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Revision as of 17:15, 26 January 2026
1988 studio album by Tony Williams
Angel Street is an album by the American musician Tony Williams, released in 1988.[1][2] He and his group supported the album with a North American tour.[3]
Production
All of the songs were written by Williams, who had spent the early 1980s working on his composition skills.[4] He was backed by Billy Pierce on saxophone, Charnett Moffett on bass, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and Mulgrew Miller on piano.[5][6] “Pee Wee” was recorded by Williams’s former bandleader, Miles Davis.[7] Williams thought that his compositional abilities were stronger on Angel Street, and that he possessed a better sense of melody.[8] He preferred that the group record only two or three takes of a track.[9] Williams used a personalized drum machine to help him construct the songs; he included short drum solos between the tracks.[10][11]
Critical reception
The St. Petersburg Times concluded that “Williams is unquestionably an expert and innovative drummer, but his composing skills—a recent concentration—are shaky… Most of the tunes … are fuzzy and obtuse.”[16] The New York Times noted that “the music is easygoing, even at fast tempos; Mr. Williams knocks the tunes around with carefree mastery, but too often he allows his soloists … to reel off the steady strings of 16th-notes and arpeggios that are hard-bop’s common currency.”[5] The Los Angeles Times said that “the music, composed by Williams, is powered by his crisp stick work: rapidly shifting layers of rhythms coming from carefully tuned drums that almost give his playing a melodic quality.”[17]
The Windsor Star stated that the “group kicks and swings healthily … on uptempo outings like ‘Obsession’ and ‘Red Mask'”.[15] The Globe and Mail opined that “the ballads sound like most quintet’s ballads—his musicians play them in a way that falls halfway between the dutiful and the inspired—but the heavy slugging, with Moffett as bullish as his leader, could only be the work of Tony Williams.”[6] The Times praised Williams’s “breathtakingly sophisticated rhythmic and textural detail”.[18]
Track listing
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Angel Street” | 8:20 |
| 2. | “Touch Me” | 1:23 |
| 3. | “Red Mask” | 7:08 |
| 4. | “Kiss Me” | 0:54 |
| 5. | “Dreamland” | 9:36 |
| 6. | “Only with You” | 5:56 |
| 7. | “Pee Wee” | 6:39 |
| 8. | “Thrill Me” | 0:46 |
| 9. | “Obsession” | 4:19 |
| Total length: | 45:01 | |
References
- ^ “Record labels are filling the jazz bins”. USA Today. September 13, 1988. p. 2D.
- ^ Macnie, Jim (March 8, 1997). “Renowned jazz drummer Tony Williams, 51, dies”. Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 10. pp. 10, 76.
- ^ Nelson, Nels (May 26, 1989). “He Sticks to Drumming: Styles May Change, but Williams’ Beat Remains Loud & Clear”. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 62.
- ^ Varga, George (June 14, 1989). “Williams drums up a legend”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D1.
- ^ a b Pareles, Jon (March 5, 1989). “In Jazz, Young Players Turn to the Old Hard-Bop”. The New York Times. p. A29.
- ^ a b Miller, Mark (September 21, 1989). “Angel Street Tony Williams”. The Globe and Mail. p. C15.
- ^ Lloyd, Jack (May 26, 1989). “A Fusion Artist Who Loves the Beatles”. Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 28.
- ^ Kot, Greg (June 5, 1989). “Leader of the band: Tony Williams becomes more than a great jazz drummer”. Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 3.
- ^ Smith, Brad (May 27, 1989). “Williams the composer strikes new beat with ‘Angel Street’“. Arts & Entertainment. The Republican. p. 22.
- ^ Sachs, Lloyd (November 3, 1988). “Tony Williams sounds young as ever at Showcase”. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 2.54.
- ^ Franckling, Ken (December 23, 1988). “Tony Williams, ‘Angel Street’“. UPI.
- ^ MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 1205.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette. Penguin Books. 1994. p. 1377.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 772.
- ^ a b Stevens, Peter (September 2, 1989). “Jazz”. The Windsor Star. p. C2.
- ^ Snider, Eric (November 13, 1988). “Closing the circle”. St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
- ^ Sutro, Dirk (June 15, 1989). “Drummer Tony Williams Sticks with Raw Talent”. Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
- ^ Williams, Richard (March 18, 1989). “Crisp and clean”. Jazz Records. The Times.
