Ingram Marshall

One Line, Two Views features seven compositions for nine-piece ensemble by Muhal Richard Abrams. Works range from the subtle textural and tonal explorations of “Textures,” “Hydepth,” and the title track to the hard bop revisitations of “11 over 4” and “The Prism 3.” The disc is rounded out by an ebullient, joyous, and celebratory “Tribute to Julius Hemphill and Don Pullen” and the blues-tinged “Ensemble Song.” Abrams opts for unique instrumentation including violin, harp, and accordion.  These unconventional additions to the standard jazz ensemble enhance the warm tones and full sound of this recording.

Muhal Richard Abrams was a founding member and the first president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), organized in Chicago in 1965 to provide a forum for the young musicians of the then burgeoning “free jazz” scene, at the time the most exciting experimental jazz community in the world. He held this office for more than a decade and had a profound influence on its members, most prominent among them Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill and the members of The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Abrams moved to New York City in the early 1970s and has performed and recorded in settings ranging from solo piano to his big band.