[AUM019] - CD in 4-panel digipak
David S. Ware: tenor sax, percussions
Matthew Shipp: synthesizer
William Parker: bass
Guillermo E. Brown: drums, percussions
It was following a David S. Ware Quartet performance at the Blue Note in July 2001, and listening to an advance copy of Corridors & Parallels, that preeminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote the following in his Weatherbird (Village Voice) column:
"Let's be bold: The David S. Ware Quartet is the best small band in jazz today. I realize that I will almost certainly hear another quartet, or trio or quintet or octet, this week or next, that will make me want to backpedal. But every time I see Ware's group or return to the records, it flushes the competition from memory."
Five months later, in his annual review/best of year column, Giddins wrote on Corridors & Parallels again:
"I disliked Lord of the Rings, but since seeing it, I find that Matt Shipp's electronic interludes remind me of the dark caves, and when Ware's tenor arrives, finally, and rises to its full height, it's like Gandalf knocking Christopher Lee on his ass. In other words, after five months, this album seems even grander than it did the first time around."
"Best Jazz Records of 2001" : Boston Globe, LA Weekly,
Seattle Weekly, Village Voice, Washington City Paper
"Top 50 Records of 2001" : The Wire
Following two remarkable and critically acclaimed albums for the Columbia label, ways were officially & mutually parted in January 2001. Wasting no time, AUM brought David S. Ware and his Quartet into the studio in February for these sessions.
This album was a first for Ware in a pair of important ways. The obvious being his incorporation of synthesizer, which radically expanded the sonic palate. It also marked pianist Matthew Shipp's recorded debut on the instrument (preceding his later work with electronics/synths on his own Blue Series albums).
In addition, Ware decided to forgo his standard protocol of bringing a group-rehearsed book of new compositions into the studio. With the exception of "Mother May You Rest in Bliss," the album is comprised of pieces developed during those two days of the recording sessions.
"The term electronica-jazz fusion just doesn't fit, especially with this album's genre jumping. Not only are the compositions on Corridors & Parallels unlike anything I've heard before, they are essential masterpieces of sound formation. Not only highly recommended, but the essential jazz album of 2001." –JG, Columbia New Times
"5 Stars. In the days after the World Trade Center collapsed, it was difficult to return to normal listening habits. Old favorites referenced a reality that no longer existed; new releases seemed pointless. This album, however, stood out as a spiritual-emotional soundtrack to the incomprehensible. Ware's arching, emotive tenor-sax articulations were somehow able to express the unspeakable agony of the moment while offering profound solace." –John Swenson, Stereophile
1. 1 - 01:20
2. Straight Track - 10:02
3. Jazz Fi-Sci - 04:22
4. Superimposed - 05:58
5. Sound-A-Bye - 03:08
6. 6 - 00:37
7. Corridors & Parallels - 08:59
8. Somewhere - 03:11
9. Spaces Embraces - 03:17
10. Mother May You Rest in Bliss - 06:07
11. 11 - 01:48
All compositions by David S. Ware, except track 7 by David S. Ware & Matthew Shipp; all © Gandharvasphere / Daswa (ASCAP)
Produced by Steven Joerg
Engineered by Chris Flam
Recorded at Sorcerer Sound, NYC on February 26+27
Mixed and Mastered at Mindswerve, NYC in April
Light painting & design by Ming@409 in July
::: 2001
Track 10 is dedicated to Lucille Ware (1914–2001)