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Smoke (Alexander von Schlippenbach and Sunny Murray album)

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Smoke
Studio album by
Alexander von Schlippenbach and Sunny Murray
Released1990
RecordedOctober 6, 1989
StudioFMP-Studios, Berlin
GenreFree jazz
Length1:10:39
LabelFMP
CD 23
ProducerJost Gebers
Alexander von Schlippenbach chronology
Stranger Than Love
(1985) 		Smoke
(1990) 		Elf Bagatellen
(1990)

Smoke is an album by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded on October 6, 1989, at FMP-Studios in Berlin, and was released in 1990 by FMP/Free Music Production.[1][2][3][4][5]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[6]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+[7]

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek stated that the album "reveals with startling clarity the inherent musical courage it takes to play freely with another musician you have never encountered... von Schlippenbach abdicates his normal responsibilities as a leader and becomes a collaborator. Murray, never really anybody's sideman, takes the reins and turns his rhythmic chops on in such a way that the pianist cannot help but to respond in a like manner... when it's over, in the silence, the listener will most assuredly sit for a while in disbelief at what just transpired."[1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album a full 4 stars, calling it "an intriguing collaboration, in which both men hang up their 'free music' armour and get down to what sounds like a set of phantom standards."[6]

Author Todd S. Jenkins called the recording session a "dream opportunity" with "appealing" results, and commented: "Murray's deliberate tuning of his drums plays a vital role in settings like this, permitting him to function as melodically as Schlippenbach's forceful piano approach casts him in a [Cecil] Tayloresque percussive role."[8]

The authors of Jazz: The Rough Guide remarked: "After the furor of 1960s free jazz, we now have Smoke drifting over the scene. Schlippenbach and Murray have mellowed and there is a beguiling thoughtfulness and lyricism in this music."[9]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "Smoke" (Schlippenbach, Murray) - 9:55
  2. "Down the Mission" (Schlippenbach) - 19:17
  3. "Trinkle Tinkle" (Thelonious Monk) - 3:09
  4. "Akiko Ma Non Troppo" (Schlippenbach) - 7:22
  5. "Angel Voice" (Murray) - 5:31
  6. "Khumbu" (Schlippenbach) - 7:30
  7. "Top Dogs Attack" (Murray) - 12:36
  8. "The Shadow of the Man" (Murray) - 5:19

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. "Alexander von Schlippenbach: Smoke". AllMusic. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Alexander von Schlippenbach - Smoke". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "FMP discography: main FMP series of CDs". JazzLists. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. ^ "FMP CD23 Smoke". EFI. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  5. ^ "FMP CD 23 Smoke: Schlippenbach/Murray". FMP/Free Music Production. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1301.
  7. ^ Hull, Tom. "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Todd S. (2004). "von Schlippenbach, Alexander". Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Greenwood. p. 303.
  9. ^ Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian; Parker, Chris (1995). Jazz: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 566.
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