''Exhale'', is the final album by saxophonist

Arthur Blythe Arthur Murray Blythe (July 5, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a ...

which was recorded in 2002 and released on the

Savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodevel ...

label the following year.

Reception

In his review on

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 ...

, arwulf arwulf called it an "enjoyable album". In ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print 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 ...

'', John Litweiler wrote: "the leader himself casts a peculiarly gloomy, out-of-character spell. Blythe’s strengths-big sound, aggressive attack and bright melodic imagination-are best at up tempos and on pieces with chord changes, wherein the active harmonic structure lends shape to his frequently discontinuous lines. ''Exhale'' has too many slow tempos and one-chord pieces; moreover, his sound now is limpid and his attack laid-back ... ''Exhale'' must have simply been a bad day".Litweiler, J
JazzTimes Review
accessed March 9, 2018 In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', John Fordham observed "Not perfect playing, but very compelling music from a unique improviser, and the strange group sound grows on you".Fordham, J
The Guardian Review
August 22, 2003

Track listing

All compositions by Arthur Blythe except where noted # "Cousin Mary" (

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

) – 5:20 # "Come Sunday" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

) – 6:16 # "Exhaust Suite: Nonette" (Bob Stewart) – 3:16 # "Exhaust Suite: Surrender" – 4:10 # "Exhaust Suite: LC" – 1:15 # "Exhaust Suite: Phase Two" – 2:31 # " Night Train" ( Jimmy Forrest,

Oscar Washington Oscar Douglas Washington (c. 1912 – 2004/05) was an American songwriter, guitarist, school teacher and record label owner. He is credited as co-writer of the jazz and rhythm and blues classic " Night Train", and was also influential in the ear ...

) – 6:14 # "7/4 Thang" – 3:54 # "

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

" (Coltrane) – 9:10 # "

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 Christmas romantic black comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly ...

" (

John Klenner John Klenner (24 February 1899 – 13 August 1955) was a German-born American pianist, composer, and lyricist. He composed both classical and popular music and is best known for writing the song "Just Friends" with Sam M. Lewis in 1931. Composit ...

Sam M. Lewis Sam M. Lewis (born Samuel M. Levine; October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist. Career Lewis was born in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, ...

) – 4:28 # "CJ" (Stewart) – 5:26 # "

All Blues "All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis that first appeared on the influential 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. In the original liner notes, pianist Bill Evans describes the piece as "a 6/8 12-measure blues form that produces its mood throug ...

" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

) – 8:38 # "

Straighten Up and Fly Right "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is a 1943 song written by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills and one of the first vocal hits for the King Cole Trio. It was the trio's most popular single, reaching number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten noncons ...

" (

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills ...

) – 4:04 # "Exhale" – 0:53

Personnel

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

* Bob Stewart –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...

–

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 ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Cecil Brooks III Cecil Brooks III (born 1959) is an American jazz drummer and record producer who has worked with Arthur Blythe, Russell Gunn, John Hicks, Andrew Hill, Etta Jones, Roseanna Vitro, Hannibal Lokumbe, and Jimmy Ponder. A native of the Homewood n ...

–

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 Arthur Blythe albums 2003 albums Savant Records albums