Archie SHEPP - Steam 1976

Archie SHEPP - Steam 1976

Jazz

This colorful live LP features Archie Shepp on tenor, and a bit of his more basic piano, playing three lengthy compositions (Duke Ellington's "Solitude," Cal Massey's "A Message from Trane" and Shepp's own "Steam") in a sparse trio with bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Beaver Harris. The avant-garde innovator Shepp still sounds pretty strong at what was for him a fairly late period, displaying his distinctive raspy tone and what were for him some typically emotional ideas.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
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Tenor sax titan Archie Shepp spent much of the 1960s and early '70s blazing new trails in jazz, but on this 1976 live set, he leaves his more avant-garde leanings on the shelf and opts instead for a bebop-based approach. Working in a trio alongside drummer Beaver Harris and bassist Cameron Brown, Shepp has plenty of room to move throughout STEAM. And even though his starting points here include such compositions as Charlie Parker's "Ah-Leu-Cha" and Duke Ellington's "Solitude," Shepp nevertheless heads out into plenty of new directions from there. Brown's twisting, serpentine lines provide a perfect foil for Shepp's raw, robust tone; you can almost hear Shepp thinking three moves ahead of whatever harmonic juncture he's at, and he consistently arrives somewhere interesting.
From CD Universe.
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A later set from Archie Shepp and a real lost gem  quite different from his earlier works, especially the better known late 60s sessions  and a surprisingly nice album that runs through some truly excellent longer takes filled with warmth and tenderness you wouldn't expect! Steam was recorded in early 1976, in a stripped down setting, with Cameron Brown on bass and Beaver Harris on drums. The group wonderfully rolls through Ellington's "Solitude", Shepp's "Steam", and the epic "A Message From Trane", a tremendous number written by the great Cal Massey  and Shepp plays both tenor and piano on the record. The CD reissue includes bonus tracks not on the original album  "Ah Leu Cha" and "52nd Street Theme".
From Dusty Groove.
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Archie Shepp tenor sax, piano
Cameron Brown bass
Beaver Harris drums
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01. A Message From Trane (Live) 18:57
02. Solitude (Live) 11:40
03. Invitation (Live) 14:40
04. Ah-Leu-Cha (Live) 14:24
05. Steam (Live) 07:50
06. 52nd Street Theme (Live) 00:32
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