''As Serious as Your Life'' is a solo album by the multi-instrumentalist and composer

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is ...

, recorded in 1996 and released on the Swiss

HatHut Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, h ...

label in 1998.Joe McPhee discography
accessed April 22, 2015 The title track is named for the 1977 book by

Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Lif ...

Reception

AllMusic reviewer Brian Olewnick stated: "''As Serious as Your Life'' offers a fairly wide picture of the range of his talents and creative genius, and is arguably the finest of his solo recordings. Highly recommended."

Track listing

''All compositions by Joe McPhee except as indicated'' # "The Death of Miles Davis" - 6:28 # "A Wish in One Hand" - 6:42 # "Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" - 5:30 # "As Serious as Your Life 1" - 9:11 # "Haiku Study 1" - 4:43 # "Conlon in the Land of Ra" - 5:10 # " The Man I Love" ( George Gershwin,

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

) - 6:47 # "Tok" - 2:27 # "As Serious as Your Life 2" - 3:21 # "After the Rain" ( John Coltrane) - 5:26 # "Party Lights" - 1:03

Personnel

- reeds, pocket cornet, piano, electronics

References

{{Authority control Joe McPhee albums 1998 albums Hathut Records albums