''Urban Blues'' is a live album by violinist and composer Leroy Jenkins. It was recorded in January 1984 at

Sweet Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

in New York City, and was released by

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

later that year. On the album, Jenkins is joined by members of his band Sting: Terry Jenoure on violin and vocals,

Brandon Ross Brandon K. Ross is an American jazz guitarist. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Career Ross did clerical work for Leroy Jenkins before playing with Archie Shepp and Marion Brown in the second half of the 1970s. He has performed with Wad ...

and James Emery on guitar, Alonzo Gardner on bass, and Kamal Sabir on drums.

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 ...

, Ron Wynn wrote: "Violinist Leroy Jenkins was at the helm of Sting, which played funky and free, did originals and vintage spirituals, and would shift from stretches of collective improvisation to challenging solo exchanges. They were a unique, intriguing group, but sadly didn't last. This 1984 album... presented them at their best, displaying the breadth of influences, genres, sources and styles that converged and resulted in the work of a great band. " 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 ...

'' commented: "Jenkins's working band Sting were capable of great things in a live setting, an impact not unlike that of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time. The instrumentation is strongly reminiscent... but Jenkins redeploys the harmonic and rhythmic emphases differently. Where Prime Time can be bludgeoningly illogical, Sting can sound, as here, perversely rational."

Track listing

All compositions by Leroy Jenkins. # "Static in the Attic" – 6:25 # "Looking for the Blues" – 9:50 # "Come on Home, Baby" – 2:25 # "Why Can't I Fly?" – 5:31 # "O.W. Fredrick" – 7:15 # "No Banks River" – 4:00 # "Through the Ages, Jehovah" – 2:53

Personnel

* Leroy Jenkins – violin * Terry Jenoure – violin, vocals *

– guitar * James Emery – guitar * Alonzo Gardner – bass * Kamal Sabir – drums

References

{{Reflist 1984 live albums Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician) live albums Black Saint/Soul Note live albums Albums recorded at Sweet Basil Jazz Club