''Live in New York'' is a live album by saxophonist

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

and trombonist

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

. It was recorded in September 2000 at the

Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

in New York City, and was released by

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

in 2001 as part of their Soundscape Series. On the album, Shepp and Rudd are accompanied by trombonist

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 ...

, bassist

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman worke ...

, and drummer

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

. The musicians are joined on one track by poet

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

Reception

In a review for

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 ...

, Alex Henderson wrote: "this generally excellent CD marks the reunion of two avant-garde improvisers who were separated for way too long... After more than 30 years apart, was that old chemistry still there? Absolutely. A 63-year-old Shepp... and a 65-year-old Rudd have no problem bringing out the best in one another... Shepp and Rudd keep things unpredictable on this inspired reunion." The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' stated: "This set... makes the years fall away. Both are palpably older and more mellow... The band is a joy for anyone who remembers these guys first time round." Writing for

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, John Stevenson commented: "The CD sizzles with excitement... Reggie Workman... anchors this particular live session with great flair. Ditto Andrew Cyrille who has been grossly overlooked in terms of his contribution to the percussive lexicon... For the more discerning Jazz aficionado, this new Rudd / Shepp collaboration will not disappoint."

Ben Ratliff Ben Ratliff (born 1968 in New York City) is an American journalist, music critic and author. Ratliff is the son of an English mother and an American father, growing up in London and in Rockland County, New York. From 1996 to 2016, he wrote abo ...

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 ...

remarked: "There's a bit of 1960's redux but a ton of heart on ''Live in New York''... this is a clean, open-form record with well-directed improvising mounted on unobtrusive swinging from the bassist Reggie Workman and the drummer Andrew Cyrille. It's a backward-glancing, days-gone-by record, too, with a lot of phrases in the Shepp and Rudd originals right out of Coltrane and Monk." In an article for

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

, Steve Futterman commented: "''Live in New York''... is a familiar, yet never comfortable, affair. If the rhythms are more polite, the themes more straightforward and bluesy, and the solos far more economical than in years past, the dogged individuality of both players' tones, not to mention their improvisational ploys, marks them as delightfully unrepentant eccentrics."

Track listings

# "Keep Your Heart Right" (Rudd) – 2:13 # "Acute Motelitis" (Rudd) – 8:23 # "Steam" (Shepp) – 7:33 # "Pazuzu" (Rudd) – 8:27 # "We Are the Blues" (Baraka) – 5:46 # "Ujamma" (Shepp) – 9:16 # "Bamako" (Rudd) – 5:46 # "Slide by Slide" (Rudd) – 11:57 # "Deja Vu" (Shepp) – 3:59 # "Hope No 2" (Shepp) – 10:38

Personnel

– tenor saxophone, piano, vocals *

– trombone *

– bass *

– drums *

– poetry

References

{{Reflist 2001 live albums Archie Shepp live albums Roswell Rudd albums Verve Records live albums