Percussion Bitter Sweet

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Album Information
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Total Tracks: 6   Total Length: 40:56

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House Party Starting: Playing Herbie Nichols

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Ask a jazz fan about Herbie Nichols, and the reaction is likely to be either, "He's a genius," or "Who?" The pianist and composer is the paradigm of a genius neglected in his own time. Nichols's classic mid-'50s sides for Blue Note were all but forgotten when he passed at 44 in 1963. A.B. Spellman memorialized him with a chapter in 1966's Four Lives in the Be-Bop Business, but he didn't get much respect till… more »

They Say All Music Guide

This CD reissue brings back a classic album, one of the finest of drummer Max Roach’s very productive career. The illustrious sidemen (trumpeter Booker Little; trombonist Julian Priester; Eric Dolphy on alto, bass clarinet, and flute; tenorman Clifford Jordan; pianist Mal Waldron; and bassist Art Davis, in addition to some guest percussionists) all have opportunities to make strong contributions and Dolphy’s pleading alto solo on “Mendacity” is particularly memorable. Abbey Lincoln has two emotional and very effective vocals, but it is the overall sound of the ensembles and the political nature of the music that make this set (along with Roach’s Freedom Now Suite) quite unique in jazz history. – Scott Yanow

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