''The Zookeeper's House'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist

Jemeel Moondoc Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before set ...

, which was recorded in 2013 and released on

Relative Pitch Records Relative Pitch Records is an American independent record label specializing in free jazz and avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, and experimental music. Run by Kevin Reilly, Relative Pitch has been ranked among the top jazz record labels in ''T ...

. It was his first album leading a full band in over a decade.

Music

Moondoc plays the ballad "For the Love of Cindy" with only the rhythm section composed of bassist Hilliard Greene and drummer

Newman Taylor Baker Newman Taylor Baker (born February 4, 1943) is a jazz drummer and a Washboard (musical instrument), washboard player. Early life Newman Taylor Baker's paternal grandfather, Thomas Nelson Baker Sr., was the only former slave to receive a PhD fro ...

. On the title track and "One for Monk and Coltrane" they are joined by pianist

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

. On "Little Blue Elvira" and

Alice Coltrane Alice Lucille Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda () or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one o ...

's classic "Ptah, the El Daoud" the band is a quintet with a three-horn front line featuring trumpeter Roy Campbell, in his final recorded appearance and to whom the album is dedicated, and trombonist

Steve Swell Steve Swell (born December 6, 1954 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American free jazz trombonist, composer, and educator. Music career Swell studied at Jersey City State Teachers College before moving to New York City in 1975 where he began his m ...

, who played before with Moondoc on the record '' Swimming in a Galaxy of Goodwill and Sorrow'', by Swell's band Fire Into Music.Interview: Jemeel Moondoc
at ''Burning Ambulance''

Reception

The ''

Down Beat ''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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' review by Josef Woodard states "The new five-track set, with different groupings and musical angles, captures a distinctly live vibrancy and in-the-moment vulnerability in the studio."Woodard, Josef. ''The Zookeeper's House'' review. ''Down Beat'' October 14: page 68. Print. Phil Freeman of ''Burning Ambulance'' placed the album at #1 on the Best Jazz of 2014 list, and wrote: "''The Zookeeper's House'' is easily one of Jemeel Moondoc's best albums, and a terrific reminder of his too-often-overlooked genius."Best Jazz of 2014: 5-1
at ''Burning Ambulance'' Writing for

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

, Stewart Smith remarked: "A superb album... combining strong melodies and rhythms with advanced thought. Joined by a first-rate band... Moondoc offers several fine new compositions and a terrific version of Alice Coltrane's 'Ptah the El Daoud'." The ''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

Chris Searle Chris Searle (born 1 January 1944) is a British educator, poet, anti-racist activist, and socialist. He has written widely on cricket, language, jazz, race, and social justice, and has taught in Canada, England, Tobago, Mozambique, and Grenada. ...

called the recording "a truly burning album," and noted that, on "Ptah, the El Daoud," "Moondoc plays with a felicitous fluency, Swell growls out his message and the marvellous Campbell flies with the pitch of his notes."

Track listing

All compositions by Jemeel Moondoc except as indicated #"The Zookeeper's House" - 9:11 #"Little Blue Elvira" - 9:43 #"Ptah, the El Daoud" (Alice Coltrane) - 10:48 #"One for Monk and Trane" - 12:42 #"For the Love of Cindy" - 8:18

Personnel

alto sax 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 the key of E, smaller th ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

on 1 & 4 * Roy Campbell -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

on 2 & 3 *

trombone The trombone (, 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 lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

on 2 & 3 *Hilliard Greene -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zookeepers House 2014 albums Jemeel Moondoc albums Relative Pitch Records albums