Blueprints Of Jazz Vol. 2

Billy Harper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Talking House Records
• ASIN: B001E4SF9E
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,167 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably Explorative And Progressive, June 19, 2009

By 

Mike (Here and There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blueprints Of Jazz Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Well, after checking out Mike Clark's Blueprints Of Jazz Volume 1 I had to go and check out Billy Harper's Blueprints of Jazz Volume 2. While I was a fan of Vol. 1, I like this one for very, very different reasons. Mike Clark's release was very bright and traditional sounding; with a greater deal of focus on letting the drums drive the band. This release was darker, more brooding, with a greater attention to being expressive and experimental.

The first two tracks, "Africa Revisited" and "Knowledge of Self" start off textural and connected, with a spoken word piece going over the two compositions. With the exception of "Oh... If Only", the remaining songs are purely instrumental. The theme of the album's lyrical content centers around the preservation of Black History and how it relates specifically to jazz music. The tone of it all seems somber at times, but the whole album from start to finish was absolutely beautiful and well conceived.

All and all, this was an excellent work of art that tells a story both figuratively and literally. I was really impressed.

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars if there was no talking, March 19, 2010

By 

M. Perini - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blueprints Of Jazz Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Wonderful music from Billy Harper as usual. One star less for marring 3 of the songs with talking. The stories are tough to sit through once, especially if you are familiar with jazz history. The music and songs are wonderful. Most of the songs do not have talking on them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Baraka and Billy Harper, June 23, 2009

By 

J. B. Withers "WPFW-FM jazz programmer" (Silver Spring, MD (inner suburb of D.C.)) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blueprints Of Jazz Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Amiri Baraka's 3 or 4 narrative poems really gave a synopsis of his truly classic book, Blues People (released in early '60s). That book gave the best description of the origins of Black American music, jazz in particular, that is the foundation, more or less, of all American music. Baraka's words were spoken over Billy Harper's wailing tenor sax, which made the presentations even more compelling.