I still remember the day I found this one
Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 06/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"William Parker hasn't been part of a ton of "piano trio" albums, so this holds a unique place within his discography of the past 10ish years. That, along with the sound quality (this is one of the most well-recorded albums {live or studio} out there of him) makes me have to go with 5 stars. Just know that this isn't a song-oriented WP outing. This isn't an album of tunes, soloing and accompaniment like Corn Meal Dance or O'Neal's Porch. This is dense music of dreams and nightmares. I make the distinction because I've come to realize there are 2 types of WP fans. There are the people who have O'Neal's Porch and not much else (and like it or love it), and there are people who have alot of his work covering many moods, textures, approaches, etc...
If you're just in it for some bass vamps and solos, this isn't the album for you. This is very OUT MUSIC.
This is a must-own Live recording from 7/16/98. Agusti Fernandez on piano, William on acoustic/upright bass and Susie Ibarra on drums. ANY fan of the tandem of William & Susie should own this. Both in terms of the searing quality of the performances throughout, as well as the sonic quality of the recording, this is their best album I own. In terms of the tone of her drums and the shimmer of her touch and cymbals, etc... Susie has not been captured better on anything I own. If you thought you loved her with the David S. Ware Quartet, on Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy or Peach Orchard, listen to her here. The world lost something magical when Susie and William stopped playing together. This is worlds beyond the DSWQ Live in the World in every way.
Agusti is an energy player who can still slow down or play quietly and retain the ability of taking me away... of creating sound that pulls me along. This album has repeatedly yanked me into its world, and as a comparison to an album of another of the post-Taylor piano crushers, I rank this album much more highly than Jon Blum Astrogeny Quartet. Sometimes Agusti is a bolt of lightning right down the center of this music as William and Susie contort sound into shapes around him. Other times the trio could convince you that the universe just stopped expanding and is now collapsing around you. If you like the Cooper-Moore, WP and Susie trio aspect of Peach Orchard but aren't a huge fan of Rob Brown on that album, this is your album. There is an internal mind to the group that is beyond any one player. Spontaneous Ensemble Creation music of the highest order.
This is not the sort of cutesy toe-tapping music of the golden boy, Brad Mehldau. This isn't an hour of clever piano surrounded by 2 dullard sidemen. This is a snapshot of 3 titanic artists locked in an epochal struggle of love and war. Not that this was a struggle for them, though."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1