If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells
If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells is an album by a free jazz trio consisting of German bassist Peter Kowald, American trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and German drummer Günter Sommer, which was recorded live in 1981 and released on the German FMP label.[1] The two tracks from the side A of the album were combined on the CD reissue with Touch the Earth, another album by the same trio.[2]
If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | 1983 | |||
Recorded | Side A: January 29, 1981 Side B: May 5, 1981 | |||
Venue | Side A: Flöz, Berlin Side B: Drensteinfurt | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 37:46 | |||
Label | FMP | |||
Producer | Jost Gebers | |||
Wadada Leo Smith chronology | ||||
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Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states about the Touch the Earth - Break the Shells reissue "This is music of the mind, certainly, but it is also from the body and the earth itself. This is free jazz that sings!."[3]
The JazzTimes review by John Murph says about the reissue "Both wild and peaceful, Touch The Earth-Break the Shells, is an invigorating post-Art Ensemble of Chicago experience."[5]
The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "the overriding sense is of ego-less improvisation unburdened by ideology or by musical preconceptions."[4]
Track listing
All compositions by Smith / Kowald / Sommer
- "Unlost Time" – 7:58
- "Rastafari in the Universe" – 11:55
- "Break the Shells [thanks to Eckehart and Evan]" – 17:53
Personnel
References
- "Wadada Leo Smith discography". Jazz Lists. jazzlists.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells on FMP
- Jurek, Thom. Peter Kowald – Touch the Earth - Break the Shells: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette. Penguin Books. p. 634.
- Shanley, Mike Touch the Earth - Break the Shells review at JazzTimes