''The Hearinga Suite'' is an album by

Muhal Richard Abrams Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the Uni ...

released on the Italian

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italy, Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History ...

label in 1989 and features performances of seven of Abrams compositions by an eighteen-member orchestra. Abrams dedicated the music on the album to

Steve McCall Stephen Harold McCall (born 15 October 1960) is an English retired footballer who now works as a scout for Carlisle United. A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immacul ...

and Donald Raphael Garrett.

Reception

The

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 ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams leads an 18-piece orchestra on his seven originals that make up the ''Hearinga Suite''. Much of the music is quite adventurous, although "Oldfotalk" is fairly conventional. Although the personnel includes such fine players as trumpeters Jack Walrath and Cecil Bridgewater and saxophonists John Purcell and Marty Ehrlich, the emphasis is on group interplay and the colorful arrangements. Throughout this very interesting set, Abrams shows how a big band can logically be utilized in freer forms of jazz. ".Yanow, S.
Allmusic Review
accessed July 11, 2011

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''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 b ...

awarded the album 3½ stars stating "This marks something of a quantum shift, a move towards something larger and more cohesive. The spirit of Ellington is not far away here".

Track listing

''All compositions by Muhal Richard Abrams'' # "Hearinga" - 5:11 # "Conversations With the Three of Me" - 5:45 # "Seesall" - 5:28 # "Aura of Thought- Things" - 4:36 # "Oldfotalk" - 6:43 # "Finditnow" - 6:27 # "Bermix" - 6:55 *Recorded January 17 & 18, 1989 at A & R Recording Studios, New York City

Personnel

* Ron Tooley - trumpet *

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

- trumpet *

Cecil Bridgewater Cecil Bridgewater (born October 10, 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Bridgewater was born in Urbana, Illinois and studied at the University of Illinois. He and brother Ron formed the Bridgewater Brothers Band in 1969, ...

- trumpet *Frank Gordon - trumpet * Clifton Anderson - trombone *

Dick Griffin James "Dick" Richard Griffin (born January 28, 1940, in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American jazz trombonist known for his work on Strata-East Records, and with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. As a child he studied piano, soon switching to trombone. After ...

- trombone * Jack Jeffers - bass trombone * Bill Lowe - bass trombone * John Purcell - flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone * Marty Ehrlich - piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone * Patience Higgins - bass clarinet, tenor saxophone * Courtnay Winter - bassoon, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone * Charles Davis - baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone * Diedre Murray - cello * Fred Hopkins - bass * Warren Smith - glockenspiel, vibes, percussion *

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 ...

- drums *

- piano, synthesizer, conductor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hearinga Suite, The 1989 albums Muhal Richard Abrams albums Black Saint/Soul Note albums