Live in Vilnius cover

Live in Vilnius

Released

Saxophonist David S. Ware’s monumental quartet — with pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and a string of drummers — was one of the most astonishing live forces in jazz during the 1990s and 2000s. This double LP documents a performance in Lithuania from 2007, with Guillermo E. Brown behind the kit. The set includes pieces from his two major-label releases, Go See The World and Surrendered, a new improvisation called “Lithuanian Whirl,” and a nearly half-hour version of Sun Ra’s “The Stargazers.” Ware’s absolute mastery of the tenor saxophone is on display throughout; he creates guttural, dinosaur-like roars as easily as he leaps into the horn’s uppermost register for extended, squealing harmonic exercises, and the band musters behind him like a tidal wave that rises and rises without ever crashing to shore.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Live at Birdland cover

Live at Birdland

John Coltrane
Hero Trio cover

Hero Trio

Rudresh Mahanthappa
Divine Love cover

Divine Love

Wadada Leo Smith
Space 1​.​8 cover

Space 1​.​8

Nala Sinephro
Spiral Mercury cover

Spiral Mercury

Chicago/São Paulo Underground, Pharoah Sanders
Horizontal Structures cover

Horizontal Structures

Moritz von Oswald Trio
2 Days In April cover

2 Days In April

Hamid Drake, Fred Anderson, "Kidd" Jordan, William Parker
Mama And Daddy cover

Mama And Daddy

Muhal Richard Abrams
Side Steps cover

Side Steps

John Coltrane
New York, Fall 1974 cover

New York, Fall 1974

Anthony Braxton
Science Fiction cover

Science Fiction

Ornette Coleman