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Thomas Chapin - Alive (8-CD Boxed Set) - More Found!

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We are working directly with Thomas Chapin's widow to make this amazing set available once again in limited quantities. Eight CD box set, encompassing Chapin's seven titles on Knitting Factory plus an extra disc enhanced CD of previously unreleased video and audio recordings. This set also features extensive liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Listening to Thomas Chapin's seven trio CDs in the wake of his untimely death only drives home further the loss the jazz world suffered when he succumbed to cancer in 1998. Chapin's discography extends beyond the seven albums he and his trio released in the 1990s, but he never sounded more complete and rounded than when with his trio mates--bassist Mario Pavone and drummers Steve Johns and, for most sessions, Michael Sarin. Chapin's searing, rapid-fire solos and intricate melodies begged for a bassist that could match his stair-climb sprints and steep descents, and Pavone did so at all times. With Alive, you get the best tribute imaginable: a complete set of Chapin's Knitting Factory CDs along with a previously unreleased 1995 live session. From his trio debut, Anima, to the last studio album, Sky Piece, the band seems aimed at a group concept that's well defined and intensely creative. Chapin plays with a formal sense and tunefulness that owes tons to Sonny Rollins. Riffs build into minisolos, and rhythmic breaks become melodies, almost without the ear noticing. Chapin's group concept was expandable, too, which shows on Insomnia--with its five added brass players--and Haywire--with its three added string players. Where Insomnia milks the brass for thick funk, Haywire spins waltzes and string textures that emphasize a completely different realm of sonic nuance. The final CD of the set catches the trio live at the 1995 JVC-Newport Jazz Festival, and they play the complex tunes letter perfectly, with Sarin drumming especially hard and Chapin roughing up his tone far more than usual. At different times, he plays with the bittersweet bite of Eric Dolphy and the drive of Hank Crawford. He made it all an amazingly fluid continuum. --Andrew Bartlett

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ARTISTS
Al Bryant, trumpet Thomas Chapin, flute, alto flute, alto saxophone, sound effects, voice changer, wood flute, baritone saxophone, mezzo-soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, bass flute, alarm clock Mark Feldman, violin Curtis Fowlkes, trombone Kiyoto Fujiwara, bass Steve Johns, drums Frank London, trumpet Peter McEachern, trombone Mario Pavone, bass Boris Rayskin, cello Marcus Rojas, tuba Michael Sarin, drums, percussion, whistle, bells, cowbell Raymond Stewart, tuba

TRACKS
Ahab's Leg Poet O of Central Park Iddly Tale of the Sands Third Force Then Resolution 678 Now Boy on a Dolphin Stairs Eternal Eye Lift Off Anima Native Green Little Machines Seeds Hat and Shoes O O Fez Lift Off Pantheon Insomnia Equatoria Trio 1 Coup d'Etat Trio 2 Golgotham Iota Bad Birdie Menagerie Dreams Raise Four The Night Hog Poignant Dream A Drunken Monkey Day Dream Put Your Quarter in and Watch the Chicken... Foxwoods Stomp Haywire Diva The Devil's Hopyard (suite) Eidolon Bump in the Night Hoofin' Bugbears At Peace with My Demons Geek Gawkin' Sky Piece Bypass Just Now Alphaville Night Bird Song Triptych Ask Me Now Don't Mind If I Do Changes Two Tyres Essaouira And... Opening Alphaville Night Bird Song Cliff Island The Roaring S Aeolus Tweeter's Little Adventures Changes Two Tyres Intro Anima Hat and Shoes Ahab's Leg Iddly

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