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Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra: India & Africa: A Tribute to John Coltrane Live at Yoshi's
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Anthony Brown
percussion"Although Coltrane was influenced by music globally when he recorded 'India' and 'Africa,' he did not incorporate instruments from those cultures," Brown explains. "The Asian American Orchestra has extrapolated Coltrane's original vision by including Indian and African traditional instruments into these masterworks."
Passage to India begins from a reflective "Living Space," an opening drone with flutes and other wind instruments that seem to float in....umm, living space, and points the direction for the orchestra's journey to follow. "India" moves powerfully and slowly, like a continent. The pace quickens in the indigenous duet between tabla (Dana Pandy) and sarod (Steve Oda), which alternates unison with call and response passages; the stereo separation in these response passages, when their riffing bounces back and forth between your speakers or headphones, is extremely cool. When saxophonist Masura Koga leads the ensemble back in to reprise "India," the ensemble (and appreciative audience) erupts into audible joy—the genuine spiritual connection of collective creation.
Bridging these two continents, "Exaltation" begins as an African chant with matching percussion. But the chant turns, when landing upon the word "grace," into a rough-hewn version of the Christian traditional "Amazing Grace." This opens up passage to "Africa," where Koga blows impressive tenor fire to honor history's most famous saxophone flamethrower. "Africa" leads to "Liberia," where pianist
Glen Pearson
pianoBrown has previously honored the works of
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982
George Gershwin
composer / conductor1898 - 1937
Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic1922 - 1979
Max Roach
drums1925 - 2007
Cecil Taylor
piano1929 - 2018
Anthony Davis
pianob.1951
Track Listing
Living Space; India; Ole; Tabla-Sarod Duet; India-Reprise; Exaltation; Africa; Liberia; Percussion Discussion; Dahomey Dance; Africa-Reprise; Afro Blue.
Personnel
Anthony Brown: drum set, percussion, conductor; Danny Bittker: baritone saxophone, contralto clarinet, soprano saxophone; Mark Izu: bass, Chinese mouth organ; Henry Hung: trumpet, flugelhorn; Masaru Koga: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, Japanese bamboo flute; Richard Lee: bass trombone; Melecio Magdaluyo: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Marcia Miget: flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Kenneth Nash: African, American, and Indian percussion; Pushpa Oda: tambura; Steve Oda: sarod; Dana Pandey: tabla; Glen Pearson: piano; Geechi Taylor: trumpet, flugelhorn; Kathleen Torres: French horn; Wayne Wallace: trombone.
Album information
Title: India & Africa: A Tribute to John Coltrane Live at Yoshi's | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Water Baby Records
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