''La Vie de Bohème'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

released by

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 major ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United Sta ...

. The album is Burrell's take on the 1896

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic adaptation of

Henri Murger Louis-Henri Murger, also known as Henri Murger and Henry Murger (27 March 1822 – 28 January 1861), was a French novelist and poet. He is chiefly distinguished as the author of the 1851 book ''Scènes de la vie de bohème'' (Scenes of Bohemi ...

's 1851 novel ''

La Vie de Bohème ''Scenes of Bohemian Life'' (original French title: ''Scènes de la vie de bohème'') is a work by Henri Murger, published in 1851. Although it is commonly called a novel, it does not follow standard novel form. Rather, it is a collection of lo ...

'' by

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

, titled ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

''. The album has been called "a fine example of the similarities between the free jazz and classical worlds." Though this is not a straight performance of the opera, each of the acts are represented with "a great deal of improvisation."

Track listing

#"First Act" — 20:00 #"Second Act (1st Part)" — 5:00 #"Second Act (2nd Part)" — 12:00 #"Third Act" — 5:15 #"Fourth Act" — 7:45

Personnel

*Dave Burrell — piano *Eleanor Burrell — vocals *Ric Colbeck — piano, trumpet, harp *Claude Delcloo — chimes, drums, tympani *

Beb Guérin Bernard "Beb" Guérin (December 22, 1941 in La Rochelle – November 14, 1980 in Paris) was a French jazz double-bassist. Beb Guérin first began playing bass at age 23, working in the 1960s with Sonny Criss, Jacques Coursil, François Tusques, Ala ...

— bass *

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

— trombone, chimes *Kenneth Terroade — flute, saxophone (tenor)

References

1969 albums Dave Burrell albums BYG Actuel albums Albums produced by Alan Douglas (record producer) Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna {{1960s-jazz-album-stub