Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Steve Lacy - 5 x Monk, 5 x Lacy (SILKHEART RECORDS 2018)


"And the entirety of Lacy's art is to be found in compacted form in solo concerts like 5 x Monk, 5 x Lacy." 
Bill Shoemaker, Jazz Times, October 1997 

Steve Lacy's evocative program of solo soprano saxophone expositions was recorded live at the Stockholm Kulturhuset in March 1994, during the improvisation festival, "I Öronblicket". It was clearly an extraordinary performance at the time and this is abundantly confirmed by the CD of the appearance. The front cover of the CD features a pen and ink illustration of Steve Lacy made in the early sixties in Rome by the late black American artist, Bob Thompson. 

SHUFFLE BOIL I like to begin solo concerts with this piece, because of its low register, medium tempo, and the generous use of silent space. It has a very simple melody, but it is also a subtle polyphonic structure with interesting harmonic implications. Of course, all of Thelonious Monk's music is about play and dance. 

ERONEL is a good vehicle from the late '40s; bebop for blowing on and a charming melodic portrait of somebody's old flame, (Lenore spelled backwards). 

EVIDENCE Since I've been studying, practising, and performing (and teaching) this composition for 40 years, the evidence...  more

1. Shuffle Boil 03:48
2. Eronel 03:49
3. Evidence 03:37
4. Pannonica 05:24
5. Who Knows 03:12
6. The Crust 04:31
7. Blues for Aida 05:51
8. Revenue 05:27
9. Naked Lunch 04:13
10. Deadline 05:15

Steve Lacy soprano saxophone