''Illusions'' is

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

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 brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Arthur Blythe's third album for the Columbia label, recorded in New York City in 1980.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, Robert Palmer placed the album at fifth place in his best of 1980 list for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', proclaiming Blythe to be a "formidable alto saxophonist" and that the funk tunes on the album "proved that substantial yet danceable jazz isn't an impossible dream." From retrospective reviews, Scott Yanow of

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 databa ...

states that "the distinctive alto of Blythe is heard in top form on six of his unusual originals ... It's recommended."Yanow, S.

AllMusic Review 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 ...

accessed July 19, 2010

Track listing

:''All compositions by Arthur Blythe'' # "Bush Baby" - 6:28 # "Miss Nancy" - 7:24 # "Illusions" - 4:10 # "My Son Ra" - 5:59 # "Carespin' With Mamie" - 7:04 # "As of Yet" - 5:04 :*Recorded at CBS Recording Studios, New York in April & May 1980.

Personnel

* Arthur Blythe - alto saxophone * Abdul Wadud -

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

(tracks 1, 3 & 5) *

James Blood Ulmer James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been called "ragg ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(tracks 1, 3 & 5) * 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 ...

(tracks 1, 3 & 5) *

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 economi ...

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 keybo ...

(tracks 2, 4 & 6) *

Fred Hopkins Fred Hopkins (October 11, 1947 – January 7, 1999) was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and S ...

- bass (tracks 2, 4 & 6) *

Bobby Battle Bobby Battle (January 8, 1944 – December 6, 2019 in Detroit) was an American jazz drummer. Occasionally he played saxophone. History Battle moved to New York City in 1968, playing with Roland Kirk and Pharoah Sanders shortly after his arrival. ...

(tracks 1, 3 & 5), Steve McCall (tracks 2, 4 & 6) - drums

References

Sources

* {{Authority control 1980 albums Columbia Records albums Arthur Blythe albums