Previte’s third record for Gramavision, was a two guitar, keyboard, vocal, sampling, and trombone brew called “Empty Suits.” This CD started his relationship with the great engineer Joe Ferla, and marks a period when Previte’s interest in musicians like Salif Keita and King Sunny Adé (with tunes like, “The King So Far”) was at its zenith. Jazziz—“Empty Suits takes you someplace new, with jazz as the compass and the whole of music as a map. In short, another fine and beautiful mess from Previte.” The tune “Break the Cups” alone is worth the price, with an outrageous vocal by Roberta Baum, who had worked with Ornette Coleman for awhile.
While signed to Gramavision Previte also began to record for the German label Enja. There were three records in which he returned to a horn front line (but this time four of them). The first of these “racetrack records,” released in 1991, was titled after the name of the band, “Weather Clear, Track Fast.” A truly all-star CD, it featured some of the heaviest “young lions” at the time—Don Byron, Graham Haynes, Robin Eubanks, Marty Ehrlich, Anthony Cox, and Anthony Davis (who later went on to compose the Opera “X”). A more fleshed out version of the earlier records, this is a very compositionally driven CD. England’s Wire Magazine said “Like all great jazz, it grows on every listening.” Out of print.
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Yes,yes,yes! I've been waiting for Dave to do this again...two brilliant runs by DDQ and Keystone were documented on Greenleaf back in the day; they were groundbreaking...recorded and released within 24 hours for each set...they were stellar performances and I play them again and again.
With absolutely no chance of ever being there, this is the closest i'll ever be to 'being there'...so excited I may need to lay down in a darkened room for a while! John Cratchley
Another Cuneiform Records special weekend deal too good to be passed: Wonderful combination of Mr Frisell's beautiful guitar playing and clever arrangements for a great bigband. Carsten Pieper
Written collectively by 40 different working musicians during the pandemic, this is a jazzy, soulful effort with a lot of heart. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 30, 2020
Composer Asuka Kikitani was inspired by the vibrant nature of Minnesota to construct this gorgeous calendar cycle of percussive works. Bandcamp New & Notable May 30, 2023
I really appreciate that with such a large group of musicians the overall sound and experience of listening is really spacious, never cluttered. The lovely recording helps that a lot, and of course the compositional aspects that make it breathe are superb- it gets more and more fun as I listen again and again. Jasper Skydecker