''The Astral Revelations'' is a live album by the

Jemeel Moondoc Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before set ...

Quartet, led by saxophonist Moondoc, and featuring pianist

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

, double bassist

Hilliard Greene Hilliard Greene (born February 26, 1958) is an American bassist (playing both double bass, and bass guitar) specializing in modern creative, improvised, and jazz music, as well as a music educator. Life and work Hilliard Greene studied at the B ...

, and drummer

Newman Taylor Baker Newman Taylor Baker (born February 4, 1943) is a jazz drummer and a Washboard (musical instrument), washboard player. Early life Newman Taylor Baker's paternal grandfather, Thomas Nelson Baker Sr., was the only former slave to receive a PhD fro ...

. Moondoc's final recording prior to his death in 2021, it was recorded on February 5, 2016, at the

Bimhuis The Bimhuis is a concert hall for jazz and improvised music in Amsterdam. With an average of 150 performances a year the Bimhuis is the main stage for these musical genres in the Netherlands. In 2017 it was also a host for the 17th edition of ...

in Amsterdam, and was released in 2018 by

RogueArt RogueArt (also written Rogueart and Rogue Art) is a French independent record label based in Paris. It was founded by record producer Michel Dorbon in 2005 and specialises in jazz and improvised music. History RogueArt was founded by record pr ...

Reception

Ken Weiss of ''

Cadence In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...

'' included the album in his list of the "Top Ten Recordings" of 2018. In a review for ''

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 ...

'', John Sharpe awarded the album a full 5 stars, stating that it "breathes new vitality into the legacy of the loft jazz era," and writing: "For those who haven't caught up with Moondoc before, this is the place to start." ''The Free Jazz Collectives Stef Gijssels called the album "great stuff," and commented: "Warmth and openness are the key ingredients of this music, inviting listeners in without any degree of shock or alienation, giving them a common platform of familiarity to explore its boundaries, but without overdoing it." Steve Loewy of ''

The New York City Jazz Record ''The New York City Jazz Record'' is a New York City based monthly free newspaper about jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

'' described the album as "a splendid, though not critical, addition to oondoc'sdiscography," and remarked: "Moondoc does not set out to impress but, in his understated way, does exactly that: his performances are devoid of grandstanding, instead focusing on tightly structured group playing and intense solos." Writing for ''Point of Departure'', Ed Hazell noted that the album "ranks with oondoc'sbest efforts, an example of the unquenchable creative fire that lasted into his final years."

Track listing

All compositions by Jemeel Moondoc. # "Cosmic Nickelodeon" – 17:07 # "Blues for Katie" – 14:44 # "Here Now, Gone Now" – 14:17 # "Ornette Gone Bye" – 7:16

Personnel

– alto saxophone *

– piano *

– double bass *

– drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astral Revelations, The 2018 live albums Jemeel Moondoc live albums RogueArt live albums