Customer Reviews

Spirits in the Field

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
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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.

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.

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.

A special pleasure of listening to jazz is that, from time to time, you can discover a new sound sensation. This is the case with this album. The trio, including sax, tubas and drums, produces a spellbinding trip into a strange and surreal world that presents with the likes of ghosts, long-lost fleeting moments or esoteric passages driven by a strong rhythm and textures that at once float and condense upon the listener. If you are into new and exciting atmospheres, try this album for measure. The only reason for giving four instead of five stars in this case is that your friends (and maybe some of your relatives) will find your taste in music a little strange.

How exciting it is to have another new recording from Arthur Blythe, one of the most distinctive and creative alto saxophonists around--and one of the sadly overlooked jazz musicians of the past few decades. On Spirits in the Field, Blythe heads a trio in which he is supported by long-time collaborator Bob Stewart on tuba and a name new to me, Cecil Brooks III, on drums (Brooks is listed in the notes as the producer of the set). The set was recorded live at a club in Amsterdam on June 24, 1999; there is some audience noise, but not enough to be distracting. The recording quality is good but not great; you get the sense of a live performance, but you will have to exercise a good bit of imagination to envision that you are really there.

If you are anything of an Arthur Blythe fan, though, I'm confident that once you get this CD fired up and get the volume cranked up a little, you'll be grinning and spinning, because Arthur leads his trio through several of his "greatest hits" such as "Miss Nancy," "Odessa," "Lenox Avenue Breakdown" (I must have four or five Blythe versions of this cut lying around my house, and they all blow me away--if you have not guessed by now, I'm a huge Arthur Blythe fan). Even if you are not a big Arthur Blythe fan, or have never even heard of the man, if you enjoy good jazz, and the combination of alto, tuba, and drums is something you have never heard, then you need to run right out and get hold of this disk. If you do, you'll probably be back at the store or online before long looking for more Arthur Blythe recordings. Good luck--unfortunately, they are not the easiest things to find these days.

This CD is worth to listen when you feel down. It helped me to be relax.

Arthur Blythe shows his deep feelings in his music. The sax is bordering medicinal. Good jazz CD to have...