''Music from the Spheres'' is an album by saxophonist

Sonny Simmons Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician. Biography Simmons was born on August 4, 1933 in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along w ...

. It was recorded in December 1966, and was released by

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

in 1968. On the album, Simmons is joined by saxophonist Bert Wilson, trumpeter

Barbara Donald Barbara Kay Donald (September 2, 1942 – March 23, 2013) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Life and career She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Donald began playing trumpet aged eight in Minnesota, and her family r ...

, pianist Mike Cohen, bassist Juney Booth, and drummer Jim Zitro. The album was included in the 2005 compilation ''The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings''.

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 ...

, Thom Jurek wrote: "Composition was the motivating factor for Simmons as a musician at the time, and despite his great talent as an improviser, it remains in the hold of his operative sustenance... here Simmons used strong modal figures to serve as both melody lines, stacking all of his players accordingly on the line, and equally as harmonic building blocks from which to continually push forward mode and interval... There aren't any weak moments here, just a very expansive hint on what was to come." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''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 ...

'' awarded the album 3 stars, and stated that it "is immediately marked by the leader's obvious empathy with trumpeter Donald. They work superbly together on the opening 'Resolutions', an enterprising modal composition that sounds like no one else playing at the time. On 'Balladia' the group sound is reminiscent of the classic Ornette-Cherry quartet, though the piano is a giveaway, suggesting a different harmonic approach... the best thing on the set is the ambitious 'Zarak's Symphony', a strangely vulnerable and elusive idea that isn't allowed to outstay its welcome."

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Simmons. # "Resolutions" – 8:34 # "Zarak's Symphony" – 12:42 # "Balladia" – 12:42 # "Dolphy's Days" – 13:30

Personnel

– alto saxophone * Bert Wilson – tenor saxophone (track 4) *

– trumpet * Mike Cohen - piano * Juney Booth – bass * Jim Zitro – drums

References

{{Reflist 1968 albums ESP-Disk albums Sonny Simmons albums