“Rob Brown is an awesome alto saxophonist, a mercurial improviser who is perpetually inventive, and AUM Fidelity has recorded him many times over the years as a foundation member of the groups of William Parker. In this time, Brown has revealed himself to be a composer and group leader of distinct gifts; this is our first release with Mr. Brown as leader.  A principal focus of Crown Trunk Root Funk is deep grooves, often dark and ominous, with brightness provided by Brown’s beautifully indelible melodies and the highly exploratory work of this extraordinary band.  Parker provides the root bass, and drummer Gerald Cleaver brings his supremely sensitive musicality and Detroit-bred funk.  Pianist and fellow Detroit native Craig Taborn is likewise endlessly inventive within this tremendously rewarding sonic ecosystem.”

Credits:
Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Craig Taborn: piano, electronics
William Parker: bass
Gerald Cleaver: drums

"A fully improvised communion of three of America's masters of music. The manifest intent: sowing seeds of sound and bringing them to full blossom. Abstract, organic and fully inviting in the process. Recorded live at NYC's new music venue The Stone, Farmers By Nature presents the entire concert of June 19, 2008 which was the third improv meeting of drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker, and pianist Craig Taborn. The three of them were specifically brought together by Cleaver with the express intent of making a singular new music. Following their second communion, William Parker was glowing as he told us of the performance in the midst of which his bass began to levitate. We needed to capture their next one! An immersive experience yielding magic and inducing a calming mystical ambience. What an arc! They are tapping into the nexus of regeneration here. Their fourth meeting will take place, again at The Stone in NYC, on January 16, 2009."

“Among all else of great note that shall happen in music this year, 2008 marks the magnificent return to record of the legendary Bill Dixon: composer, trumpeter, teacher and all-around musical force. His contributions to the body of great Black American Music first began in the 1960s: as a producer for Savoy Records; producing the groundbreaking October Revolution concert series in NYC 1964; as architect of the Jazz Composers Guild. In the late 60s he left ‘the scene’ but continued leaving an indelible mark on the music by devoting himself to teaching from 1968 onward, creating the Black Music Division at Bennington College, VT in 1973.  While he has never stopped composing (prolifically at that), and produced a series of small ensemble recordings from the 70s – 90s, his work for expanded, orchestral ensemble has gone unrecorded and/or unreleased since his momentous album Intents And Purposes (RCA, 1967). Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra, a well-received collaboration with Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra) was released by Thrill Jockey in February.  And now, this album -- a tour de force of orchestral composition, conduction and improvisational exploration -- fully composed by Bill Dixon and performed with The Bill Dixon Orchestra. 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur was specially commissioned by Arts for Art, Inc. (producers of the Vision Festival).”

“Darius Jones is an extraordinarily gifted young alto saxophonist and composer; Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) is his remarkable debut as a leader. Jones joined the New York music community in 2005, after living and studying in Richmond, VA. In his short time here, he has amazed and inspired musicians and audiences from widely divergent backgrounds with his meticulously honed musical gifts. Soul-power is at his foundation; forward looking expression always at the fore. Some bands Jones currently works with are the Cooper-Moore Trio, Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys, William Hooker’s Bliss (East), and Trevor Dunn’s Proof Readers. Jones also has a band with Travis LaPlante, Andrew Smiley, and Jason Nazary called Little Women.

“Man’ish Boy is a deeply personal work that found Jones meditating on his life growing up in the south: not an easy life, but one suffused with familial love, hard work and self-assurance. His experiences in church, particularly hearing gospel choirs – the ecstatic combination of powerful individual voices coming together to create something greater – were a deep inspiration for this project. An abiding respect for elders and the breadth of life experience they bring led Jones to ask master musicians Cooper-Moore (piano, diddley-bo) and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums) to be part of this project. Jones first met Moses at a performance while still in Virginia, and they have had a close relationship ever since. Jones joined forces with Cooper-Moore, a fellow Virginian and churchgoer as a youth, after moving to NYC. Cooper-Moore was asked specifically to also play diddley-bo here: a one-wire stringed instrument with roots in the deep south via Africa; with it, he most definitely brings the organic funk.” – AUM Fidelity

Darius Jones: alto saxophone
Cooper-Moore: piano, diddley-bo
Rakalam Bob Moses: drums

“’I call what I play Free Music because I want to be free to render my work in any way I feel necessary to express my feelings and ideas. Today on Earth is quartet music that emphasizes the groove; some folk-like melodies mixed in with some other things. My colleagues here, Jim Hobbs, Timo Shanko and Luther Gray are as strong and expressive as any players ever when it comes to dealing with this kind of material. I’m lucky to be able to work with them. The title of this recording suggests the idea that is at the core of my artistic goals; a reminder to have a simple instant of realization, a second of reflection about our lives standing on this planet floating in the universe.’ – Joe Morris

