Manhattan Egos

Manhattan Egos is an album by saxophonist Sonny Simmons. It was recorded at Sierra Sound Studios in Berkeley, California on February 10, 1969, and was released on LP later that year by Arhoolie Records. On the album, Simmons is joined by trumpeter Barbara Donald, bassist and percussionist Juma Sultan, drummer Paul Smith, and conga player Voodoo Bembe. In 2000, Arhoolie reissued the album on CD with four additional tracks recorded live on November 6, 1970, at the Newman Center in Berkeley, California, with Simmons in a quartet that features violinist Michael White, bassist Kenny Jenkins, and drummer Eddie Marshall.[1][2][3]

Manhattan Egos
Studio album by
Sonny Simmons
Released1969; 2000
RecordedFebruary 10, 1969; November 6, 1970
VenueNewman Center, Berkeley, California (1970 tracks)
StudioSierra Sound Studios, Berkeley, California (1969 tracks)
GenreFree jazz
Length1:18:42
LabelArhoolie Records
ST 8003 / CD 483
ProducerSonny Simmons, Chris Strachwitz
Sonny Simmons chronology
Music from the Spheres
(1968)		 Manhattan Egos
(1969)		 Rumasuma
(1970)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]

Regarding the studio tracks, AllMusic's Thom Jurek wrote: "Simmons and Donald... create a such a dominant frontline there is little else for the rhythm section to do but find a way to create rhythm and harmony from the interplay of the horns." He described the band on the live tracks as "stellar," and stated that audience members were "present to history in the making."[1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "a document of its time," and praised Simmons' solos for their "fuming energy and directness."[4]

Duck Baker of JazzTimes stated that the music "dates better than a lot of free jazz of the time," and noted that "the original writing is quite effective."[5]

Writing for All About Jazz, Derek Taylor stated that the album "finds Simmons and his partners in positively peak form," and commented: "this opportune offering makes readily apparent Simmons is a sizable talent... as an affordable vantage point into the man's early career this generous disc really cannot be bested."[6] AAJ's Mark Corroto remarked: "Like Coleman and John Coltrane, Simmons' bands were pushing the envelope of freedom. The energy, pulsing from thirty-one years ago, is exhilarating... Simmons was propelling a creative sound beyond its safe boundaries."[7]

Trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum wrote: "Donald and Simmons' musical connection was near perfection; they navigated complex melodies with the telepathic ease of Bird and Diz or Coleman and Cherry, breathing and phrasing as one."[8]

Track listing

"Divine Magnet" composed by Michael White. Remaining tracks composed by Sonny Simmons. Track timings not provided.

  1. "Coltrane In Paradise"
  2. "The Prober"
  3. "Manhattan Egos"
  4. "Seven Dances Of Salami"
  5. "Visions"
  6. "Beings of Light" (bonus track on CD reissue)
  7. "Purple Rays" (bonus track on CD reissue)
  8. "Divine Magnet" (bonus track on CD reissue)
  9. "The Beauty of Ibis" (bonus track on CD reissue)

Personnel

References
  1. Jurek, Thom. "Sonny Simmons: Manhattan Egos". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. "Sonny Simmons - Manhattan Egos". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  3. "Manhattan Egos / Sonny Simmons". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1301.
  5. Baker, Duck (October 1, 2000). "Sonny Simmons: Manhattan Egos". JazzTimes. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  6. Taylor, Derek (August 1, 2000). "Sonny Simmons: Manhattan Egos". All About Jazz. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  7. Corroto, Mark (August 1, 2000). "Sonny Simmons: Manhattan Egos". All About Jazz. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  8. Bynum, Taylor Ho (October 18, 2014). "Taylor Ho Bynum on Mongezi Feza and Barbara Donald". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
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