Thomas Chapin

[Eric]

I recently picked up Insomnia and absolutely love it!! "Discovered" that I also owned "You Don't Know Me" (with Tom Harrell) and went back and listened to it as well.

Guy sounds like he is having a ball - what a great spirit. Any recommendations on where to go next?

[Dmitry]

I said it a 1000 times and I'll say it again - SKY PIECE

[Eric]

are you sure??? only got 3 stars from AMG ...

sorry I missed you the first 999 times ... I will check it out ... thanks

[Clunky]

there's some discussion of Chapin in the Funny Rat thread. The entire KF box set (Alive) of his stuff is consistently good. I feel priviledged to have seen him live- check my avatar (photo taken by me at Glasgow jazz fest)

Edited May 27, 2004 by Clunky

[ghost of miles]

In addition to Dmitry's dead-on recommendation, I'd also suggest the posthumous NIGHT BIRD SONG, which was recorded in 1992.

If you really get into Chapin, pick up the ALIVE compilation that the Knitting Factory put out, which includes both records & much more.

Nice to see some Thomas Chapin discussion around here! I'd better start hanging out in the "Funny Rat" thread, I guess...

Edited May 27, 2004 by ghost of miles

[kh1958]

I was fortunate to see the Thomas Chapin Trio live twice, as well as a quartet with piano on another occasion, and that first time I saw him, in Vancouver in the early 1990s, was so great--one of the most thrilling performances by a saxophonist I've witnessed. My favorites with the trio are Night Bird Song and Sky Piece. I've also been trying to collect all his sideman appearances, and there are some great ones--I love the two Ned Rothenberg Double Band recordings on Moers, and the recordings with guitarist Michael Musillami on Playscape are also pretty special.  

[Green Dolphin]

As above,buy the box you won't be disappointed,well priced too...then go from there.

[DTMX]

Thomas Chapin Trio Plus Strings: Haywire. Haven't been able to dislodge it from the CD changer all month.

[jlhoots]

Dmitry is right.

AMG is wrong.

So, what's new??

[John B]

Get the box. You get all of the Knitting Factory discs plus some bonus live material and it is very reasonably priced. All of the music is fantastic! You will not be disappointed.

[Д.Д.]

Get the box. You get all of the Knitting Factory discs plus some bonus live material and it is very reasonably priced. All of the music is fantastic! You will not be disappointed.

The box is OOP and is becoming a bit difficult to find.

[P.L.M]

THOMAS CHAPIN & BORAH BERGMAN: INVERSIONS (MUMWORKS RECORDS.)

Recorded live in New York the 3/30/92.

Not for the "fainted heart" (reserved, maybe, only for the FUNNY RAT affiliate.)

The best Chapin IMO with HAYWIRE and ANIMA.

[gnhrtg]

I would say get "Sky Piece" and not the box. Unless you are totally blown away by the music there, do not get the box. I've gone through all of his discs for Knitting Factory and "Sky Piece" is the only one I've kept for good. The others are good as well but, again, you will want to have them only if Chapin's music totally grabs you (otherwise Sky Piece is the best one disc representation of his music, with one of the best versions of "Ask Me Now" I've ever heard). If I recall correctly, he also has some killer straight-ahead solos one of Braxton's standards discs (Braxton on piano, Dave Douglas on the Trumpet, and akLaff/Pavone on dub)

edit: Ooops, I see that you already like Insomnia a lot, so you might want to get the box, after all.

Edited May 28, 2004 by gnhrtg

[Guy Berger]

I would say get "Sky Piece" and not the box. Unless you are totally blown away by the music there, do not get the box. I've gone through all of his discs for Knitting Factory and "Sky Piece" is the only one I've kept for good. The others are good as well but, again, you will want to have them only if Chapin's music totally grabs you (otherwise Sky Piece is the best one disc representation of his music, with one of the best versions of "Ask Me Now" I've ever heard).

I bought the box last summer for a good price ($50) and thought it was a bit of an overdose. Sky Piece is as much of a masterpiece as everyone says, and Night Bird Song is very good too, but I didn't get into the other discs as much. Maybe in a couple of years I'll dig them out and be blown away.

I would suggest picking up the discs individually if you can't find the box for cheaper than $60. The early trio albums seemed to be the least essential.

Guy

[kh1958]

I said this already, but the three Michael Musiallami CDs with Thomas Chapin (Archives, Mars Bars and Groove Teacher) are truly excellent.

Here they are on sale.

http://www.playscape-recordings.com/cdsets.html#1

[Guy Berger]

Bumping this thread because I've been enjoying the incredible Sky Piece over the past few days. It's such a shame that he died so young.

Guy

[ghost of miles]

Thanks, Guy--I've been thinking about revisiting that box lately, and your bump may just prod me to actually do it. Chapin, like Eric Dolphy, died far too young.

[clifford_thornton]

THOMAS CHAPIN & BORAH BERGMAN: INVERSIONS (MUMWORKS RECORDS.)

Recorded live in New York the 3/30/92.

They also have a duo on Boxholder which is pretty good, Toronto 1997.

I have a session on Alacra (M. Pavone's label) called The Bell of the Heart, which I thought would be better than it is (too precious for my tastes), but the band is kind of interesting in a Connecticut underground sort of way.

[kh1958]

An excellent pre-trio recording by Thomas Chapin as a leader is Radius (Mu).

Here are some recordings with Thomas Chapin as sideman worth looking for:

Misako Kano--Breakthrew and Watch Out

Peggy Stern--The Fuschia

Ned Rothenberg Double Band--Overlays, Parting, and Real and Imagined Time

Pheeroan Aklaff--Sonogram

Robert Musso--Active Resonance

Edited February 25, 2006 by kh1958

[kh1958]

Another interesting sideman appearance:

John McCracken--Blood from a Tone.

[Nate Dorward]

Pheeroan Aklaff--Sonogram

I have this one, & it doesn't have Chapin on it. It does have Sonny Sharrock & John Stubblefield, though, & is well worth a listen.

[ep1str0phy]

(Just because it happens to be sitting on my desk)--I'm a fan of Mario Pavone's "Dancers Tales" (feat. Chapin on winds)... inside/outside with just the right touch of simmering mania. I'd call it Mingusesque--albeit in a very atypical way (not your usual blues affectations).

Edited February 26, 2006 by ep1str0phy

[kh1958]

Pheeroan Aklaff--Sonogram

I have this one, & it doesn't have Chapin on it. It does have Sonny Sharrock & John Stubblefield, though, & is well worth a listen.

Oops. You are right. All the others do have Chapin (I promise)!

Edited February 26, 2006 by kh1958

[ep1str0phy]

Bump (at Guy's recommendation): I just got a copy of Thomas Chapin's 'Alive' boxed set (for $20, so I would have been an idiot to pass it up either way). I'm right in the middle of Anima, going in order. Knowing Chapin from his sideman work and not so much as a leader, I'm quite pleased--this music is very much in the Air-ish, inside/outside vein that best suits a man of his talents. Apologies for invoking the very unnecessary Air comparisons, but Chapin's trio work has a comprable sense of eclecticism, fun, and verve... I haven't had this much fun 'discovering' a multireedman since my first run in with Rahsaan. Looking forward to the other discs (I've actually been looking for Sky Piece for a while)...