Re-released on May 5, 2023
[AUM096/97] (DSW-ARC01)
2CD – deluxe 2023 reprint/repress [ltd. edition of 500] in 8-panel digipak printed on heavyweight stock w/ vintage photos & extensive liner notes.
David S. Ware: tenor saxophone, compositions
Cooper-Moore: piano, ashimba (on track 8)
Marc Edwards: drums
"No one exerted a more powerful center of gravity in avant-garde jazz over the last 35 years than the tenor saxophonist David S. Ware. This two-disc set gathers his earliest studio recordings, made in 1977 with the fearless trio called Apogee. The music is volatile, blazingly spiritual and fiercely in the moment." –The New York Times
"Although the substantial body of work that Ware amassed in the latter part of his life more than suffices to secure his place in the pantheon of saxophone giants, this excellent debut, enriched by a bonus disc of previously unreleased material from the sessions, provides a rich portrait of a lavishly gifted young man with a horn." –Jazzwise
"Rhapsodic. That’s the first impression of this music, and one that would define many listeners’ engagements with Ware’s music over his renowned career,. Music that is unflaggingly exuberant, inventive and intense throughout. An essential release." –Point of Departure
Birth Of A Being presents the first studio recordings of incomparable jazz saxophonist David S. Ware as a bandleader. This work was created in New York, April 1977, when Ware was 27 years old. The first disc/album (tracks 1–4) features material originally released on LP in 1979 by the Swiss label, hat Hut Records, and has been out of print for over 30 years. The second disc/album (tracks 5–9) features a full additional set of top-shelf material from those same sessions which had not been previously released in any form. This definitive edition – sourced from the original analog 8-track tapes – was newly mixed & mastered in 2015. Crucial material, stunning performances, exceptional fidelity.
The band here, with pianist Cooper-Moore and drummer Marc Edwards, was known as Apogee. They were an incessantly active collective trio – playing in all of their free time, and making free time to keep playing together – formed in Boston in 1970. They relocated to NYC in the early 70s to create their own space within the burgeoning jazz loft scene. In 1973 they were invited by Sonny Rollins to open for him at the Village Vanguard. Not long after arriving in NYC, Ware began performing regularly with Andrew Cyrille’s group Maono, and then, together with Marc Edwards, joined the Cecil Taylor Unit. Numerous tours of the U.S. and Europe with these groups followed, during which time Ware developed the resolute desire to record his own music. In 1977, at Ware’s request, Apogee reconvened for one last time in order to do so, and to finally document their work together in a studio setting.
Birth Of A Being could not be a more perfect title for these recordings, as it was here that David S. Ware’s concepts for jazz ensemble were first elucidated; concepts that would further blossom within the legendary David S. Ware Quartet which he launched a decade after the initial release of this work. Birth features Ware’s compositions & the mesh of Apogee’s deep foundation of collective synergy with his vision at time of recording. Exceptional clarity, control, and utter logic in elocution; with intent to get to the breathing heart of music itself.
The 2-CD set was the fitting first in an ongoing series of David S. Ware archival releases (DSW-ARC) on AUM Fidelity. Its release date coincided with the 66th anniversary of his birth (November 7, 1949) in 2015. The deluxe 8-panel digipak features great vintage photos and extensive liner notes by Ware's longtime producer, Steven Joerg.
CD 1 - Birth of a Being
[original hatHut LP sequence, newly mixed in 2015 from original master tapes]
1. Prayer - 10:54
2. Thematic Womb - 16:33
3. A Primary Piece #1 - 13:47
4. A Primary Piece #2 - 12:00
CD 2 - Expanded
[from same sessions, previously un-issued, re-discovered on masters in 2015]
5. Prayer (alternate take) - 12:07
6. Cry - 14:06
7. Stop Time - 17:04
8. Ashimba (by Cooper-Moore) - 02:29
9. Solo (by David S. Ware) - 06:55
All compositions by David S. Ware;
published by Gandharvasphere/Daswa (ASCAP),
except 8 - traditional, arranged by Cooper-Moore
Recorded by Fred Seibert at C.I. Recording, NYC
on April 14 & 15, 1977
Mixed with and mastered by Michael Marciano
at Systems Two Studio, Brooklyn in July 2015
Original sessions Produced by David S. Ware & Cooper-Moore
This definitive release edition Produced by Steven Joerg
Cover art & design by Ming@AUM