''Three for Shepp'' is an album by American saxophonist

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongs ...

featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

label.Impulse! Records discography
accessed April 11, 2011

Reception

The

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 ...

review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars, stating: "Marion Brown's ''Three for Shepp'' is the image-in-the-mirror companion to

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 ...

's ''

Four for Trane ''Four for Trane'' is a studio album by tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1965. Four of the five tracks were composed and originally recorded by John Coltrane (released on his albums ''Giant Steps'' and ''Coltrane Play ...

'' recorded the year before. The program is equally divided between Brown's originals, which occupy the first half of the album, and Shepp tunes that take up the latter half. What is immediately striking is how similar in tone, color, and texture the two men were when it came to composition. Brown arms himself here with crack bands for these recordings... This is a classic Impulse! recording of the period by an overlooked master."Jurek, T
Allmusic Review
accessed April 11, 2011. The authors of the Penguin Jazz Guide wrote: "Brown's Impulse! records are routinely overlooked... In the wake of this, his first successful record, Brown took to the road, playing tirelessly but curbing his studio activities. Impulse! had already released Shepp's ''Four For Trane''. This was explicitly intended as a companion project and its arresting opening... establishes it as one of the most inventive in the label's distinguished catalogue... Brief as it is at just 35 minutes, ''Three For Shepp'' is so densely packed with musical information that it takes many, many listens to deconstruct: a living lesson in musical history, a passionate manifesto for the future." A reviewer at SoundOhm included the album in the "Best of 2019" playlist, and stated: "''Three For Shepp'' balances fiery energy and delicate precision... Even this early in his career, Brown stood apart from his peers in "the new thing." His solos were as gentle as they were furious. Informed by the African American folk traditions of his native Georgia and an enthusiastic embrace of the avant-garde, his music would confront and challenge society. As Brown says in the original liner notes, 'The music is definitely a part of what's going on in the black revolution in America.' ''Three For Shepp'' still sounds crucial today (over 50 years later) and remains a vital statement of jazz's past, present and future."

Track listing

All compositions by Marion Brown except as noted # "New Blue" - 5:11 # "Fortunato" - 8:54 # "The Shadow Knows" - 3:04 # "Spooks" (

) - 4:32 # "West India" (Shepp) - 6:24 # "Delicado" (Shepp) - 6:38

Personnel

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 ...

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 ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United Sta ...

(tracks 1-3),

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interest ...

(tracks 4-6) - piano * Norris Jones - bass * Bobby Capp (tracks 1-3),

Beaver Harris William Godvin "Beaver" Harris (April 20, 1936 – December 22, 1991) was an American jazz drummer who worked extensively with Archie Shepp. Early life Harris was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Coming from an athletic family, he played basebal ...

(tracks 4-6) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control Impulse! Records albums Marion Brown albums 1967 albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums produced by Bob Thiele