''Unit Structures'' is a 1966 studio album by

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

pianist

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, released by

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

Background

''Unit Structures'' was Taylor's first album on Blue Note. He released ''

Conquistador! ''Conquistador!'' is a 1968 studio album recorded in 1966 by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records. Critical reception Writing for AllMusic, Scott Yanow gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "During the two le ...

'' on the label in the same year, with a similar lineup. Jesse Jarnow of '' Pitchfork'' described the album as "among the most intense of the early free jazz albums". The album was accompanied with an essay written by Cecil Taylor, titled ''Sound Structure of Subculture Becoming Major Breath/Naked Fire Gesture''.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' gave the album five stars, with reviewer

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

opining that "Taylor's high-energy atonalism fit in well with the free jazz of the period but he was actually leading the way rather than being part of a movement... In fact, it could be safely argued that no jazz music of the era approached the ferocity and intensity of Cecil Taylor's". '' The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' awarded it three and a half stars (of a possible four), writing "''Unit Structures'' is both as mathematically complex as its title suggests and as rich in colour and sound as the ensemble proposes, with the orchestrally varied sounds of the two bassists —

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...

a strong, elemental driving force, Silva tonally fugitive and mysterious — while Stevens and

McIntyre McIntyre, McEntire, MacIntyre, McAteer, and McIntire are Scottish and Irish surnames derived from the Gaelic ' literally meaning "Son of the Craftsman or Mason", but more commonly cited as "son of the Carpenter."Scottish Clans: MacIntyre - Origin ...

add other hues and

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

improvises with and against them." In 2008, '' Cokemachineglow'' included it on the "30 'Other' Albums of the 1960s" list. In 2013, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' included it on the "Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s" list. In 2017, '' Pitchfork'' placed it at number 197 on the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s" list.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. ;Performers *

Eddie Gale Edward Gale Stevens Jr. (August 15, 1941 – July 10, 2020), known professionally as Eddie Gale, was an American trumpeter known for his work in free jazz, especially with the Sun Ra Arkestra. Life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York on August 1 ...

– trumpet * Jimmy Lyons – alto saxophone * Ken McIntyre – alto saxophone, oboe, bass clarinet *

– piano, bells * Henry Grimes – double bass * Alan Silva – double bass * Andrew Cyrille – drums ;Production and additional personnel *

Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (born Alfred Löw; April 21, 1908 – February 2, 1987), was an American record executive who co-founded the jazz record label Blue Note in 1939. Lion retired in 1967, having sold the company, after producing recordings by leading music ...

– producer *

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

– recording engineer *

Francis Wolff Francis Wolff (April 5, 1907 – March 8, 1971) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. Wolff's skills, as an executive and a photographer, were important contributions to the success of the Blue Note record label. Care ...

– photography *

Reid Miles Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for Blue Note Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Reid Miles was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1927 but, fo ...

– design *

– liner notes * Michael Cuscuna – reissue producer (1987 CD reissue) * Ron McMaster – digital transfer (1987 CD reissue)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1966 albums Blue Note Records albums Cecil Taylor albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio