Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory - This Dance Is For Steve McCall (1993)

A Darker Shade Of Blue

AMG Review
Al Campbell
This Dance Is for Steve McCall refers to the late drummer who contributed not only to Roscoe Mitchell’s music, but was a member of the AACM. The disc is not only a tribute to McCall, but also to other musicians Mitchell had collaborated with over the years who have passed on, including Phillip Wilson, Gerald Oshita, and Tom Buckner. Mitchell pays the highest tribute to these fallen comrades of the avant-garde by assembling a band that signifies the embodiment of creative music: Matthew Shipp on piano, the twin-bass attack of Jaribu Shahid and William Parker, and Tani Tabbal and Vincent Davis on drums. The music ranges from dense contemporary classical to violence incarnate on “The Rodney King Affair,” in which Mitchell’s circular-breathing technique pushes the tempo to a dizzy, frightening place. All compositions are Mitchell originals except “Ericka,” written by Art Ensemble of Chicago member Joseph Jarman.

Uri Hornstein

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