''Eleven Ghosts'' is an album of duets by pianist
Myra Melford
Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can ...
and drummer/percussionist
Han Bennink which was recorded in Switzerland in 1994 and released on the
HatOLOGY label in 1997.
[Myra Melford: Projects](_blank)
accessed May 23, 2018
Reception
The
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 ...
review by Joslyn Layne stated "Supreme musicians Myra Melford and Han Bennink join together for a duo recording as blues progressions, boogie-woogie, and Harlem stride become the trampoline from which they jump. It's free, free, but far less cryptic -- and more accessible -- than one might expect. ... ''Eleven Ghosts'' won't scare the audience off. Even people who stiffen at the words "outside jazz" will relax their shoulders while listening to this album".
In
JazzTimes
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of grow ...
, Bill Shoemaker wrote "On ''Eleven Ghosts'', pianist Myra Melford and percussionist Han Bennink bring complementary assets to a free-ranging duo program. Melford’s affinity for the blues and her compositional skills give the album a subtle structural underpinning. Bennink continually pushes the music to the brink with his patented combination of cyclonic energy and loony humor".
[Shoemaker, B]
JazzTimes Review
accessed May 23, 2018
Track listing
All compositions by Myra Melford except where noted
# "The First Mess" (Han Bennink, Myra Melford) – 2:33
# "
How Long Blues" (
Leroy Carr) – 5:31
# "Frank Goes To" – 7:23
# "Another Mess" (Han Bennink) – 4:48
# "Which Way Is That?" – 9:24
# "Three Ghosts" (Bennink, Melford) – 5:11
# "Some Relief" (composer unknown) – 1:12
# "And Now Some Blues" – 4:43
# "Now" – 2:05
# "And Now" – 2:51
# "
The Maple Leaf Rag" (
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one r ...
) – 3:01
Personnel
*
Myra Melford
Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can ...
– piano
*
Han Bennink – drums
References
{{Authority control
Hathut Records albums
Myra Melford albums
Han Bennink albums
1997 albums