[AUM053]
Gerald Cleaver: drums, compositions
William Parker: bass, compositions
Craig Taborn: piano, compositions
All Music Guide: Best Jazz Albums of 2009
All About Jazz-New York: Best New Releases of 2009
Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus (plus):
“A classic recording that should have the widest possible audience.”
"This 65-minute improvised set is a success of the highest order. It’s an auspicious debut to say the least…establishing the trio as a powerful entity via the formidable amount of magic that transpires throughout the performance." –PopMatters
“..these three musicians interrogate one another with patience and poise. Mr. Cleaver, a drummer, and Mr. Parker, a bassist, both resist the easy pull of tempo; Mr. Taborn, on piano, filters every melodic urge through a fractured prism.” –The New York Times
"Fully improvised, the trio's poetic abstractions have a pastoral side that comes from digging the soil and growing something valuable. It's a testament to rumination, and whether they're storming or floating, the kinetics are the compelling kind." –Village Voice
"This trio delights in free improvisations full of a remarkable variety of color, texture, energy, and melody. Yet despite the wide range and contrasts, the music never loses its coherence or sense of purpose. Like the farmers of the album’s title, this trio excels at planting kernels of sound and letting the music flower and flourish." –Point of Departure
“Free jazz and free improv do mainly hail from – and thrive in – urban centers, but seldom have they felt this organic. The title hints at the teeming life to be found inside this music. It gives up its secrets slowly, but the gems hidden in this sonic earth are plentiful, poetic, and remarkable.” –All Music
“Three of the most accomplished musicians to be found anywhere, in a completely extemporaneous setting. The level of interactivity is at a ridiculously sophisticated height .. the immersed listener will find it a most invigorating ride.” –Creative Loafing
“This is music of diversity, thoughtfulness and commitment, and an object lesson in spontaneous composition.” –Exclaim!
A fully improvised communion of three of America's masters of music. The manifest intent: sowing seeds of sound and bringing them to full blossom. Abstract, organic and fully inviting in the process. Recorded live at NYC's new music venue The Stone, this presents the entire concert of June 19, 2008, which was the third full-improv meeting of drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker, and pianist Craig Taborn. Following their second communion, William Parker was glowing as he told us of the performance in the midst of which his bass began to levitate. We needed to capture their next one! An immersive experience yielding magic and inducing a calming mystical ambience. What an arc! They are tapping into the nexus of regeneration here.
Long out of print on CD, we are very stoked to finally have this recording available again in its full resolution glory via download at bandcamp.
1. Korteh Khah - 03:17
2. The Night - 08:42
3. Cranes - 16:39
4. Not Unlike Number 10 - 15:35
5. In Trees - 06:56
6. Fieda Mytlie - 13:54
All compositions by
Gerald Cleaver (Gerald Cleaver Music, SESAC)
William Parker (Centering Music, BMI)
Craig Taborn (Light Made Lighter Music, BMI)
Recorded live in concert by Jon Rosenberg at The Stone, NYC
on June 19, 2008. Assistant live engineer: Jonah Rosenberg.
Mixed with and mastered by Jon Rosenberg.
Produced by Gerald Cleaver and Steven Joerg
Photography/design by Ming@AUM