Storyteller [IMPORT]

Marilyn Crispell

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: April 27, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ecm Import
• ASIN: B0001VQREQ
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,693 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pianist Marilyn Crispell has in recent times chucked the knotty angularity and tumultuous bursts of her free-jazz past for slowly tempered mediations on beauty and form. Her songs unfold with a balletic delicacy, each movement measured and sure--and, sometimes, static. There are definitely narrative dry spots on Storyteller, which lacks the ongoing sense of discovery that sparked 2001's Amaryllis. That album featured the great drummer Paul Motian and bassist Gary Peacock. This one, which substitutes Mark Helias for Peacock, creates intrigue in the way Motian provides the pulse that would usually be provided by the bassist, while Helias does a drummer-like job of pushing the rhythms. Half of Storyteller is comprised of Motian compositions from his long and varied career. At their best, and the trio's, they impart a radiant optimism that intensifies with repeated listenings. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just how good is this album. . It's one of the BEST!!, March 16, 2005

By	J. Bewley "mbewley2002" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mayilyn does not hide behind spacial minimalism, but casts shadows of melody and color onto sonic canvas. The interaction and "feeling" on this recording shows what good music can come form a single moment in time. This may sound like rambeling, but if you have heard Paul Motain or Marilyn Crispell live- you know what I'm talking about.

We can only hope to see more of this kind of music as too many young players are still caught up in trying to be John Coltrane or another hard-bop player.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I bow in humble admiration to Marylin Crispell's genius, May 30, 2004

By	Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's always been my contention that, because the avant-garde typically goes places the traditional musician fears to tread, it has the possibility to produce sounds and moods of striking and unanticipated beauty that more traditional forms of music-making cannot approach, let alone reach.

That certainly is the case with Marilyn Crispell's latest disc, Storyteller.

It is precisely because she has carved out a huge and magnificent presence on the margins of jazz that can she bring back precious gems from its outer reaches.

Sometimes, it seems as if one must simply OCCUPY avant-garde territory, until the absolute right circumstances present themselves. Then, and only then, does the opportunity land on one's doorstep, as it were, to make glorious, absolutely revelatory music.

That's what's happened here, I'm thinking.

It's a case of you can't get there from here. You have to probe, mine, fumble with artistic culs-de sac, until, serendipitously, you're handed the keys to music beyond the ken of ordinary mortals. You get the keys because of your faithfulness and singularity of vision.

Which is what has happened here. If you don't jump to your feet in ecstatic, delirious joy when confronted with this stunning, mesmeric music, you're either aesthetically dead or simply clueless.

Blather about static passages or narrative dry spots simply misses the point.

This disc is beyond praise. It simply IS.

Marilyn Crispell at the absolute of her game. Not to be missed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Jazz Changes. . . We Listen. . ., May 13, 2004

By A Customer

If the winds of change are part of the evolution of Jazz, then this album will give you a sense of where the music is at today. Although many young players have fallen into a HardBop loop that seems to go nowhere, modern jazz appears to be headed in a very progressive direction. Minimalism, Classical voiceings, rich color, and emotional expression are all part of this album; simply put its Beautiful Music. Now $20 is an unjustified price for any CD, considering it costs only two dollars or less to manifacture, but this music is just too good to pass up!! Listen to the audio samples and decide for yourself, I think you will agree. Cheers Jazz Lovers- jb.
p.s. Any of Wynton's CDs make Excellent coasters!!