''Sideshow'' is the second album by the jazz group

8 Bold Souls 8 Bold Souls is an American jazz ensemble, led by reedist Edward Wilkerson. The group was founded in 1985 by Wilkerson, also associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. They began at Chicago Filmmakers, a performanc ...

. It was recorded in November 1991 in Chicago, and was released in 1992 by

Arabesque Records Arabesque Records is an American record company and label specializing in jazz and classical music. It was founded by Caedmon Audio as a classical music label. In 1988 it was bought by Ward Botsford and Marvin Reiss, becoming an independent lab ...

. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer

Edward Wilkerson Edward L. Wilkerson Jr. (born July 27, 1953 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is an internationally recognized American jazz composer, arranger, musician, and educator based in Chicago. As founder and director of the cutting-edge octet 8 Bold Souls, and ...

, saxophonist

Mwata Bowden Mwata Bowden (born October 11, 1947 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an American jazz reeds player associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and an instructor in improvisational Jazz at the University of C ...

, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubist Aaron Dodd, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and drummer Dushun Mosley.

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 databa ...

, Brian Olewnick wrote: "The entire cast of musicians is solid and creative... ''Sideshow'' is one of the finest and most unduly neglected jazz albums of the '90s and is highly recommended." 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 ...

'' awarded the album 3½ stars, and stated: "By emphasizing the unusual timbres of the instrumentation... heband creates a singular ensemble sound that is finally more interesting than the often impassioned solos... the stealthy, deliberate pace of the record is... hypnotic." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' determined that it "lacks the vibrant, swinging side this band has displayed in the past."

Track listing

# "Black Herman" (Wilkerson) – 17:11 # "Glass Breakers" (Wilkerson) – 10:42 # " Lonely Woman" ( Ornette Coleman) – 16:52 # "Sideshow" (Wilkerson) – 13:09 # "Light on the Path" (Wilkerson) – 8:02

Personnel

– alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, alto clarinet, clarinet *

– baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet * Robert Griffin, Jr. – trumpet, flugelhorn * Isaiah Jackson – trombone * Aaron Dodd – tuba * Naomi Millender – cello * Harrison Bankhead – bass * Dushun Mosley – drums, percussion

References

{{Reflist 8 Bold Souls albums 1992 albums Arabesque Records albums