3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boston Herald Review jan. 2000, January 14, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Freedom of Assembly (Audio CD)
BOSTON HERALD JANUARY 3, 2000
BERT SEAGER, GEORGE DONCHEV, NAT MUGAVERO Freedom of Assembly (Buzz)
At first, Boston-based pianist Bert Seager's first foray into free jazz seems like a radical departure for a player whose calling cards have long been been an eloquent lyricism, a full-bodied brand of swing and a telekinetic level of communication with his bandmates.
Yet even a cursory listen to ``Freedom of Assembly'' reveals that all these values remain in place, and are, if anything, enhanced by the fact that Seager and long-time Boston trio-mates Donchev and Mugavero free-composed nine of these 11 numbers as they played them, with tape rolling, in the studio.
The difficulty of creating coherent songs and performances under these conditions is hard to overstate _ and explains why it's so infrequently attempted. Moreover, the accessibility of the performances here - each has a beginning, middle and end, and there's little of the mere noisemaking that characterizes so many free-jazz outings - makes this trio's achievement all the greater.
It makes ``Freedom of Assembly'' a free-jazz album for sharp-eared listeners who think they don't like free jazz.
Kevin R.Convey
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