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.
Gerald Cleaver is a born and bred Detroit native and a product of the city's rich music tradition. He made his own contributions thereof through both performance and teaching, the waves of which radiated strong to NYC where he moved in 2002. He continues to astound listeners 'round the world; has been called to work and record with Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Mat Maneri, Tim Berne, Jimmy Scott, Dave Douglas, Mario Pavone, Jacky Terrasson and many others. His truly great second release as a leader/composer is the gorgeous Gerald Cleaver's Detroit (find it and buy it!).
Pianist/composer Craig Taborn, who played with Cleaver while both still in college, first achieved renown as a member of the James Carter Quartet in the early 90s. He has since developed his own distinct language and concept on the keyboards as a leader, and has recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra, Mat Maneri, Tim Berne and yes, many others of note.
William Parker is among the most active and highly regarded musicians performing today. He has been called “one of the most inventive bassist/leaders since Mingus” (The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Eighth Edition), “one of the true leaders in American music” (Bill Shoemaker, JazzTimes), “avant-garde jazz’s preeminent bassist” (A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer) and “an artist whose talent seems to have no limits” (James Taylor, AllAboutJazz.com). In March 2007, Time Out New York named him one of its 50 Greatest New York Musicians of All Time.
These three were first heard together on AUM Fidelity in the very different context of the Rob Brown Ensemble album Crown Trunk Root Funk (2008), and Cleaver is one of two drummers (along with Hamid Drake) featured on William Parker's Double Sunrise Over Neptune (AUM Fidelity, 2008).
This here now–Farmers By Nature–an immersive experience yielding magic and inducing a calming mystical ambience. Aye; enjoy true to fullness bloom satta!... –SJ |