From the River to the Ocean
2007 studio album by Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake
| From the River to the Ocean | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake | ||||
| Released | 2007 | |||
| Studio | Soma Studios, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 63:43 | |||
| Label | Thrill Jockey | |||
| Fred Anderson chronology | ||||
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From the River to the Ocean is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with drummer Hamid Drake, which was released in 2007 on the Thrill Jockey label.
Music
For this project Anderson and Drake drafted three fellow Chicagoans: guitarist Jeff Parker and bassists Harrison Bankhead and Joshua Abrams, both of whom double on other instruments.
"Planet E" is an Anderson composition which appears previously on The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1 and Fred Anderson / DKV Trio. "Strut Time" is a classic set-closing blues by the saxophonist. "For Brother Thompson" is a modal piece dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring Bankhead on piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The title track and the closer, “Sakti/Shiva”, find Abrams moving to guimbri, a three-stringed acoustic bass associated with the Gnawa music.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
In his review for AllMusic, Sean Westergaard states "They might be known as avant-garde players, but this album is totally approachable and extremely soulful. From the River to the Ocean is not only among Anderson's finest albums to date, it has to be among the top jazz albums of 2007."[2]
The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins notes that "The resonant, mature beauty found on From the River to the Ocean proves that contemporary free jazz doesn't always have to burn white-hot to generate emotional heat; simmering intensity can yield the same results."[3]
The JazzTimes review by David Whiteis says "This set emphasizes subtlety over show, group interplay over individual scenery chewing, and ideas over pyrotechnics. In other words, it demands your full attention — it’s not background music for multitasking."[4]
Track listing
- "Planet E" (Fred Anderson) - 14:43
- "Strut Time" (Fred Anderson) - 21:15
- "For Brother Thompson" (Harrison Bankhead) - 7:44
- "From the River to the Ocean" (Josh Abrams, Hamid Drake) - 13:36
- "Sakti/Shiva" (Fred Anderson, Josh Abrams, Hamid Drake) - 6:25
Personnel
- Fred Anderson - tenor sax
- Hamid Drake - drums, frame drum
- Jeff Parker - guitar
- Harrison Bankhead - cello, piano, bass
- Josh Abrams - bass, guimbri
References
- ^ From the River to the Ocean at Thrill Jockey
- ^ a b Westergaard, Sean. Fred Anderson - From the River to the Ocean: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ Collins, Troy. From the River to the Ocean review at All About Jazz
- ^ Whiteis, David. From the River to the Ocean review at JazzTimes
- v
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Fred Anderson
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
- The Missing Link (1979)
- Vintage Duets (with Steve McCall, 1980)
- Black Horn Long Gone (1993)
- Birdhouse (1995)
- Fred Chicago Chamber Music (1996)
- Fred Anderson / DKV Trio (1996)
- Back Together Again (with Hamid Drake, 2003)
- From the River to the Ocean (with Hamid Drake, 2007)
- Staying in the Game (2008)
- Dark Day (1979)
- The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1 (1980)
- Destiny (with Marilyn Crispell and Hamid Drake, 1994)
- Live at the Velvet Lounge (1998)
- Fred Anderson Quartet Volume One (1998)
- 2 Days in April (1999)
- Fred Anderson Quartet Volume Two (1999)
- Duets 2001 (with Robert Barry, 1999)
- Birthday Live 2000 (2000)
- On the Run, Live at the Velvet Lounge (2000)
- Back at the Velvet Lounge (2002)
- The Great Vision Concert (2003)
- Blue Winter (2004)
- Timeless, Live at the Velvet Lounge (2005)
- Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume III (2007)
- A Night at the Velvet Lounge Made in Chicago 2007 (2007)
- 21st Century Chase (2009)
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