Axum (album)
Axum is a solo album by American jazz flautist and composer James Newton recorded in 1981 and released on the ECM label. Reception. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "James Newton's set of unaccompanied flute solos is generally more intriguing and diverse than one might expect. An expert at multiphonics (often humming through his flute in order to get more than one note at a time), Newton is also very strong at constructing logical yet utterly unpredictable improvisations. His playing on nine of his originals covers a fair amount of ground , and he alternates between three different types of flutes (his regular horn, alto flute and bass flute). Still, the results are more for specialized tastes". Describing the album as “dazzling”, "The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings" says, “Newton’s vocalisations allow his pieces to develop with unprecedented depth, and his tone is quite remarkable.”