Momentum Space [Import]

Elvin Jones, Cecil Taylor, Dewey Redman, Dewey Redman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2007)
• Original Release Date: March 9, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Verve France
• ASIN: B00000I8C5
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,977 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Nine - Dewey Redman

2. Bekei - Elvin Jones

3. Spoonin' - Dewey Redman

4. Life As - Cecil Taylor

5. It - Cecil Taylor

6. Is - Cecil Taylor

7. Dew - Dewey Redman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three masters lock horns, October 7, 2000

By 

N. Dorward "obsessive reviewer" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Momentum Space (Audio CD)

This album was a surprise when it first appeared: while Cecil Taylor, Dewey Redman & Elvin Jones are all masters of forwardlooking 1960s jazz, one would hardly expect such individual & differently-oriented players to gel together. Jones, despite the enormous complexity of the rhythms & sounds he creates, has typically still preferred to maintain the drums' timekeeping role (having left Coltrane's band, for instance, as Coltrane moved more and more towards completely "free" playing). Taylor, on the other hand, has since the early 1960s become the leading exponent of a highly percussive & rhythmic but freely-measured piano style.

This recording, as most reviewers have noted, is misleadingly packaged as a trio recording, when only the first and sixth tracks (ten and twenty minutes long, respectively) have all three musicians together. I'm inclined to think this not necessarily a bad thing: the shorter of the two tracks, "Nine", is an amazing confrontation, perhaps the best thing on the album; the 20-minute track, "Is", is I think the one weak track on the disc, episodic & rambling. It's telling that on "Nine" Jones elects to play in time, while on "Is" he tries for free-tempo playing.

But with the exception of "Is"--which anyway has its moments too--the rest of this album is first-rate. There's a fine, melodic drum solo by Jones; a nice solo piece by Taylor; a brilliant duet between Redman & Jones; and a good duo between Taylor & Jones. A brief Redman solo ends the disc--it's only 49 seconds & is sufficiently good I wish there were more. So, despite my reservations about the one (longest) track, there's plenty on here that deserves a listen.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an under-appreciated modern classic, April 7, 2000

By 

Joseph D. Martin "M Lucky" (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Momentum Space (Audio CD)

Want to know what's wrong with jazz today? The fact that this fabulous album, made by three acknowledged masters and released on a major label, could be ignored by radio and the press, says it all. Though the three participants here share top billing, the CD sounds very much like Taylor's 1962 trio recording, "Nefertiti" and is more or less dominated by his musical vision. Like "Nefertiti," this is a classic example of Taylor's art--viruoso playing, fabulously expressive, totally individual. Jones and Redman are perfect foils, adding multi-layered rhythmic coherency and melodic sweetness, respectively. Unlike many of the safe, pre-digested CDs of re-tread '50s hard bop that draw critical raves these days, this is probing, challenging, emotionally gripping improvised music--ie, excellent jazz--by three great musicians. Sadly, most reviewers have apparently been as bewildered as the Amazon.com scribe above. (If anyone can figure he's trying to say in his last sentence, I'd be interested to hear what it is.) If you have an interest in Taylor, Jones or avante jazz in general, don't miss this one.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a delightful surprise!, April 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Momentum Space (Audio CD)

Who'd have thought this?

This is the recording of the avant-garde giant Cecil Taylor with the drummer from the legendary John Coltrane 4tet? To those familiar with both artists, the big question, does it work?

One one had, you think yes, as both Cecil and Elvin are known for the extraordinary power and energy in their playing.

On the other hand, it would not, because Elvin and Cecil rely on pulse and meter (or lack of it) in different ways which are usually not compatible.

The answer is YES! All three players make strong individual efforts. It sometimes takes Elvin a little time to sync up with what Cecil does, but once they do, it is quite amazing stuff. For Cecil, it is markedly different then his recent recordings. His playing is not as layered, it is a dialogue between rhythmic chords and fast melodic lines. The chords have tonalities which recall some of his work from the early 70s.