Archie Shepp - Yasmina, a black woman

barabara sounds sez:

It doesn't get much better than this all-time classic: Archie Shepp and his band invoking the spirits of Africa and the avant guard, a massive collaboration with the key members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Brilliant stuff and, needless to say, a barabara classic.

dusty groove sez:

Archie Shepp at his spiritual best – recording in Paris in 1969, and absorbing a heck of a lot of pan-African influences! The centerpiece of the album is the amazing "Yasmina" – a long track that builds with passion and fire, pulsing with an intensity that you'd expect more from Pharoah Sanders than Shepp himself. Next up is "Sonny's Back", a wonderful straight jazz groover with Archie and Hank Mobley on twin tenors upfront – making a rare and memorable recorded appearance together! The set's capped off by a mellow version of "Body & Soul", one that points towards the more soulful side of Shepp's work in the 70s.

personnel:

Archie Shepp vocals, soprano & tenor sax, piano; Roscoe Mitchell bass sax; Grachan Moncur III trombone; Dave Burrell piano; Burton Greene piano; Laurence Devereaux balafon; Sunny Murray drums, percussion; Claude Delcloo drums; Hank Mobley vocals tenor sax; Lester Bowie trumpet; Clifford Thornton cornet; Philly Joe Jones drums.

tracks:

A1 Yasmina; B1 Sonny's Back; B2 Body & Soul

Archie Shepp - Ballads for Trane

barabara sounds sez:
I've been on a bit of a Shepp jag recently, and this is one that's been on regular late-night rotation here at chateau barabara. Laid down in 1977 for the Denon label, it's pretty short — less then 40 minutes in all —  but oh so sweet, full of those intense, breathy notes Shepp plays so well. This is not the fire music he was playing a decade or so earlier. Check out the opening track, Mal Evans' Soul Eyes, and the one Trane track on this date, a classic take on Wise One. As far as I know, this was never issued outside Japan, and the original album now commands a fair old price — and there's a premium on the CD too these days.


an amazon review sez:
Just happened to listen to this right after "Four for Trane". A stark contrast to that CD, this REALLY IS a series of ballads performed beautifully by Mr. Shepp and his band. The feel of this album is what one would expect from a "ballads" compilation, but there is no lack of inspiration. The whole band remains focused throughout, and they put enormous effort into every phrase.


tracks:
1.Soul Eyes; 2.You Don't Know What Love Is; 3.Wise One; 4.Where Are You?; 5.Darn That Dream; 6.Theme For Ernie


personnel:
Archie Shepp (ts, ss); Albert Dailey (p); Reggie Workman (b); Charlie Persip (d)

Archie Shepp — Soul Song

barabara sounds sez:

More Shepp, this is one of my favorite albums of his, all modal sweeps and swoops, propelled by a great, dynamic rhythm section with Marvin "Bugalu" Smith going all out on drums and Kenner Werner on keyboards. I love the extended gospel incantations of Mama Rose and the long modal improv of Geechee. But the highlight (IMHO) is the stately title track, with Werner matching Shepp start to finish — all in 4 short powerful minutes. There's a bonus track on this CD reissue, My Romance, on which Shepp gets all lyrical. This was laid down in Germany in 1982. I do wish I'd seen him in this era, but I only managed to catch him later on.

Yawno disagrees — but there again, his reviews are almost always disagreeable ;-)

Since it's still available from enja here, this one is only up strictly short-term.

Grab it while you can coz it won't be here long. And now it's gone.

AMG (Scott Yawno) sez:

This is one of Archie Shepp's more erratic sets. On the 15-minute "Mama Rose," the great tenor... plays his somewhat out-of-tune soprano and takes an eccentric vocal..The 18-minute "Geechee" is a fine, lengthy workout for Shepp's emotional tenor...

Personnel: Archie Shepp soprano & tenor sax, vocals; Kenny Werner piano; Santi Debriano bass; Marvin "Bugalu" Smith drums

Tracks: 1. Mama Rose; 2. Soul Song; 3. Geechee; 4. My Romance

Archie Shepp Quartet - Blue Ballads

barabara sounds sez:

All Shepp is good Shepp in my book. I just love the way he blows, the tone and timbre he produces, whether it's fiery and free or — as on this set laid down in 1995 — lyrical and soulful. He's got a great crew alongside him, and gets away with some singing on a couple of tracks too. My personal favorites are the opening number, Little GIrl Blue, and Shepp's beautiful take on the seminal Blue in Green (an extra track): if the version you know is the Miles/Bill Evans original, then this gives a whole new point of reference.

The only negative in my book is the cover (though it's actually restrained for the Venus catalog, which can sport some pretty erotique art).

One point remains unclear though: the album says the drummer on this date was Idris Muhammad; the discographies suggest it was Billy Drummond. You make your own mind up.

an amazon reviewer sez:

His sax playing... is nothing short of phenomenal. Proof that one can spend years exploring the outer reaches of an instrument's capabilities, and bring the knowledge gained into a readily accessible medium like these ballads. There are places in the music where it almost seems as if Mr. Shepp is letting the instrument play itself. For instance when he freely floats back and forth between octaves. On several tunes, he makes the instrument alternately sound like a trumpet, oboe, clarinet, and back to sax.

dusty sez:

Blue blowing from Archie Shepp -- a great set of ballads from later years, recorded at a time when Shepp had stepped back inside considerably from his styles of the past -- but still brought a great depth of soul to his recordings! The tunes here are mostly familiar numbers, but Archie blows them with a tone and timing that's amazing -- an approach that's almost comparable to the late years of Coleman Hawkins, at least for its understated brilliance. Other group members are great too -- and include John Hicks on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums -- the last of whom is wonderfully restrained on the date. Titles include "More Than You Know", "Little Girl Blue", "Blue & Sentimental", "If I Should Lose You", and "Alone Together".