Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marc Ribot Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

Marc Ribot Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

By Mark Corroto
April 29, 2014
View read count

Marc Ribot Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

It had been 16,631 days since bassist

Henry Grimes

bass, acoustic
1935 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Grimes had last played music at New York's infamous Village Vanguard. His performance, with saxophonist

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler, on December 18, 1966 was recorded and released as In Greenwich Village (Impulse!, 1967). Back after 45 years, 6 months, and 12 days, the bassist, now part of guitarist

Marc Ribot

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Marc Ribot's Trio with drummer

Chad Taylor

drums
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Taylor, revisited the musical revolution Ayler instigated in the 1960s.

Ribot's music, since its origins with

John Lurie

saxophone
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">John Lurie's Lounge Lizards, has utilized Alyer as a touchstone, covering his music as far back as Shrek (Avant, 1994) and the solo recordings Don't Blame Me (DIW, 1995) and Saints (Atlantic, 2001). He formed a quartet to recreate and re-imagine Ayler's music with Grimes, Taylor and trumpeter

Roy Campbell

trumpet
1952 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Roy Campbell, recording Spiritual Unity (Pi, 2005). After the death of Campbell (his Donald Ayler), the project continued as a trio.

This live date from June 12, 2012 is as much about Ayler's influence on the Downtown scene (whose rebirth came about in the 1980s) as it is his sway on the jazz icon

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane. The trio covers two tracks from Coltrane's Sun Ship (Impulse!, 1971), the title track and "Dearly Beloved." Both tracks favor seething cauldrons of free jazz knitted together by the exquisite drumming of Taylor, whose is probably best known for his work in the Chicago Underground Duo with

Rob Mazurek

trumpet
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob Mazurek. Ribot's guitar plows a country/blues theme on the Ayler tune "The Wizard" that develops, like "Bells," into the Ayler archetypal march. Ribot is able to recreate, on guitar, that frenzy that Ayler could summon and turn into euphoria. The primitive sound that becomes profane.

It is easy to hear bassist

William Parker

bass
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">William Parker's music in Grimes' bass solos, but of course it was Grimes' recordings with Ayler,

Cecil Taylor

piano
1929 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Cecil Taylor,

Pharoah Sanders

saxophone, tenor
1940 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharoah Sanders,

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry, and

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins that influenced Parker's playing.

Besides scorching through the Coltrane and Ayler, they also mercifully surrender to the simple melodies of "Old Man River" and "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)." Ribot's guitar work is unapologetically unrefined and original. His passion, like Ayler's, is amplified by the raw-boned music.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Dearly Beloved; The Wizard; Old Man River; Bells; I��m Confessin�� (That I Love You); Sun Ship.

Personnel

Marc Ribot

guitar

Henry Grimes: bass, violin; Marc Ribot: guitar; Chad Taylor: drums.

Album information

Title: Live At The Village Vanguard | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Pi Recordings

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Uganda Suite
< Previous

Lush Laments for Lazy Mammal
Next >

Marc Ribot Concerts

Sep 30 Tue

Marc Ribot

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Oct 5 Sun

Marc Ribot: Map of a Blue City (Record Release) partially...

The Tractor Tavern
Seattle, WA

Oct 28 Tue

Marc Ribot

Band On The Wall
Manchester, UK

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.