Live Fire from the New York Underground
Four players, dense structures, and a live room that never lets the tension drop.
The Peach Orchard opens with "Thoth" and it hits hard: a dense, busy weave of bass, bass clarinet, piano and drums that feels more like a pile of ideas being thrown across a room than a neatly arranged tune. The tempo shifts and the textures keep changing, and the whole thing has a physical, almost combative energy. Then the record pulls back in places, most notably on "Moholo," which is more rhythmically intricate and reflective, a study in how much shape a group can hold without forcing it.
The album is a double live set recorded at various New York venues in 1997 and 1998, and William Parker's group In Order to Survive is the vehicle. Alto saxophonist Rob Brown, pianist Cooper-Moore, drummer Susie Ibarra, and Assif Tsahar on bass clarinet all work inside Parker's often daunting structures. AllMusic reviewer Tom Schulte described it as a cream-of-the-scene document of New York's contemporary free jazz world, and JazzTimes praised the quartet's fiery clarity in handling Parker's material.
If you want a starting point in Parker's large catalog, this is not it; it is better for listeners who already know his bass-led, community-minded approach and want to hear it at full volume in front of an audience. It is a strong, unvarnished live record from a working band, and it rewards patience with the long stretches.
Who's playing
William Parkerdouble bass
Assif Tsaharbass clarinet
Cooper-Moorepiano
Rob Brownalto saxophone
Susie Ibarradrums
