David S. Ware / Apogee - Birth of a Being / 2CD set

Birth Of A Being (Expanded) presents the first studio recordings of incomparable jazz saxophonist David S. Ware as a bandleader. This work was created in New York, April 1977, when Ware was 27 years old. The first disc/album (tracks 1–4) features material originally released on LP in 1979 by the Swiss label, hat Hut Records, and has been out of print for over 30 years. The second disc/album (tracks 5–9) features a full additional album of top-shelf material from those same sessions that have never been previously released in any form. This definitive edition – sourced from the original analog 8-track tapes – was newly mixed & mastered in 2015. Crucial material, stunning performances, exceptional fidelity.

The band here, with pianist Cooper-Moore and drummer Marc Edwards, was known as Apogee. They were an incessantly active collective trio – playing in all of their free time, and making free time to keep playing together – formed in Boston in 1970. They relocated to NYC in the early 70s to create their own space within the burgeoning jazz loft scene. In 1973 they were invited by Sonny Rollins to open for him at the Village Vanguard. Not long after arriving in NYC, Ware began performing regularly with Andrew Cyrille’s group Maono, and then, together with Marc Edwards, joined the Cecil Taylor Unit. Numerous tours of the U.S. and Europe with these groups followed, during which time Ware developed the resolute desire to record his own music. In 1977, at Ware’s request, Apogee reconvened for one last time in order to do so, and to finally document their work together in a studio setting.

Birth Of A Being could not be a more perfect title for these recordings, as it was here that David S. Ware’s concepts for jazz ensemble were first elucidated; concepts that would further blossom within the legendary David S. Ware Quartet which he launched a decade after the initial release of this work. Birth features Ware’s compositions & the mesh of Apogee’s deep foundation of collective synergy with his vision at time of recording. Exceptional clarity, control, and utter logic in elocution; with intent to get to the breathing heart of music itself.