Spirits in the Field

Arthur Blythe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 21, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: HighNote Records
• ASIN: B000046Q3Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,406 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. One Mint Julep

2. Miss Nancy

3. Odessa

4. Rambler

5. Spirits In The Field

6. Lenox Avenue Breakdown

7. Ah George, We Hardly Knew You

8. Break Tune #2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars blythe back in force!, February 3, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Spirits in the Field (Audio CD)

Arthur Blythe shows he is still a major sax force to be reckoned with on this live recording from 1999 in Amsterdam. I don't know that he could lay claim to "greatest living sax player" when Sonny Rollins is still alive and active, and Blythe's contemporary David Murray would be hard to best as well. How about greatest alto player? He's definitely a contender. This record is NOT avant-garde -- it is a swinging trio date, with tuba instead of bass! They play five Blythe originals, and one by Bob Stewart, the tuba player. It's a great set, mainly up-tempo, but with moving ballads too. Blythe is one of a select group of jazz masters that made their first mark in the 70s, playing inside and outside, and bringing the swing tradition into contact with the avant-garde -- David Murray, Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill, Chico Freeman, and Lester Bowie are/were others of that generation (all still on the scene save Bowie, and here's to his memory and his music). Unfortunately their great talent and energy was eclipsed in commercial terms by the boring "young lions" movement promoted by the major labels in the early-mid 80s, which reduced the creative range of the music so as not to challenge the complacent jazz record-buying demographic. Blythe hasn't recorded as a leader in years, to my knowledge, but he played on a couple of records by James Blood Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble in the mid-90s -- check out the MRE's "In the Name of..." -- Blythe is outstanding on several tracks, while Sam Rivers and Hamiett Bluiett shine on others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best living sax player, October 9, 2000

By 

T. Bekken (Austmarka Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirits in the Field (Audio CD)

Alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe is sadly underrecognized. This magnificent trio album with drummer Brooks and tubaist Bob Stewart is a recording of the highest order, and it ought to reach a vast audience. Blythe manages to move freely in very far out musical settings, and still, he is firmly rooted in the thick of the jazz tradition. Brooks and Stewart are perfect collaborators, and give the term "drum'n'bass" a totally new meaning...Don't hesitate; get this album now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blythe in the 21st Century!, July 19, 2000

By 

riot67 (detroit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirits in the Field (Audio CD)

On Spirits Blythe demonstrates why he is one of the great saxman of today. The most impressive part being that he's taken what is basically jazz avant garde and made it somewhat more excessible than many practioners of the genre yet not forsaking any artistic integrity. Blythe is also one of the few individuals that I am aware of using a tuba in a jazz trio setting. Unmistakable and always impressive Blythe is a heavy weight and a force to be reckoned with but like so many associated with free jazz, his talents go mostly unnoticed. Buy this now along with the Koch reissue of Illusions.