“Simultaneous to having achieved a strong measure of well-deserved acclaim for his ascendant work on upright bass (most recently on the release of Wildlife (AUM Fidelity), Joe Morris has kept his incomparable and singular voice on the guitar in highly notable flex mode in on both a 4xCD set of improvised duos with Anthony Braxton and on the David S. Ware release, Shakti (AUM Fidelity). Here Morris brings the guitar again full fore with his blessed Quartet on a brand new set of indelibly melodic tunes that are rendered with deep swing and profound essence of joy. Joining him in doing so are alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs and bassist Timo Shanko (both of The Fully Celebrated) as well as further long-time associate, drummer Luther Gray.” – AUM Fidelity

Joe Morris: guitar
Jim Hobbs: alto saxophone
Timo Shanko: bass
Luther Gray: drums

“An orchestral work featuring immensely gifted individual and collective voices from around the world, meshing as one to manifest a pair of deep double-drummer-and-bass driven mantras; this is serious (other) World teleportation music that achieves psychedelic proportions of sonic interplay.

“Bassist-composer William Parker’s quartet may be the best working band in jazz today ... No one in the band ever simply marks time; there’s a stream of invention from reed player Rob Brown, trumpeter Lewis Barnes, drummer Hamid Drake, and the leader that never lets up. Their notes seem to have a gravitational attraction to one another; they fairly slam together and fuse into one joyful sound. Every track [here] contains examples of their unexcelled collective and individual brilliance. On songs (Parker’s term) such as the “Groove Sweet” medley and “Four for Tommy,” the music undergoes continuous, beautifully synchronized transformation, the foursome’s elaborations on the melodic and rhythm elements of the tunes growing ever more urgent and celebratory ... There’s something singing at the center of Parker’s deep woody sound, something that animates his bass lines with an intense warmth and humanity, and it radiates outward through the group. The quartet embraces every possibility in the music with equal enthusiasm—pure sound, melody, groove, pulse, are all treated as viable modes of expression. Their liberated and disciplined use of the music’s possibilities makes this a deeply hopeful and uplifting album.”  –Ed Hazell, Point of Departure

William Parker: bass
Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Lewis “Flip” Barnes: trumpet
Hamid Drake: drums

“Corn Meal Dance again makes abundantly clear William Parker's multi-faceted talents as bassist, composer, poet, bandleader and songwriter. Raining On The Moon is the extraordinary group which seamlessly fuses all of these prodigious gifts: his long-standing Quartet with Hamid Drake, Rob Brown, Lewis Barnes is here exquisitely augmented by singer Leena Conquest breathing further passion into William's lyrics once again, and pianist Eri Yamamoto for the first wonderful time. William Parker’s soul-nourishing poetry and supremely catchy melodies and grooves are brought to scintillating life by a group featuring some of the finest improvisers in the world. Further to the full-group work here are a pair of supremely tender Leena and Eri duets on 'Prayer' and 'Poem For June Jordan'.” – AUM Fidelity

William Parker: bass
Lewis “Flip” Barnes: trumpet
Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Leena Conquest: vocals
Hamid Drake: drums
Eri Yamamoto: piano

“Eri Yamamoto moved to NYC from Japan a little over a decade ago. A classically trained piano prodigy, she initially came just to visit her sister, but after hearing Tommy Flanagan perform in trio in Central Park, Eri had a momentous revelation that her future would be with jazz. On our first hearing her play, it was evident that her passion had been ignited, that her devotion to learning was pure, and that the musical gifts which would allow her to add to the stream of jazz beauty were plentiful. 

“When William Parker came to record his first album of compositions for piano trio, he chose Eri to occupy that seat (Luc's Lantern in 2005). He then brought her into his Raining On The Moon ensemble, and the wisdom of that decision is in full evidence on their recent album, Corn Meal Dance. She fully impressed Matthew Shipp as well, who brought her to the Blues Series/Thirsty Ear label to record her most recent trio album Cobalt Blue in 2006.

“Duologue is Eri Yamamoto’s first album as a leader outside of the piano trio format. Each piece was composed by her specifically with each duo partner in mind (Daniel Carter, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Federico Ughi) and each piece is informed and suffused by their respective musical/personal essences. Eri writes incredibly beautiful songs. Contemplative, jubilant, mesmerizing songs. Songs which we’ve found increasingly rewarding with each successive listen. Her improvisations within them, guided by the rhythm as much as the melody, are invitingly exploratory. We’re proud as ever to present this great work from an especially gifted new creative entity, in communion with already established masters of the form of music which brings forth beauty through sound.”

Credits:
Eri Yamamoto: piano
William Parker: bass
Federico Ughi: drums
Hamid Drake: frame drum
Daniel Carter: alto and tenor saxophone