Bruford Levin Upper Extremities [Import]

Tony Levin, Bill Bruford | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 24, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Pid
• ASIN: B000006EBP
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,796 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Cerulean Sea

2. Original Sin

3. Etude Revisited

4. A Place Of Pearls(On A Blade Of Grass)

5. Fin De Siecle

6. DrumBass

7. Cracking The Midnight Glass

8. Torn DrumBass

9. Thick With Thin Air

10. Cobalt Canyons

11. Deeper Blue

12. Presidents Day

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue nights for a blue quartet, May 18, 2000

By 

jason m carzon (bowie maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (Audio CD)

I saw these guys live and must say that this may be the finest moment to date of Bruford and Tony Levin. Bill Bruford's drumming was absolutely SICK and Levin was just so professional and soulful that it just wasn't real. The show prompted me to get the disc they were selling at the show and it was just as good as the live experience. Chris Botti was ultracool, with some Miles davis-like trumpet, and guitarist David Torn has some interesting textures and loops. What they played at the show is all here on the disc, and if you're into avante-jazz or King Crimson, you simply cannot pass this one up. These guys are incredible musicians, and since Bruford & Levin are no longer in Crimso, perhaps they should be doing more of this stuff. This isn't mindless noodling, but solid avante-jazz. Smart musicianship which doesn't bore. I won't go into the individual titles, it's all well executed. If you did dig this album, go to Tony Levin's website and order the double live disc of the shows too. That's another killer.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bitches Brew meets Red..., January 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (Audio CD)

This album comprises a wide mixture of approaches and styles. While Bruford has acted in the past as the adhesive element, he now tests further the distinction between melody and rhythm as a product of the drum kit. The band is, however, first and foremost a concert band. Do yourself a tremendous justice by tracking them down, and becoming an actual part of the musical experience. The CD lacks the complexity as well as the coherence the band has been able to achieve while playing live.

If you were able to catch the show, you must own the CD. If you missed the show, take a listen to the CD, but you should understand that while it is great, it pales in comparison to the live music generated by the four musicians.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Collaborative Stuff, December 14, 2004

By 

Scott McFarland (Manassas, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (Audio CD)

This is not just some vanity project (though due to the other players' tendancies for minmalism, it's an excellent opportunity to focus on Tony Levin's bass playing) or a blowing session. These guys worked together as a unit and clearly tried to develop some new exciting music.

They definitely succeeded, to my ears. The tracks span and sometimes transcend several genres and subgenres of music. To my ears the latter third of the album goes a bit flat, but the first two thirds of it is wonderful stuff, and with each track rather different from the last. If you like music, you'll probably enjoy it. There's a lot of integrity here.