''Metamorphosis'' is an album by the jazz group the World Saxophone Quartet released in 1990 on the

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

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label and features performances by Hamiet Bluiett,

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 ...

, Oliver Lake and David Murray with

Chief Bey James Hawthorne Bey (April 17, 1913 – April 8, 2004)Associated Press"Chief Bey, 91 Jazz Drummer."''The New York Times'', April 13, 2004. Retrieved October 28, 2016.Jenkins, Todd S"Chief Bey: Master of African drums."''www.jazzhouse.org.'' Retr ...

, Melvin Gibbs and

Mor Thiam Mor Dogo Thiam (born May 22, 1941) is a Senegalese drummer, cultural historian, and entertainment consultant. His surname is pronounced "Chahm". Career Thiam recorded his first album, ''Ndende Safarra'', in 1974 with B.B. King and Nancy Wilson ...

. It was the first album recorded by the group after the departure of foundation member

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

and their first to feature additional musicians.

Reception

The AllMusic review by Brian Olewnick awarded the album 2½ stars, stating, "By their own high standards, Metamorphosis had to be reckoned a disappointment."Olewnick, B.
Allmusic Review
accessed July 19, 2011 The authors of the '' Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'' wrote that Blythe "fills the outgoing man's shoes with impressive confidence, checking in with a powerful contrapuntal weave that is lifted a notch by the presence of the three African drummers." Writing for '' The Washington Post'', Geoffrey Himes noted that "the results are uneven," but stated that the album is most convincing "when the emphasis shifts to American jazz, and the Senegalese add their rhythmic flavors to the background."

Track listing

# "The Holy Men" (Bluiett) - 2:48 # "Lullaby" (Thiam) - 4:51 # "Metamorphosis" (Blythe) - 3:28 # "Su Mama Ah Zumu" (Murray, Thiam) - 6:25 # "Africa" (Lake) - 8:54 # "Ballad For The Blackman" (Murray) - 7:52 # "Masai Warrior's Dance" (Bluiett) - 5:14 # "Love Like Sisters" (Lake) - 4:07 # "Lo Chi Lo" (Murray) -6:57 # "Feed The People" (Bluiett) - 10:56

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 ...

—

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 ...

* Oliver Lake — alto saxophone,

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 ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* 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 ...

— asiko, signal drum, shakere *

— gmba, gabala, gum gum,

rain stick A rainstick is a long, hollow tube partially filled with small pebbles, rice or beans that has small pins or thorns arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the pebbles fall to the other end of the tube, bouncing o ...

, bgnn * Mar Gueye — limbe, m'beum m'beum, gring m'biss m'biss * Melvin Gibbs — electric bass (on 1,2,5)

References

{{Authority control 1990 albums World Saxophone Quartet albums