Videmus: Works by Anderson, Baker, Fox, Watson

Olly Wilson (Composer), Donal Fox (Composer), Thomas [3] Jefferson Anderson (Composer), David [Cello/Trombone] Baker (Composer), Vivian Taylor (Conductor, Performer), Videmus (Performer), John McDonald (Performer), Donal Fox (Performer), William Brown (Performer), Willie Brown (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vivian Taylor, Videmus, John McDonald, Donal Fox, William Brown, et al.
• Conductor: Vivian Taylor
• Composer: Olly Wilson, Donal Fox, Thomas [3] Jefferson Anderson, David [Cello/Trombone] Baker
• Audio CD (December 8, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New World Records
• ASIN: B0000030HD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #547,203 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of soulful modernism, March 20, 2009

By 

Max T. Shea "CageXenakisPartch" (Amherst, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Videmus: Works by Anderson, Baker, Fox, Watson (Audio CD)

Videmus was an ensemble directed by pianist Vivian Taylor as a vehicle for the advancement of "minority" composers.

I discovered this release in my search for works by composer Olly Wilson and for me, a lover of electronic music, Wilson's "Sometimes" is a rewarding listen. Wilson wrote "Sometimes" with the tenor William Brown in mind. The piece is based on the Black spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." The tape whirs, taps, and hisses interweaving with Brown's plaintive intonations. Wilson and Brown capture the dark viscera of the spiritual's message in a way that augments the power of the song itself.

"Motherless Child" and the voice of William Brown return on Videmus as part of jazz composer David Baker's powerful song cycle "Through This Vale of Tears," which is a commemoration of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. The highlight of this cycle of seven songs lies in the ironic text of the last one, "Now That He is Safely Dead," by poet Carl Hines: "Now that he is safely dead, we, with eased consciences will teach our children he was a great man. Knowing that the cause for which he lived is still a cause. And the dream for which he died is still a dream."

Donal Fox is another African-American composer featured on Videmus with four different pieces for piano and for piano with wind instruments. The best of these is "Jazz Sets and Tone Rows," which takes its inspiration from Olly Wilson's "Sometimes" and features the iconic saxophonist Oliver Lake on alto sax. Fox achieves a masterfully difficult fusion between jazz and serialism.

T.J. Anderson's sole piece on Videmus is his "Intermezzi" for clarinet, saxophone, and piano, a scoreless piece divided into several resonant sections with each section played independently of the others. The composer compares his method to listening to several conversations in the same room. The subsequent pieces, Fox's "Four Chords from T.J.'s Intermezzi" and "Duetto for Clarinet and Piano" are based on Anderson's contribution.

Thus, in Videmus, we have more than a collection, but an interconnected suite based on musical and conceptual themes.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good and a half, December 29, 2010

By 

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber Print DJ ... (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Videmus: Works by Anderson, Baker, Fox, Watson (Audio CD)

I had no idea what this was, but Videmus came recommended when I was buying a lot of free jazz and I saw it for less than a double espresso.

My fellow reviewer here has given you copious background: this is not free jazz but feels like a jazzy take on modern classical. A lot of space is used, and much of Videmus reminds me of Stockhausen's 1960s piano works. Other parts recall 1967-70 Mothers Of Invention Zappa. Listen to the wailing voice on Videmus and then compare it to "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" from Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Comparable sound without the implied humor.

This album works on the far outer reaches and if you travel there often, this will be an impressive find.