''Bruford Levin Upper Extremities'' is a self-titled album by the band Bruford Levin Upper Extremities. It is their only studio recording, released on

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...

's independent label Papa Bear Records. Formed by bassist Levin and drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

(who had worked together as the rhythm section of

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

), the group also included guitarist

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

and trumpeter

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...

. Torn, Bruford and Levin had recorded together on Torn's album '' Cloud About Mercury'' ten years before this.

Reception

In a review for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Mike Joyce described the album as "an unusually large and colorful musical mosaic," stating that it "alludes, intentionally or not, to a lot of pop, rock and jazz musicians and bands." He concluded: "for all the album's obvious reference points, the musicians are too stubbornly willful to fall into any groove for long." S. Victor Aaron of Something Else! praised the track titled "Cracking the Midnight Glass," calling it "a mash-up of contrasting styles that's like the cherry on a sundae for those who like these collisions of genres. I know ''I'' do." Writing for ''Exposé Online'', Jeff Melton called the album a "remarkable work led by possibly one of the best rhythm sections in modern music," and commented: "Although not as dark as any Crimson recording, B.L.U.E. is a shining ring on the challenging clasp where rock meets jazz."

Track listing

Personnel

;Bruford Levin Upper Extremities *

—

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 ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, keyboards *

—

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 ...

—

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, Chapman Stick *

—

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s, loops ;Production *Tony Levin – producer *Tom Mark – engineer *Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, Tom Mark – mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– mastering *Megan Denver, Tony Levin – artwork, photography

References

{{Authority control 1998 debut albums Bruford Levin Upper Extremities albums Discipline Global Mobile albums