''Altered Spaces'' is a live album by bassist/composer

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman work ...

. It was recorded in February 1992 at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore was originally named "Westdale" in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to "Swarthmore" after the es ...

, and was released by

Leo Records Leo Records is a British record company and label which releases jazz from Russian, American, and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. Leo Records was founded in 1979 by Leo Feigin (also known under his broadcasting name Aleksei Le ...

in 1993. On the album, Workman is joined by vocalist

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...

, clarinetist

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother ...

, violinist

Jason Hwang Jason Kao Hwang (born 1957) is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera '' The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown'' which premiered in 200 ...

, pianist

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrot ...

, and drummer

Gerry Hemingway Gerry Hemingway (born March 23, 1955) is an American drummer and composer. Hemingway was a member of the Anthony Braxton quartet from 1983 to 1994. He has also performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George E. ...

Reception

The authors of the

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

awarded the album 3½ stars, and commented: "''Altered Spaces'' is the most ambitious work the Ensemble has tackled... Impressive... for its sheer cross-grainedness." Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, Don Snowden remarked: "this is very much in the chamber jazz zone, closer to the European avant-classical wing than any rhythm-driven freedom pulse variant... It's challenging stuff with lovely moments, for sure, and probably made for an absorbing ride in concert, but as a pure listening experience, the ebb and flow is a bit too dry and severe to fully make the transition to disc. ''Altered Spaces'' is fine for advanced Reggie Workman fans, but tough for beginners who can find more accessible discs for an introduction to his music as a leader."

Track listing

All compositions by Reggie Workman. # "Apart (Revisited)" - 27:07 # "Ballad For The Silf" - 6:33 # "Altered Spaces" - 8:02 # "Ten" - 12:48 # "Suite Pour Le Courage" - 19:21 # "Wha's Nine" - 3:43

Personnel

– bass *

– voice *

– clarinet *

– violin *

– piano *

– drums

Production

Leo Feigin Leo Records is a British record company and label which releases jazz from Russian, American, and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. Leo Records was founded in 1979 by Leo Feigin (also known under his broadcasting name Aleksei ...

, Reggie Workman – producers * John Rosenberg – recording engineer

References

{{Reflist 1993 live albums Reggie Workman live albums Leo Records live albums