The Eighth is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at 2nd Freiburger Jazztage in Freiburg, Germany on November 8, 1981 and released on the Hat Hut label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, William Parker and Rashid Bakr. The album was originally released as an LP titled Calling it the Eighth in 1986 then rereleased as on CD featuring unedited performances in 1989 and remastered in 2004.[4]

The Eighth
Live album by
Released1986
RecordedNovember 8, 1981
GenreFree jazz
LabelHat Hut
Cecil Taylor chronology
Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!
(1980)
The Eighth
(1986)
Garden
(1981)
Original LP Cover
2004 CD Reissue Cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[2]
All About Jazz[3]

Reception

edit

The All About Jazz review by Chris May states "'Calling It The 8th' is a 59-minute double-fisted, elbows-on-the-keyboard, off-the-gauge hurricane of passion, counter-rhythm and chromaticism. Its ten-minute reprise, 'Calling It The 9th,' achieves the same level of overwhelming intensity. But if you can surrender yourself to the onslaught and stay the course, you'll emerge invigorated and uplifted, bloody but stronger. It's a prize worth fighting for".[3] A reviewer for AllMusic commented: "Listened to casually (though it's hard to imagine this music listened to casually), one hears four virtuosi... playing maelstroms of dense music. Closer listening reveals symphonic ambition, mystical leanings, and the magic of numbers."[1]

Track listing

edit
All compositions by Cecil Taylor.
  1. "Calling It the 8th" - 58:10
  2. "Calling It the 9th" - 10:50
  • Recorded in Freiburg Germany on November 8, 1981

Personnel

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Cecil Taylor: The Eighth". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 190. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. ^ a b May, Chris (October 3, 2006). "Cecil Taylor: The Eighth". All About Jazz. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Cecil Taylor Sessionography accessed 16 July 2009.