Fred Anderson w/ William Parker & Hamid Drake - Blue Winter

[Steve Reynolds]

Recorded 12/12/04 @ Johnson State College, Vermont

On eremite records

2 discs – the first one about 44 minutes one continuous performance, the second is longer – but broken down into three tracks

Fred Anderson: tenor saxophone
William Parker: bass
Hamid Drake: drums

I think Fred is a romantic, I think Fred is about the sound, I think he is about a search for a few of those moments. Maybe due to this, much of what comes out of his horn sounds pretty damn sweet – but where is it going, and what is the reason for it?

Is it all good - or is it just a search with little in the search?

have I heard this before?

Parker is playing in a basically straight walking groove based way – a way that some are very familiar with – yes there are inflections here and there – but it is about support – and maybe listening – or maybe just playing – Hamid drives it sounds great – sounds like Hamid – is there a purpose to this – other than to reach those moments of potential epiphany?/

It is music of a language that is , by now well worn – are they worn out?

Sometimes yes – sometimes no – they sound *great*

What am I feeling?

Not sure if it is me today – or maybe there isn’t a reason for this on a record – maybe it is only to see live – then again, I can listen to Hamid any time – and if I’m right – maybe I am not today – I am very aware of how much I can change day to day – or hour to hour – I am free of the shit that used to control how I feel..


well this is the first disc - I think I heard some of those moments - but I'm not really sure - didn't I hear more on the Velvet disc with Kowald and Drake from a few years back?

wasn't there more of an urgency to it all? or is it me?

Well – I will listen to the second disc maybe tomorrow- and then go back to the first – I wonder if it is me…..

[JamesH]

I've been curious about this disc but lately I've cooled off my listening to both Fred Anderson and Parker.

44 minutes of continuous performance is a little intimidating for me these days as I'm really looking for tunes, but if more people respond in the positive I might buy it.

Nice review Steve.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

I'd just got Tim Berne's latest Paraphrase CD in the mail (I thought it was smoking, but then I've drank the Kool-Aid as far as Berne's concerned) and I figured it was my last CD purchase for the year. I'm finally going to that year-long cd-buying sabbatical I've been blabbing about.

But I love Fred, Parker and Drake so I've got to check this one out.

Nice review Steve. Your writing style has always tripped me out, ever since the JCS days. True believers amaze cynics like myself.

[Coda]

x

[Mingus]

Interesting you should write about this today, as I chose to put in on myself.

Being fortunate to have seen this performance live, I generally gravitate towards the second disc, where each of them truly begin to hit their stride. Today however, alone in the house (a rare occasion), I tossed on the first platter and proceeded to enjoy Fred's sweet search, over Hamid and William's masterful efforts to understand the room.

Maybe it's the solstice here in Vermont. The stillness of a not-so-well-lit day with haphazard snowflakes dropping where they may.

A Blue Winter's day indeed.

[Sergio Zamora]

Been meaning to pick this one up for a while. Stevie Rey's review - with more new questions than answers - makes me even more interested. Worst case scenario, I'm sure Fred will sound nice and the rhythm section will do its thing.

I big fan of Fred's and have gotten to see him live a few times, but this one could have been better as one disc. Fred has a nice melodic free style, but if you've heard him a lot, and I have most (too many) of his records, you realize that he's limited--great at what he does, but not the expansive, imaginative player that would make me want to keep hearing him beyond what I already have.

Some of the longer stretches on this disc get repetitive and dull, they don't develop, and even Hamid can't bring him much further.

But he's made a nice contribution to the music, and is justifiably well loved.

[Captain Hate]

I can't wait for the *official* releases of Fred playing with Harrison Bankhead. This should make the Preacher absolutely ecstatic (although I've been mistaken about that before)

[Nate Dorward]

Originally Posted by Darryl G. Thomas

I'd just got Tim Berne's latest Paraphrase CD in the mail (I thought it was smoking, but then I've drank the Kool-Aid as far as Berne's concerned)....

Yeah it's a really great disc. Probably deserves a thread in itself, tho'....


My interest in Fred A. + Drake took a big hit with that rather dull duo album a couple years ago, so I haven't got around to checking out this new one.

[Dick Bowman]

I wish I liked Blue Winter more than I do. By now we all know (don't we?) the route the Fred and co. are going to follow - and while there are striking passages (I think of the bass-drums build on the first track of disc 2) there seem to be long stretches where they're treading water. And I'm really not much taken with the reed/tenor duet where they seem to get bogged down following each other's phrases.

But overall, I thing the problem is really that Fred's put out a lot of stuff for someone who works within quite tight boundaries. This would probably be outstanding without that context. I'd certainly rate the Kowald/Drake CD that Steve mentions as preferable, witht he added bonus that in places it seems to pull Fred out of his comfort zone.

[Gary Sisco]

I missed the gig but have the rekkid. (By the way, we can thank our own Root Doctor for that gig having happened in the first place.) I guess I'm in a minority so far because I like the first disc more than the second. It's not the greatest playing I've heard from any of them but it's a nice CD just the same and it'll stay on my shelves.

