Anthony Davis, James Newton, Abdul Wadud
I’ve Known River
Gramavision Records (Japan) 1984
C28Y0092 (LP) w/obi, insert.
sleeve : EX(slightly color-faded)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise)
Released in 1982, this album features a trio of musicians associated with the Chicago AACM scene: Anthony Davis on piano, James Newton on flute, and Abdul Wadud on cello. Wadud was a cellist active in both jazz and classical music, while Newton is said to have led a trio with Davis and Wadud in New York from around 1978 to 1981, performing Third Stream-oriented jazz. Taking poet Langston Hughes’ “I’ve Known Rivers” as its theme, the album presents an approach that leans less toward avant/free jazz and more toward chamber-like ensemble playing, interwoven with improvisation. A highly fascinating work where the improvisational spirit of jazz intersects with the structural beauty of contemporary classical music and chamber music.
B1: After You Said Yes
B2: Tawaafa