''Colorfield'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Joe Morris, which was recorded in 2009 and released on the

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), E ...

label.''Colorfield''
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He leads a trio with pianist Steve Lantner, in his first recording with Morris as leader, and long-time collaborator drummer Luther Gray. The music is inspired, in part, by the Color Field school of painting, in which large patches of color, occasionally just one color, make up the composition. Another inspiration for the music is the early

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

Unit recordings with

Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...

on alto saxophone and either

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer ...

on drums.Original Liner Notes by Joe Morris

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Michael G. Nastos states "While there's a clear and present acknowledgment to the old Cecil Taylor Unit's of the '70s, Morris and the trio avoid any clichés while adopting their extended expressionist ideals and the then-new attitude toward making music without boundaries or timing issues that still works." The

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

review by Jerry D'Souza says "Morris, Lantner and Gray are both subtle and powerful; it is the balance of these attributes that makes ''Colorfield'' a CD of highly crafted artistry."D'Souza,Jerry
''Colorfield'' review
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In a review for ''

Down Beat ''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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' Bill Meyer notes that "this record ask more of the listener than Morris' comparatively streamlined quartet recordings on Hatology and Aum Fidelity. But just as you’ll only perceive a painting’s subtle variations of tone and hue after extended contemplation, the closer you listen, the more ''Colorfield'' music deepens, expands and ultimately envelops you."Meyer, Bill. ''Colorfield'' review. ''Down Beat'' February 10: page 58. Print.

Track listing

:''All compositions by Joe Morris'' # "Transparent" – 6:52 # "Silver Sun" – 13:42 # "Purple Distant" – 13:39 # "Bell Orange Curves" – 15:53

Personnel

* Joe Morris -

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 ...

* Steve Lantner –

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Luther Gray –

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 ...

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Joe Morris (guitarist) albums ESP-Disk albums