular "Alphaville".



Again, it's not quite "Menagerie Dreams", but it's an album deserving a place in many collections. Recommended."