''The Spoken Word'' is a live solo album by trumpeter and composer Baikida Carroll. It was recorded on April 22, 1977, and April 1, 1978, at Mapenzi in Berkeley, California, and was released on vinyl in 1979 as a double album by

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, with liner notes by

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Reception

In a review for ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'', John Corbett noted the paucity of solo trumpet albums, and called ''The Spoken Word'' "a very special record, extremely approachable, lovely and refreshing." He praised the album's closing tracks, acknowledging Carroll's "beautiful, radiant tone," and "measured, phrase-by-phrase introspection," and writing: "With crickets in the background laying a pulse bed, Carroll plays gentle, sweet and sour melodies, adding Harmon mute, then bathing his soft calls in reverb." A writer for ''

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'' commented: "this music affirms Carroll's roots in the blues tradition, whether evoking speech patterns through his trumpet mouthpiece... or offering florid, heavily ornamented flurries of notes occasionally volatile in their urgency... The lack of supporting rhythm section or alternate solo voices creates an arhythmic pulse sculpted out of air."

Track listing

Composed by Baikida Carroll. ;Disc 1 # "The Spoken Word I" – 17:05 # "The Spoken Word II" – 14:30 ;Disc 2 # "Third Image" – 15:15 # "Rites and Rituals" – 11:50 # "Double Rainbow Forest" – 10:25 Disc 1 recorded live on April 22, 1977; disc 2 recorded live on April 1, 1978. Both discs recorded at Mapenzi, Berkeley, California.

Personnel

* Baikida Carroll – trumpet, flugelhorn, prepared trumpet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoken Word 1979 live albums Baikida Carroll live albums Hathut Records live albums