''Exhale'', is the final album by saxophonist

Arthur Blythe Arthur Murray Blythe (May 7, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a f ...

which was recorded in 2002 and released on the

Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

label the following year.

Reception

In his review on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, arwulf arwulf called it an "enjoyable album". In ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'', John Litweiler wrote: "the leader himself casts a peculiarly gloomy, out-of-character spell. Blythe’s strengths-big sound, aggressive attack and bright melodic imagination-are best at up tempos and on pieces with chord changes, wherein the active harmonic structure lends shape to his frequently discontinuous lines. ''Exhale'' has too many slow tempos and one-chord pieces; moreover, his sound now is limpid and his attack laid-back ... ''Exhale'' must have simply been a bad day".Litweiler, J
JazzTimes Review
accessed March 9, 2018 In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

John Fordham John Fordham (died 1425) was Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Ely. Fordham was keeper of the privy seal of Prince Richard from 1376 to 1377 and Dean of Wells before being named Lord Privy Seal in June 1377. He held that office until December 1381. ...

observed "Not perfect playing, but very compelling music from a unique improviser, and the strange group sound grows on you".Fordham, J
The Guardian Review
August 22, 2003

Track listing

All compositions by Arthur Blythe except where noted # "Cousin Mary" (

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

) – 5:20 # "Come Sunday" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

) – 6:16 # "Exhaust Suite: Nonette" (Bob Stewart) – 3:16 # "Exhaust Suite: Surrender" – 4:10 # "Exhaust Suite: LC" – 1:15 # "Exhaust Suite: Phase Two" – 2:31 # " Night Train" (

Jimmy Forrest James, Jim or Jimmy Forrest may refer to: Sports * James Forrest (rugby union) (born 1907), Scotland international rugby union player * James Forrest (baseball) (1897–1977), American baseball player * James Forrest (basketball) (born 1972), Ame ...

Oscar Washington Oscar Douglas Washington (c. 1912 – 2004/05) was an American songwriter, guitarist, school teacher and record label owner. He is credited as co-writer of the jazz and rhythm and blues classic " Night Train", and was also influential in the ear ...

) – 6:14 # "7/4 Thang" – 3:54 # "

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

" (Coltrane) – 9:10 # "

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 American Christmas comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly obese high ...

" (

John Klenner John Klenner (24 February 1899 – 13 August 1955) was a German-born American pianist and composer. He composed both classical and popular music and is best known for writing the song "Just Friends" with Sam M. Lewis in 1931. Compositions ;Conce ...

Sam M. Lewis Sam M. Lewis (October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist. Career Lewis was born Samuel M. Levine in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, and be ...

) – 4:28 # "CJ" (Stewart) – 5:26 # "

All Blues "All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. It is a twelve-bar blues in ; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of seventh chords, with a VI in the t ...

" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

) – 8:38 # " Straighten Up and Fly Right" (

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

) – 4:04 # "Exhale" – 0:53

Personnel

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

* Bob Stewart –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, organ *

Cecil Brooks III Cecil Brooks III (born 1959) is an American jazz drummer and record producer who has worked with Arthur Blythe, Russell Gunn, John Hicks, Andrew Hill, Etta Jones, Roseanna Vitro, Marvin Peterson, and Jimmy Ponder. A native of the Homewood n ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control Arthur Blythe albums 2003 albums Savant Records albums