Grey December: Live in Rome

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
For the academic and cerebral Ran Blake, the very idea of a "live" album is something of a curiosity, so it should be noted at the outset that the only evidence of an audience on Grey December: Live in Rome is some sparse applause at the end of a few tracks. Those listeners are treated to a typical solo piano outing from the 75-year-old avant-garde player, whose work may be categorized as jazz only for want of a better term. As usual, Blake proceeds largely by subtraction, stripping down his performances to carefully considered fragments of melodies and chords, with odd juxtapositions added here and there. He references Third Stream jazz with a version of Gunther ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
For the academic and cerebral Ran Blake, the very idea of a "live" album is something of a curiosity, so it should be noted at the outset that the only evidence of an audience on Grey December: Live in Rome is some sparse applause at the end of a few tracks. Those listeners are treated to a typical solo piano outing from the 75-year-old avant-garde player, whose work may be categorized as jazz only for want of a better term. As usual, Blake proceeds largely by subtraction, stripping down his performances to carefully considered fragments of melodies and chords, with odd juxtapositions added here and there. He references Third Stream jazz with a version of Gunther Schuller's "Magic Row" and suggests another influence in "Mingus." Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy" is a natural choice for a pianist attracted to spare, odd structures. For most of the album, the tracks are as short as they are underplayed, but Blake changes gears on the closer, an 11-minute "Inspirations: Abbey Lincoln," which is as rich and full of ideas as the preceding music had been parsimonious. It indicates that, like most septuagenarians, Blake now guards his resources and chooses his spots. Like any old master, he is doing more with less.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/17/2011
  • Label: Tompkins Square
  • UPC: 894807002592
  • Catalog Number: 2592
  • Sales rank: 120,539

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Cry Wolf (2:20)
  2. 2 Obama (2:18)
  3. 3 Magic Row (4:13)
  4. 4 Let's Stay Together/Brazil (3:50)
  5. 5 Winter In Madrid (3:01)
  6. 6 We'll Be Together Again (3:06)
  7. 7 Field Cry (0:56)
  8. 8 Nature Boy (2:34)
  9. 9 Luciano (1:45)
  10. 10 Mingus (2:28)
  11. 11 You Stepped Out of a Dream (2:39)
  12. 12 Inspirations: Abbey Lincoln (11:09)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Ran Blake Primary Artist
Technical Credits
Al Green Composer
Gene Roland Composer
Nacio Herb Brown Composer
Gunther Schuller Composer
Eden Ahbez Composer
Jacque Cascales Composer
Luciano Linzi Director, Liner Notes
Carl Fischer Composer
Dave Fabris Producer
Warren Russell-Smith Mastering
Cecilia Guerrieri Paleotti Producer
Ascanio Cusella Engineer
Ari Barrosso Composer
Willis Laurence James Composer
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