Customer Reviews

Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All I knew about Gary Bartz was that he played with Miles sometimes in the 70's (on Live/Evil?). So I didn't really know what to expect... and yet I was surprised. Almost every track here is different -- funky organ/guitar combo (Million), straight ahead (Messenger), Trane/Pharoah-style meditation (Kindness) plus quite successful excursions into rap (Gangsta) reggae (Lively) and lots more. But from all the stylistic multitude emerges a strong, confident, passionate sound. He has a tight band and good choice of guests, and they make this "concept album" work extremely well.

this is an excellent jazz cd that incorporates traditional and contemporary styles with jazz an ounce or two of hip-hop. mr. bartz is all over the place with this ranging from ballads to reggae to some hard bop! at the time, amazon has this in limited supply, but if you can get your hands on it you'll enjoy it.

Gary Bartz has one of the most personal voices on the saxophone today. This album demonstrates his versatility and lyricism, his command of both the alto and soprano, and his love of the blues. If not for anything else, buy this album for the "Song of Loving-Kindness." His statement on this song is music as art at its highest level.

This album has a lot of variety, and the level of playing is excellent across the board. You won't be disappointed.

"Passion' is the word for this fine album by saxophonist Barth. Barth and a changing group of colleagues create an album bursting at the seams with jazz which is exciting and accessible. Bartz and confreres manage to sound modernist and back to the roots at one and the same time. Bartz successfully mixes gospel, rap, and the wonderful music of late 60's Miles's to create a collection of songs which, regardless of disparity of style and content from one song to the next, merge to create a tone picture that successfully evokes Afro-American origins and the sounds of today's inner city streets. Bartz is phenomenal, bursting with energy and intelligence. Among his colleagues, Cyrus Chestnut stands out. The only flaw in this fine collection occurs, unfortunately, in the first two minutes, when Jon Hendricks recites mediocre poetry in a tired voice. (Think of Hendricks' equally unsuccessful attempt at poetizing in George Russell's groundbreaking New York, N.Y. album from the early 60s.) The gem of the album is the magnificent "Song of Loving Kindness," which starts as a long, twisting solo by Bartz on tenor and grows in intensity as the rhythm section enters.

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