Now that David S. Ware seems removed from his relationship with Columbia Records, he turns in his most surprisingly inspired record thus far. Its not that one would expect Corridors & Parallels to be anything less than inspired -- as his tone is of the highest spiritual order. With that said, his last studio outing, Surrendered, was a tad on the boring side. While not bad, it veered into very familiar territory for Ware. There's something quite new with this one though, so don't be confused by the first few seconds of Corridors -- there was no mixup at the pressing plant. Matthew Shipp, who plays organ and synth exclusively (for the first time on record?), opens this disc with organic flowing effects that sound more like the beginning to a Chemical Brothers album. Shortly though, the familiar ringing of William Parker's bass puts this one back onto the right set. While something new is always fun, it turns out that these electronic sounds that Shipp plays are exactly what the doctor ordered for Ware. He is completely free to let loose with sheets of energy without the consideration of piano comps; meanwhile, Parker and Guillermo E. Brown (who also lends some new percussive rhythms to this set) play with and against each other with intense purpose. There are moments where this is just plain fun, like the conga-line-inspired "Superimposed." Then there are moments of thick cerebral soup where the group plays with bowed bass, abstract synth, and hypnotic rhythm while Ware sets in for some prolonged and beautiful blowing. This recording is not to missed. - Sam Samuelson
David S. Ware is one of the few leaders in jazz that doesn’t mess with the formula. Throughout the 1990s, the only way to experience Ware (on record at least) was with the David S. Ware Quartet. He has changed drummers a few times and modified the sound of the unit somewhat, but it was always tenor sax, bass, drums and piano. The formula gets recalculated on his two latest releases, however: the quartet date Corridors & Parallels and the solo-sax recording Live in the Netherlands.
Corridors & Parallels is easily the better-and more unexpected-of Ware’s two new records. Corridors breaks down and redefines Ware’s quartet. Matthew Shipp plays synthesizer instead of piano on the CD, and thus the band’s sound is realigned, venturing into Sun Ra’s spaceways. Sometimes Corridors feels like an experiment in progress more than a cohesive idea, but it is still one of his most exciting and intriguing recordings. What has made Ware’s quartet so great in the past, though, is what keeps them strong through this realignment: master musicianship, emotional impact and the band’s ability to utilize space and silence. The long-developed relationship between Ware, Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Guillermo E. Brown enables them to venture easily into new territory.
Shipp employs programmed beats, sampled sounds and droning tones in various ways through the album’s 11 tracks that straddle an uncomfortable line. When the synthesizer beats dominate, it causes serious discord. It disrupts the cohesiveness of the album and the band’s organic spirit as the jungleish programmed beats of “Superimposed” and the R2D2-ness of “Jazz Fi-Sci” clash with the other pieces that do not employ the pulsing rhythms. But on tracks where the programmed beats are brought into balance, like “Straight Track” and “Sound-a-Bye,” the synthesizer and other instruments are in joyous harmony; they are excellent pieces that retain the Ware group’s emotional power. In contrast to the electronic experiments on Corridors, “Mother May You Rest in Bliss,” a tender ballad dedicated to Ware’s mother, towers above all the other tracks, and is one of the most beautiful compositions in his catalog.
From synths to sax alone, Live in the Netherlands is Ware’s first solo record. For a decade, the David S. Ware Quartet has been one of the best bands in jazz because it is, in fact, a band. Ware has always let Parker and Shipp shine within the group, and he has perfect timing, knowing when to bow out or come in to a piece. Alone on stage, Ware’s brilliant sense of timing is minimized. He sounds comfortable here, playing confidently and boldly, but his playing isn’t as effective as when he plays with his group.
Live was recorded at the Zuid-Nederlands Jazz Festival in 1997, around the time of such Ware Quartet records as Godspelized (DIW) and Wisdom of Uncertainty (AUM Fidelity). All four of Live’s pieces are based on the heavy, arduous solos he was blowing on those records, but some also hint at Ware’s aptitude for more reserved playing. “6th Dimensional” is a great testimony to what Ware can breathe into a saxophone, but without any interaction with musicians, Ware’s natural aptitude as a leader cannot make itself apparent. - Daniel Piotrowski
David S Ware is of the Albert Ayler/Pharoah Sanders school of paint-stripping sax-playing, with a hit of the scorched-earth Argentinian Gato Barbieri in there too. There is plenty of all that here, but Ware's regular piano partner Matthew Shipp adds a new dimension by using synths throughout. Much of it is as fiercely remorseless as you'd expect. But there are also Afro-funk grooves as tight as a club disc, endless tenor notes against gongs and bells, sci-fi electronic bleepings and twitterings, and an awe-inspiring tribute to Ware's late mother that is one of the most impassioned free-jazz tenor soliloquies of recent times. John Fordham
Tracks
01.Untitled
02.Straight Track
03.Jazz Fi-Sci
04.Superimposed
05.Sound-A-Bye
06.Untitled
07.Corridors & Parallels (Matthew Shipp)
08.Somewhere
09.Spaces Embraces
10.Mother May You Rest In Bliss
11.Untitle
WILLIAM PARKER bass
DAVID S. WARE tenor saxophone
GUILLERMO E. BROWN drums
MATTHEW SHIPP synthesizer
Music composed by David S. Ware, except (7) by Matthew Shipp
Recorded February 26 & 27, 2001 at Sorcerer Sound, NYC
AUM Fidelity – AUM019