Paris Concert

Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, Barry Altschul, Circle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1994)
• Label: Ecm Records
• ASIN: B0000031OO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #955,162 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Nefertiti

2. Song for the Newborn

3. Duet

4. Lookout Farm/73 Degrees Kelvin [Variation 3]

Disc: 2

1. Toy Room/Q & A

2. No Greater Love

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the Best Music a Jazz Fan Could Hope For, May 27, 2001

By 

Michael G. Mcneill "[e-mail]" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paris Concert (Audio CD)

This 1971 document of one of the greatest jazz groups reveals a high level of musicianship and creativity in this quartet, used to make wonderful, huge, beautiful music. "Nefertiti" and "There Is No Greater Love" are stunning comments by the group in the context of the songs' forms and harmonies. These men have gotten inside of these tunes, down to the guts, where they can explore the farthest possibilities of their souls. (There is NO "free" playing on these tunes, which remains a challenge to those of us who wish to follow in these mens' footsteps.) The quartet appears again on Dave Holland's "The Toy Room" and "Q-A," an almost ambient cut. Mr. Braxton takes out the flute and clarinet on his Composition 6F ("73 Kalvin"), a classic Braxton fusion of composition and group improvisation. "Song for the Newborn" and "Lookout Farm" are superb solos by Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, respectively. Chick Corea and Anthony Braxton improvise an exciting duet. This is an album you'll have trouble putting away.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, November 14, 2004

By 

Alex (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paris Concert (Audio CD)

It's definitely a crying shame that these guys have been together for so little time. This Paris concert is a superb mix of free jazz, post-bop and avant-garde. By listening to it you can find out why Chick Corea is by far the best pianist ever appeared on the jazz scene since the 60's and why Dave Holland was and still is one of the most important bass players in the world. Barry Altschul is superb as well and yes, Anthony Braxton is not as comfy in playing standards as his bandmates but he fits here great anyway. Although being an item for accustomed ears, this is not to be missed by any real music lover.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars some great playing, but ultimately a mismatch, June 11, 2001

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Paris Concert (Audio CD)

Chick Corea, having played with Miles as he went electric, was flying high, touring as a trio with Barry Altschul on percussion and Dave Holland on bass. Somehow Anthony Braxton joined this group. Braxton was down and out in NYC at the time, having returned from a successful trip to Paris, and was making money hustling chess in Washington Square Park! Corea apparently converted the other three to Scientology briefly, and this no doubt cemented their shared resolve. (Corea is still a Scientologist as far as I know.)

In hindsight, I judge this an interesting failure. It is an eclectic combination -- on "Nefertiti" they start off playing it straight, and then Braxton goes late-Trane/Pharoah Sanders. Holland, a brilliant bassist, and Altschul, an underrecognized drummer, each take fine solos, and Corea and Braxton play a delicate duet. Braxton's piece (shouldn't that be "Kelvin"?) is edgy and intricate, not all-out energy. The two Holland pieces that lead off the second disc are the forum for some low-volume group interaction that is sometimes fascinating, but overall not very compelling. The group concludes with a standard, and does a fine, mainstream rendition.

Circle broke up after a year of intensive touring. Corea went on to form Return to Forever, first the acoustic version with Flora Purim, and then the better known electric version which attained mass popularity riding the fusion bandwagon. Braxton pursued his own doggedly idiosyncratic path, and after enduring bouts of poverty, became a professor and the winner, in the mid-90s, of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius" award. Some of his finest 70s music was recorded with Holland and Altschul. I do not recommend this recording to fans of either Braxton or Corea. It has its moments, but does not represent the best work of either -- Corea's lyricism is limited, as is Braxton's inventive vision. Personally, I would turn to the early Return to Forever (on ECM) for Corea, and any of his own quartet recordings for Braxton.