Emergency! (album)
Encyclopedia
Emergency! is a double album
by The Tony Williams Lifetime
. Released in 1969, it was the group's first album and one of the first significant jazz fusion
recordings. It has commonly been regarded as a pioneering, influential, and original album in the jazz
, rock
, and fusion
genres.
The musical genres the band ventured into on the album include funk
, psychedelic rock
, hard bop
, and even stretches of a kind of proto-ambient music
, filtered through jazz
's improvisational ideal. Williams can also be heard singing
on the record, on the songs "Beyond Games," "Where," "Via the Spectrum Road," and "Sangria for Three." It was during John McLaughlin
's tenure with the band that Williams introduced the young guitarist to Miles Davis
, who was conducting his own fusion explorations at the time. This introduction led to McLaughlin playing on some of Davis's most acclaimed and influential albums, including In a Silent Way
, Bitches Brew
, A Tribute to Jack Johnson
, and On the Corner
. Davis had a particular influence on the band, as Williams had played in his "Second Great Quintet" with Wayne Shorter
, Ron Carter
, and Herbie Hancock
, and Larry Young would go on to record on Bitches Brew
.
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
by The Tony Williams Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz-rock fusion group led by jazz drummer Tony Williams.-Original line-up:The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band was possibly named for Williams' debut album as a...
. Released in 1969, it was the group's first album and one of the first significant jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
recordings. It has commonly been regarded as a pioneering, influential, and original album in the jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
genres.
The musical genres the band ventured into on the album include funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
, and even stretches of a kind of proto-ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, filtered through jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
's improvisational ideal. Williams can also be heard singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
on the record, on the songs "Beyond Games," "Where," "Via the Spectrum Road," and "Sangria for Three." It was during John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
's tenure with the band that Williams introduced the young guitarist to Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, who was conducting his own fusion explorations at the time. This introduction led to McLaughlin playing on some of Davis's most acclaimed and influential albums, including In a Silent Way
In a Silent Way
In a Silent Way is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released July 30, 1969 on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969 at CBS 30th Street Studio B in New York City. Incorporating elements of classical sonata form,...
, Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
, A Tribute to Jack Johnson
A Tribute to Jack Johnson
A Tribute to Jack Johnson is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released February 24, 1971 on Columbia Records. It also serves as the soundtrack for a documentary by Bill Cayton about the heavyweight world champion boxer Jack Johnson....
, and On the Corner
On the Corner
On the Corner is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, recorded in June and July 1972 and released later that year on Columbia Records. It was scorned by critics at the time of its release and was one of Davis's worst-selling recordings...
. Davis had a particular influence on the band, as Williams had played in his "Second Great Quintet" with Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
, Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, and Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, and Larry Young would go on to record on Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
.
Track listing
- "Emergency" (Williams) – 9:35
- "Beyond Games" (Williams) – 8:17
- "Where" (McLaughlin) – 12:10
- "Vashkar" (Bley) – 4:59
- "Via the Spectrum Road" (McLaughlin, Williams) – 7:49
- "Spectrum" (McLaughlin) – 8:50
- "Sangria for Three" (Williams) – 13:07
- "Something Spiritual" (Herman) – 5:37
Personnel
- John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
– Guitar - Tony Williams – Drums, vocals
- Larry Young – Organ
Production
- Elaine Gongora – Cover Design
- James Isaacs – Liner Notes
- Monte KayMonte KayMonte Kay, September 18, 1924 – May 25, 1988 was a prominent figure of the New York jazz scene in the late 1940s and 1950s, producing - often in association with the disc jockey Symphony Sid - several young musicians and acting as musical director of several night clubs...
– Producer - Jack Lewis – Producer
- Sid Maurer – Art Direction, Photography
- Joseph M. Palmaccio – Digital Mastering, Editing
- Gene Radice – Engineer, Mixing
- Paul Ramey – Reissue Producer
- Phil SchaapPhil SchaapPhil Schaap is an American jazz disc jockey, historian, archivist and producer. He hosts a daily morning radio program on 89.9 FM New York, WKCR, the radio station of Columbia University, his alma mater, in New York City. The show, called Bird Flight, is broadcast from 8:20 am–9:30 am on weekdays...
– Liner Notes, Remastering, Restoration - Richard Seidel – Reissue Producer