''Cerebral Caverns'' is an 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 on April 27 and 28, 1995, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and was released by

Postcards Records Postcards Records was an American jazz record company and label founded in 1993 by Ralph Simon and Sybil Golden. Through 1997 its catalogue included music by Paul Bley, Bill Frisell, Julian Priester, Gary Peacock, Sam Rivers, and Reggie Workma ...

that same year. On the album, Workman is heard in a variety of instrumental combinations, in groups featuring multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers, trombonist

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. Bio ...

, pianist

Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...

, harpist Elizabeth Panzer, drummers

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster pl ...

and

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. ...

, and tabla player Tapan Modak. Rivers and Priester previously appeared on Workman's album '' Summit Conference''.

Reception

A reviewer for ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' awarded the album 4 stars and stated: "Workman... explores a world apart from any genre's idioms... this entire team of spelunkers digs where we've seldom gone before, flooding dark chambers with their flashes of brilliance. What Workman brings to light on ''Cerebral Caverns'' is fantastically rare and rewards repeated listening." 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 ...

'' called ''Cerebral Caverns'' and ''Summit Conference'' "cracking records made by top-flight players," and praised Geri Allen's playing, commenting that she is "always better on other people's dates... she's called on to do the sort of high-intensity stuff that Marilyn Crispell brought to previous Workman groups." Nicky Baxter, writing for ''

Metroactive ''Metro'' is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California, based Metro Newspapers. Also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', as well as ''Metroactive'' online, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley area. In addition to print ...

'', remarked: "the spirit of community and mutual admiration is fully evident... this session reveals the bassist's attraction to the new. The sonic terrain, along with the personnel, shifts from tune to tune. Elements of free improvisation, European classical and eastern music entwine to form a wholly individual sound... ''Cerebral Caverns'' is genuine and, yes, intelligent music."

Track listing

All compositions by Reggie Workman. # "Cerebral Caverns I" – 7:14 # "What's In Your Hand" – 5:02 # "Fast Forward" – 6:40 # "Ballad Explorations I" – 8:44 # "Half Of My Soul (Tristan's Love Theme)" – 7:01 # "Eastern Persuasion" – 5:30 # "Evolution" – 8:24 # "Seasonal Elements (Spring-Summer-Fall-Winter)" – 7:30

Personnel

– bass * Sam Rivers – tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 4), soprano saxophone (track 7), flute (tracks 1, 5) *

– trombone (tracks 3, 4, 5) *

– piano (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8) * Elizabeth Panzer – harp (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8) *

– drums (tracks 3, 5) *

– drums (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7), electronic drum pads (track 1) * Tapan Modak – tabla (tracks 4, 5)

Production

* Ralph Simon – producer * Joe Barbaria – engineer * Sibyl R. Golden – executive producer *

Francis Davis Francis Davis (born August 30, 1946) is an American author and journalist. He is best known as the jazz critic for '' The Village Voice'', and a contributing editor for '' The Atlantic Monthly''. He has also worked in radio and film, and taugh ...

– liner notes

References

{{Reflist 1995 albums Reggie Workman albums