by Jeff Simon, Buffalo News “It is a perfect demonstration of the astonishment of Taylor’s music at its best. Whirlwinds of thundering tone clusters and volcanic eruptions of splatter piano suddenly wane into reflection or impassioned eloquence by Taylor’s musical partner back then, alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons.” Read the review here.
by Taylor Ho Bynum, The Baffler “..Taylor makes you question standard notions of time—not just the traditionally defined beats and tempos he had moved past by this recording, but the expected length of a concert.” Read the review here.
by Kevin Whitehead, NPR “..Tristano left behind much valuable work for us to discover. A disc of well-recorded solo music here is a standout.” Listen to the complete episode and review on NPR’s Fresh Air, here.
by Phil Freeman, Stereogum “The concert was recorded — very well — by an engineer named Fred Seibert..it’s amazing stuff.” Read ‘The Month in Jazz – February 2022’ article here.
by Alix Cohen, Woman Around Town “If you’re a fan of 1920s-1950s jazz, blues, R&B, or swing, and unfamiliar with Catherine Russell, you’re missing not only real time embodiment of historical music genres, but immense listening pleasure.” Read the complete album release concert review here.
by John Fordham, The Guardian “Cecil Taylor, the technically awesome, stylistically and temperamentally uncategorisable African American piano virtuoso, died in 2018. Four years later, much of a previously lost November 1973 concert at New York City’s town hall (originally sidelined because one track runs to 88 minutes) has emerged..” Read the full article here.
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly “The combination of the inspiring subject matter, the adroit mixing of solos and themes as well as the kaleidoscopic changing of moods made for an exhilarating absorption of sounds and atmospheres. Suitable for listening or framing.” Read the full concert review here.
by Michael J. West, JazzTimes “..Spring of Two Blue-J’s, one of the great concert triumphs of free-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor’s career, is just the shorter second set from a two-set night? Perhaps it’s not the world-reshaping news that the recent spate of new Coltrane releases has been, but it’s big, and the newly released full … Read More
by John Chacona, Let’s Call This In his latest ‘Roll Call,’ John Chacona reviews new records from LLP clients Oscar Hernández, Mathis Picard, Deanna Witkowski and Bill O’Connell. Read the reviews here.
by Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal The 1973 concert that marked the pianist’s return to the stage is issued in full for the first time, giving first exposure to the unissued first half “This concert certainly is legendary.” Read the complete review here.