Sometimes I think just too much gets recorded these days but in the end, the wide net captures the great, the good, and just about everything else.

Ellery in one of his liner notes talks about the difference in intention between a performance, which isn't necessarily meant to be heard repeatedly but rather experienced in the room as it happens, and a recording, which presumably (one hopes) intended to be heard more than once. Both situations require different kinds of concentration and both are also effected by the context.

Yeah, to add to the sentiment about too many records--which is ironic, because for about 20 years it was hard to find more than one or two by Fred.

There are, IMO, some musicians who do have something interesting to say, in a style that's all their own, and yet they are not the imaginative giants that will have diverse bodies of work.

For these cats, owning 2 or 3 records will often suffice, but when there are 20 available, it's sometimes hard to know which ones you think are the essential ones, and also resist the urge to get others once you've enjoyed the 2 or 3.

Has anyone started a universal thread along the lines of musicians for whom you truly only need to own 2-3 records and what those are?

[Gary Sisco]

That would be a long list, indeed.

[Steve Reynolds]

part of it is me, for sure, part of it is , when I am centered, I am not jaded, I am not intolerant – I am able to accept the good and the bad – and the stuff that is in between – and maybe find the beauty despite the longuers that might hinder some of this music – especially when it is played by guys that really do have a somewhat limited palette – And Fred has always been a hero – he is one of my guys – and he still is…..

the second disc (save for the middle track – whose inclusion is beyond questionable)is stronger – Fred is a stylist – at this point in his playing life, he is really about the sound – and a feeling – the melodies invented or reused – his phrases and lines (stock or not) are familiar and yet they sometimes are still somewhat elusive – but as the night wore on (if this is in the order they played), the team builds a fire…

Parker’s arco portion about half way through the first track is ok – somehow the audience always reacts so strongly when William goes through this exercise – in this case, it seemed a bit planned and it seemed like an exercise

but then the groove starts to take flight - one really never knows when it actually is gonna click , when it is gonna go – maybe it is still the one mysterious aspect of what the two of them do - with Fred out – the King and the Man at the kit go places – it is at once of a time – and beyond it – the last half of the 37 minute piece is worth the record – as is the final half of the last 14 minute track – this is what it is, baby – beyond time – romantics really all of them – and Hamid’s *sound* - the snare goes on – the hi-hat sets the groove – and the rest falls into place – as relaxed as a drummer can be while driving inexorably to the heart of the groove – accents all in the right places – but never *exactly* where even those of us intimate with his playing completely expect them to be – almost out of his hands….even when the groove is almost pure funk it eventually fades into the loose groove with the hi-hat driving the music into the night – as I am driving to see some friends at the diner – four of us, me, my friends Andy, Darryl and Sara – they don’t know what I hear – they don’t understand the music, but we understand each other – and maybe I was better because of this – no – I am better because of people like that – and I am better enough these days to be able to write about music that has always had a emotional effect on me.

Where worlds collide – is it free – not free jazz anymore – not avant-garde anymore – it really is more like tradition of jazz without the themes – that sound of the tenor – sometimes nothing more than that – and maybe that’s ok – how many of his CD’s to own?

At least a few if one still likes jazz – if one just really wants to hear a great tenor sound with the boys in the back – who are really are in the front – have been for while out front – and what still amazes is that some think this is hard music – for me, it might be easy – easy and smooth for the most part – but a beautiful example of three men doing what they do – maybe just for the love of the sound – and the love of the groove

was December 12th last - year - was a bit on a cloud when I found out about the show last November - called Gary - tried to see if I could make the trak - had no car, had no money - I have a little of that today - next time (hopefully there will be a next time) maybe I bring Darryl to see the boys

right now, he's committed to 1/24/06 to see William's Quintet with Hamid at the kit


and Darryl is a drumemr who has heard Hamid from me - and said that this guy is like nothing in this world that he has ever heard when it comes to the kit






It's Always a Pleasure

[jazzgregg]

I'm a big fan of William and Hamid and William and Hamid together. I like Fred's playing and was planning on picking this one up. Thanks to Steve's extensive review (and knowing I share many similar tastes with him after reading many posts), I know what to expect. I often find it dissapointing to listen to something that I've built up in my head, only to find that it's not what *I* thought it should be. Once I get past that, I can usually accept whatever it is for whatever it is. That said, I never thought I'd see the words 'planned' and 'excercise' with 'William Parker' in the same sentence! Nevertheless, I will pick it up.
Thanks Steve, it's always good to see that kind of thought going into something.

G

[jazzfiend]

Blue Winter, although not one of Fred's very best, has brought me pleasure. I much prefer disc 1, and the highlights of 2 should have been included on one disc. Fred is not a risk taker, which doesn't bother me at all. As Steve mentioned, he's all about sound & flow, and I'm happy to be swept up into the current when the occasion arrises. I prefer this session to Fred's recent duo release with Drake. It's my contention, however, that Parker is not the best bass player for Fred's mood & groove, even tho he & Drake work well together. My preference would be Kessler or Bankhead. The other thing I really like about this recording is the pristine clarity & dynamics for a live session. On my clean system, this baby shines.