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Broken Shadows

Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Chris Speed (tenor saxophone), Reid Anderson (bass), David King (drums)

Broken Shadows
Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King—two thirds of the group The Bad Plus—bring a muscularity to the table, some irresistible grooves and powerful backdrops, on a fine album that is bound...

Broken Shadows

Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Chris Speed (tenor saxophone), Reid Anderson (bass), David King (drums)

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Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King—two thirds of the group The Bad Plus—bring a muscularity to the table, some irresistible grooves and powerful backdrops, on a fine album that is bound...

About

Tim Berne: Alto Saxophone Chris Speed: Tenor Saxophone Reid Anderson: Bass Dave King: Drums.Broken Shadows brings together four luminaries of the American jazz scene: Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson and Dave King. Broken Shadows has very strong connections, in twos. Saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed have been playing together since 1992; Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King - two thirds of the legendary band The Bad Plus - have been playing together for over 35 years. Named after an Ornette Coleman composition, this all-star project honors the legacy of the music of their idols and mentors Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Julius Hemphill. "Most all of the songs have melodies; infectious and singable. Songs you would want to put in your pocket and take them home. In a time of songs treated as vehicles for improvisation, with this band, the vehicle is the song", writes Branford Marsalis in the liner notes, celebrating the emotional power and impact of Broken Shadows: "Harmonic data does not create emotion; the ability to change color in ones sound does. This is something that Broken Shadows understand, be it explicit or implicit. The twelve tracks range from lamentation, or insouciant swagger, to utter joy, and all the colors in between."

Contents and tracklist

Awards and reviews

24th May 2021

Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King—two thirds of the group The Bad Plus—bring a muscularity to the table, some irresistible grooves and powerful backdrops, on a fine album that is bound to encourage the pulling of Ornette Coleman albums down off the shelf.

October 2021

Reid Anderson – his engaging depth of tone somewhat indebted to Charlie Haden – and the inimitable King are one of the most exciting rhythm sections around. Their hyper-intensity teeters on the brink of chaos but they as well have an ultra-hip earthy groove or two in their locker, for example on Hemphill’s ‘Body’. There’s never a dull moment.

July 2021

While some of the selections will be very well known, they don’t linger on the obvious. The best-represented Coleman album, Crisis, is one of his more obscure, and while “Dogon A.D.” is undeniably Hemphill’s best-known work, “Body” is a pretty deep cut. And the quartet’s treatment of the material seems especially informed by the pith and melodic focus that Coleman embraced on In All Languages; only three tracks surpass four minutes in length, and not a one will pass without imprinting its theme in your memory.
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