SHAKILL'S II

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SHAKILL'S II album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 7   Total Length: 61:48

eMusic Review 0

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Kevin Whitehead

eMusic Contributor

03.26.08
An exceptional and invigorating organ record
Label: DIW

Rubber-wristed new jazz pianist Don Pullen often paid the bills by working as a soul-jazz organ player on the side. In 1991, he and David Murray made an okay organ quartet record, Shakill's Warrior (with Stanley Franks on guitar and Andrew Cyrille on drums). Shakill's II recorded in '94 is the superior sequel, zippier and more in the pocket than the original. J.T. Lewis is so sure-footedly swinging on drums, you could miss that the first tune's in 5/4. Guitarist Bill White's grit-on-the-strings solos and lean and syncopated peek-a-boo chords are conspicuous assets, as they play blues up ("1529 Gunn Street") and lowdown ("Blues Somewhere"). On "One for the Don," Murray's tender tenor could be Stan Getz. (After Pullen died in 1995, Murray recorded an album of his tunes, Long Goodbye, with Lewis on drums and Pullen disciple D.D. Jackson on piano.)

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Both 1 & 2 Excellent

teapot1

I've had copies of both the Shakill's Warrior CD's and continue to listen to both. Both David Murray and Don Pullen are in top form and I love way pullen sound on organ. Both worthy of downloading.

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Decent Record, disagree with Kevin Whitehead

ThomKeith

Both Shakill's titles are worth owning, but Kevin Whitehead is WAY off target when he describes the first record as "okay". It's one of the most-worth-owning records of the decade. If you like William Parker, you'll know where I'm coming from when I say that the music on Shakill's one is real. This one is more in-the-tradition, but is still worth owning. It's tighter, but that tightness leads to some false moments. In fact, at least three tunes are worth skipping the download, not true of the first record. Whitehead's assertion that the drumming is better on this record is somewhere between asinine and insane.

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