Flying Toward the Sound
Untitled | |
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Flying Toward the Sound (subtitled A Solo Piano Excursion Inspired by Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock) is a solo album by pianist Geri Allen recorded in 2006 and released on the Motéma label in 2010.[1]
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
The Guardian | [3] |
PopMatters | [4] |
Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars stating "Flying Toward the Sound is a major work for solo piano: courageous, vulnerable, poetically articulated, and technically awe-inspiring in form and execution".[2] The Guardian review by John Fordham awarded the album 3 stars noting "It's a specialised homage to pianists and pianos, but this is the work of a formidable virtuoso".[3] PopMatters reviewer Will Layman said "I’d been thinking that Geri Allen had somehow gone flat in recent years, but I was wrong. She is just more catholic in the way she packages her intelligent, brave playing"[4] JazzTimes stated " the ghost of each pianist’s influence inhabits the "Refractions" suite... Nonetheless, every note of music is unmistakably Allen: clear, carefully plotted (even in the tangles of notes that shape the title track), and part of a larger soundscape that’s as surreal as it is melodic".[5] All About Jazz enthused "Jazz has been quoted as being "music that walks a tightrope without a net." Allen's Flying Toward the Sound effectively fits that description—daring, vulnerable, and breathtaking".[6]
Track listing
All compositions by Geri Allen
- "Refraction I: Flying Toward the Sound" - 6:02
- "Refraction II: Red Velvet in Winter" - 5:56
- "Refraction III: Dancing Mystic Poets at Midnight" - 4:20
- "Refraction IV: God's Ancient Sky" - 16:03
- "Refraction V: Dancing Mystic Poets at Twylight" - 3:22
- "Refraction VI: Faith Carriers of Life" - 6:58
- "Refraction VII: Dancing Mystic Poets at Dawn" - 5:43
- "Refraction VIII: Flying Toward the Sound (Reprise)" - 6:53
- "Your Pure Self (Mother to Son)" - 5:07
- Video 1: "Flying Toward the Sound" - 4:08
- Video 2: "Red Velvet in Winter" - 4:03
- Video 3: "Faith Carriers of Life" - 4:40
Personnel
References
- ^ Geri Allen catalog, accessed June 30, 2014
- ^ a b Jurek, T., Allmusic Review accessed June 30, 2014
- ^ a b Fordham, J., The Guardian Review, September 9, 2011
- ^ a b Layman, W., PopMatters Review, November 18, 2010
- ^ West, M. J., JazzTimes Review, July/August 2010
- ^ Turner, M. F., All About Jazz Review, May 2, 2010