THE GROUP

The Group, the cooperative quintet featuring violinist Billy Bang, reed player Marion Brown, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, bassist Sirone, and drummer Andrew Cyrille, is certainly one of the unaccountably overlooked bands in jazz. Unlike many of the all-star groups of the 1980s, such as New and Old Dreams, the Leaders, Sphere, and Song X, the Group never made a recording and rarely played outside the New York City area. But during the two years they were together from 1986 to 1987, they made some of the most significant and compelling music of the time. With The Group: Live, NoBusiness Records corrects this historical oversight. The concert performance, which also features bassist Fred Hopkins, shows that the Group was not only an exciting band, but unlike many all-star groups that often played it safe, they were also an exploratory and innovative one. Recorded in performance at the Jazz Center of New York in September read more...