''Experience'' is an album by the jazz group the World Saxophone Quartet released by the Canadian Justin Time label. The album features performances by Hamiet Bluiett, Oliver Lake, David Murray and Bruce Williams, with guests Craig Harris on trombone,

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

on violin,

Matthew Garrison Matthew Justin Garrison (born June 2, 1970) is an American jazz bassist. Since 2011, he has run ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, New York, with Fortuna Sung. Described by ''the New York Times'' as "an electric bass virtuoso", he has toured with He ...

on bass and

Gene Lake Oliver Gene Lake, Jr. (born January 12, 1966 in St. Louis) is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of saxophonist Oliver Lake. Lake began playing drums when he was five years old, and took lessons with Pheeroan akLaff as a high schooler at The ...

on drums, and features the music of, and is dedicated to,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Reception

The AllMusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Some die-hard Hendrix lovers might nitpick about the absence of their personal favorites -- perhaps "Purple Haze," perhaps "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" or "Castles Made of Sand"; regardless, ''Experience'' is an excellent CD that finds the WSQ still going strong 26 years after its formation."Henderson, A.
Allmusic Review
accessed August 1, 2011 The authors of the '' Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'' wrote: "We wondered how long it would be before the WSQ tackled the Jimi Hendrix songbook. Here it is, fresh, brash and sophisticated in exactly the proportions you would expect." In a review for Jazz Times, Mike Shanley stated: "the WSQ approaches the material with their usual reverence and sense of adventure... Throughout the album all four members get plenty of spotlight time... Once again, the World Saxophone Quartet has taken a bold concept and exceeded expectations." Kurt Gottschalk, writing for All About Jazz, commented: "''Experience'' is a rewarding, if uneven album... the album doesn't quite work as a piece, but the individual tracks still succeed." In a separate AAJ review, Phil DiPietro remarked: "Quick, name another sax quartet that's done Jimi at all, let alone this well. Now name a rock artist whose sonic mayhem lends itself better to the WSQ's particular brand of...''sonic mayhem''." AAJ's Jim Santella stated that the group's "music lets you escape from a humdrum routine and from all the usual sources for worry. With this ''Experience'', you're in for a world class treat." In an article for SF Weekly, Sam Prestianni described the album as "a collection of spot-on yet wildly personal takes on the guitarist's tunes," and commented: "The members of the World Saxophone Quartet clearly understand the still-beating heart of this music. Their forward-jazz interpretations of Hendrix's beloved songbook feel like a natural evolution, a long-overdue fruition, a homecoming. These players get what Hendrix was about."

Track listing

# "

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

" - 7:14 # " If 6 Was 9" - 5:20 # " Hey Joe" (

Roberts Roberts may refer to: People * Roberts (given name), a Latvian masculine given name * Roberts (surname), a popular surname, especially among the Welsh Places * Roberts (crater), a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon ;United Stat ...

) - 7:10 # " Machine Gun" - 8:02 # "

Little Wing "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, d ...

" - 7:34 # " Foxy Lady" - 5:29 # "Hear My Train a Comin'" - 8:34 # " The Wind Cries Mary"- 7:38 :''All compositions by

except as indicated.''

Personnel

* Hamiet Bluiett —

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

*Bruce Williams —

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 ...

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

* Oliver Lake —

* David Murray — tenor saxophone,

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

* Craig Harris — trombone,

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

— violin *

— electric bass *

— drums

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums World Saxophone Quartet albums Justin Time Records albums