Ware Alone, Breathing Two Ways
Solo, unaccompanied, and newly sopranino: David S. Ware at his most exposed and most sure of himself.
Organica is a live solo album by David S. Ware, recorded in 2010 and released on AUM Fidelity. It sits late in Ware's career, after an illness that many listeners feared might diminish him. The Down Beat review by Shaun Brady put it bluntly: Ware had not been weakened, and had reached new heights of invention. That's a strong endorsement, and the record largely earns it.
The album collects two complete performances, one from an invite-only event in Brooklyn and one from the Umbrella Music Festival in Chicago. Ware plays tenor throughout, and for the first time in public he adds sopranino sax to his instruments. That addition matters. The sopranino is shrill and narrow, and Ware uses its edge to push the music into territory his tenor work only hints at. Playing alone removes any safety net, so every idea has to hold up by itself, and Ware's phrasing stays dense and urgent for long stretches.
If you already know Ware's quartet records, this is a different experience, more raw and more confrontational. Nic Jones at All About Jazz noted that his authority has grown with time, and you can hear it here: every note sounds weighted by years of playing. Newcomers might do better starting with a band album, but for committed listeners this is one of the most direct windows into how Ware thought about sound at the end of his life.
Who's playing
David S. Waresopranino saxophone
