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Requiem for a Dreamer - John Taylor

John Taylor Audio CD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Audio CD (25 April 2011)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: CamJazz
  • ASIN: B004QDNSOM
  • Other Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 85,416 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Requiem for a Dreamer 4:01
2. Somebody I Used to Be 8:31
3. Ice 9 7:54
4. Unstuck in Time 7:14
5. So it Goes 7:59
6. Calypso 53 5:51
7. Requiem 2 4:59

Product Description

Review

English pianist John Taylor's association with the Rome-based label CamJazz has produced some of the best jazz recordings of the past decade, and this quartet offering, inspired by the writings of American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, is the cream of the crop. Perhaps Taylor has always been too subtle and thoughtful a musician to make the kind of popular impact we have seen with, say, the late Esbjorn Svensson, but for anyone who appreciates genuine beauty and depth of creativity, he is unsurpassed. His regular trio-mates, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Martin France, bring their usual invention and empathy to realising his compositions, and saxophonist Julian Arguelles was an ideal choice when it came to adding a compatible horn player to the mix. Their recitations on Calypso 53 won't win any vocal awards, but it made me smile, and their playing throughout is straight from the top drawer. 5 stars --KENNY MATHIESON, The Scotsman, 17 May 2011

CD Description

Commissioned in 2007 by the University of York (and initially toured by the quartet in 2008), this album fi nds inspiration in the work of the incomparable American writer Kurt Vonnegut, who died in 2007: from the famous Slaughterhouse- Five, moving along to that of Requiem For A Dreamer (published by the magazine In These Times), and ending up at Ice-Nine. It was a delight to make this recording with these wonderful musicians , explains Taylor, whose invention and seemingly effortless music-making knows no bounds. I hope you enjoy the music and can sense something of the joy we felt in making it together . An inspired and engaging work in which Taylor seems to go beyond himself because, just as Vonnegut once wrote, a work of art is the artist s struggle against his or her limitations .

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars JohnTaylor 15 Nov 2011
Format:Audio CD
By JOHN KELMAN,
Published: June 24, 2011
It's been three years since John Taylor's last trio disc, but this time the British pianist takes a small detour, rather than continue the winning streak of Angel of the Presence (Cam Jazz, 2006) and Whirlpool (Cam Jazz, 2008). Requiem for a Dreamer reunites Taylor with his longstanding trio--Swedish bassist Palle Danielsson and British drummer Martin France--but with the addition of saxophonist Julian Argüelles., he makes an inspired choice, capitalizing on the chemistry of the trio while adding a fourth voice who provides some fresh blood without being an entirely unknown quantity.

Taylor has long followed a general modus operandi that combines his own writing with material from longtime musical partner, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, and others. With Requiem, Taylor breaks with tradition to deliver a set of all-new originals, inspired by the writings of Kurt Vonnegut. Beyond the titles--"Ice 9" referencing Cat's Cradle (1963), and "Unstuck in Time" and "So It Goes" to the late American satirist's seminal Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)--Taylor's inspirations remain largely internal, with the exception of the angular "Calypso 53," which draws liberally from the lyrics of "53rd Calypso," a song attributed to Cat's Cradle's Bokononism cult. Uncredited voices deliver bits of its lyrics, the "Nice, nice, very nice" refrain fitting perfectly with Taylor's 5/4 groove, driven by Danielsson's ostinato and France's second line-inspired but looser and more delicate pulse.

"Somebody I Used to Be" mirrors the harmonic language of "Calypso 53," though the rhythmic approach is different. Introduced by a lengthy opening bass solo, its smoother 6/8 pulse drives a piano/sax melody, coalescing as a lead-in to Argüelles' soprano solo, the saxophonist moving gradually into upper register cascading runs, before winding down as a setup for Taylor's characteristically motif-driven solo. Taylor's relationship with Danielsson goes back to the mid-1990s and four albums with Peter Erskine's ECM trio, and while the trio parted ways after 1999's Juni on philosophical grounds--the drummer aiming for greater simplicity as Taylor's own harmonic conception was densifying--it's clear that the pianist and bassist form an ideal partnership, the language developed along with France far surpassing his admittedly fine collaboration with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron on Rosslyn (ECM, 2003).

The disc is bookended by two different versions of the title track. The first opens with Taylor alone, dark-hued and spare, building into a duo with Argüelles (again, on soprano), the haunting melody reflecting Taylor's personal ability to combine spare, approachable lyricism with more abstruse leanings, bolstered by Danielsson's deep-toned, note-perfect choices locking with France's gently framing brushwork. Argüelles adopts a grittier tone on the second version with a more expressionistic tenor solo, as the rest of the group enters--France on sticks this time--for a more vivid take that still manages to wind down for a conclusive set-closer.

Taylor's records never impress with overt demonstrations. Instead, the pianist has patiently built a discography reflecting a lifelong commitment to slowly, inexorably pushing the envelope. Requiem for a Dreamer does just that, but in the quietest, most unassuming way possible; an absolutely gorgeous record where everyone shines without ever breaking a sweat.

Track Listing: Requiem for a Dreamer; Somebody I Used to Be; Ice 9; Unstuck in Time; So It Goes; Calypso 53; Requiem 2.

Personnel: John Taylor: piano; Julian Argüelles:tenor and soprano saxophone; Palle Danielsson: double-bass; Martin France: drums.
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