The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life
| The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:The Blues Chronicles Tales of Life.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Gary Bartz, Eulis Cathey, Don Hillegas | |||
| Gary Bartz chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life is an album by the American musician Gary Bartz, released in 1996.[1][2] It is a concept album about the history of the blues.[3] Bartz supported the album with live dates and festival appearances.[4]
Production
[edit | edit source]Bartz was backed by James King on bass, Tom Williams on trumpet, George Colligan on piano, and Greg Bandy on drums.[5] Jon Hendricks sang on "Come with Me".[6] Cyrus Chestnut played piano on a few tracks.[7] Russell Malone played guitar on "One Million Blues".[6] Bartz drew on memories of his Baltimore childhood in composing many of the songs.[8] He recorded neighborhood folks for some of the "Hustler's Holler" tracks.[9] "Lively Up Yourself" is a cover of the Bob Marley song.[10] "Miss Otis Regrets" is an interpretation of the Cole Porter song.[11] "And He Called Himself a Messenger" is a tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.[5] "The Song of Loving-Kindness" was inspired by a Buddhist chant.[12]
Critical reception
[edit | edit source]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| The Buffalo News | [9] |
| MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide | [14] |
The Vancouver Sun said that "Bartz, playing mostly alto, burns and moans throughout the record"; the paper later listed The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life as the second best jazz album of 1996.[6][15] The Ottawa Citizen noted that "from funk to rock to down-home blues to reggae to swing, Bartz's band tackles his compositions with across-the-board abandon."[5] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated that Bartz has "a big, dense sound and excellent technique [and] can tell a story of some depth—a twister-like, wailing uptempo tale, or a romantic but unsentimental ballad."[16] Entertainment Weekly considered The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life to be one of the best jazz albums of the year.[3]
Track listing
[edit | edit source]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come with Me/Hustler's Holler 1" | |
| 2. | "The Five Dollar Theory" | |
| 3. | "Makes Me Wanna Moan" | |
| 4. | "Miss Otis Regrets" | |
| 5. | "One Million Blues" | |
| 6. | "Hustler's Holler 2" | |
| 7. | "And He Called Himself a Messenger" | |
| 8. | "Band in the U.S.A." | |
| 9. | "Hustler's Holler 3" | |
| 10. | "A Looney Tune" | |
| 11. | "Lively Up Yourself" | |
| 12. | "Gangsta Jazz" | |
| 13. | "Passage – Part I" | |
| 14. | "The Song of Loving-Kindness" | |
| 15. | "Hustler's Holler (Song of the Streets)" |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).