The Vancouver Tapes documents Parker ’s appearance at the 1999 edition of that city’s Jazz Festival, his first-ever encounter with the Italian pairing of drummer Tiziano Tononi and reedplayer Daniele Cavallanti. A generous 76-minute program encompasses two sets, revealing a threesome who punch above their weight in a rousing free jazz bout. Milanese Cavallanti and Tononi are longtime colleagues, waxing homages to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, though perhaps best known as mainstays of the Instabile Orchestra.
Parker ’s multidirectional propulsion, abetted by Tiziano’s widescreen drumming, allows Cavallanti to take off in whatever direction he wishes, most usually energetic Ayler-inspired overblowing. The trio also quotes liberally from Ayler ’s songbook, notably at the conclusion of “Shadows Of The Night”. Each set follows a similar trajectory, from an atmospheric start featuring Cavallanti’s flute in tandem with Parker ’s insistent bowing through to spirited, even ecstatic, interaction. Audience conversation intrudes towards the end to betray the origin as a bootleg tape, but the slightly murky sound doesn’t disguise the chemistry between the threesome.
The New YorK City Jazz Record talks about The Vancouver Tapes
John Sharpe