GEORGE LEWIS - Shadowgraph, 5 (Sextet) (1977)

A CD re-issue of the 1978 disc. Contains: "Monads" for an ensemble (with Anthony Davis, piano; Douglas Ewart, bass clarinet; Leroy Jenkins, violin; G. Lewis, alto and tenor trombones; Roscoe Mitchell, soprano sax; Abdul Wadud, cello) ...fleeting melodic fragments amidst pointillistic (but not "abstract" !) textures, constantly re-defined and varied; "Triple Slow Mix," a trio for two pianos and sousaphone ...a steady and slowly varied bass passacaglia surrounded by either extremely fast pointillistic playing or banal almost-quotes as if from music "literature," like a blasé music student in his practice room just trying to make it through the day...every once in a while someone shouts "hey !""Cycle" (with Lewis on Moog synthesizer)...humorous and touching solos of mid-range sounds, you smile and you don't know why; "Shadowgraph, 5 (Sextet)" for the previous large ensemble, also with Muhal Richard Abrams, piano, and G. Lewis also on sound-tube ...someone near us is explaining something but we don't quite get it ...perhaps it's something "foreign" ...a tapestry of gestures, quick shadows of the initial event.  -  Gene Tyranny


Tracks
1. Monads
2. Triple Slow Mix
3. Cycle
4. Shadowgraph 5 (Sextet)

ANTHONY DAVIS  piano
LEROY JENKINS  violin
ABDUL WADUD  cello
MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS  piano
ROSCOE MITCHELL  soprano, alto & baritone saxophones, flute, cassette recorder
GEORGE LEWIS  alto & tenor trombones, sousaphone, moog synthesizer, wagner tuba  
DOUGLAS EWART  bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, bamboo flute, bassoon 

All music composed by George E. Lewis
Recorded at Generation Sound Studios, New York City
Black Saint 120016-2   Italy