Virtuosi is an album by drummer Barry Altschul, pianist Paul Bley and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1967 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1976.[1]

Virtuosi
Studio album by
Released1976
RecordedJune 28, 1967
Nola's Penthouse Sound Studios, NYC
GenreJazz
Length33:11
LabelImprovising Artists IAI 373844
ProducerPaul Bley
Paul Bley chronology
In Haarlem - Blood
(1966)
Virtuosi
(1976)
Ballads
(1963-67)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
MusicHound Jazz     [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz    [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide     [5]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz     [6]

The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 2½ stars, and reviewer Eugene Chadbourne suggested that listeners could find the music "either endlessly fascinating if the time is there to focus on every detail, or a kind of irrelevant background patter whose components could be reordered endlessly without any change in meaning."[2]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings noted that the album "sounds... very much like Bley's own trio work of the period," and stated: "Bley... tends to dominate proceedings, though Altschul's continuous flow of ideas would be impressive were it registered more distinctly; not even CD gives a faithful rendition of some of his softer figures and effects."[4]

Writing for MusicHound Jazz, Steve Holtje commented: "to hear this trio's kaleidoscopic deployment of its considerable yet restrained resources is to witness improvisational interaction at the highest level."[3]

Track listing

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  1. "Butterflies" (Annette Peacock) - 15:54
  2. "Gary" (Peacock) - 17:10

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Paul Bley catalog, accessed June 20, 2014
  2. ^ a b Chadbourne, Eugene. "Barry Altschul: Virtuosi". AllMusic. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Holtje, Steve; Lee, Nancy Ann (1998). MusicHound: The Essential Album Guide. Schirmer. p. 32.
  4. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1998). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc. Penguin Books. p. 35.
  5. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 27. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 97.