Brilliant Circles

1972 studio album by Stanley Cowell

Brilliant Circles

Studio album by

Stanley Cowell

Released| 1972
Recorded| September 25, 1969 at Olmsted Sound Studios, New York City
Genre| Jazz
Length| 42:48
Label| Freedom AL 1032
Black Lion BLCD 760204
Producer| Alan Bates and Chris Whent
Stanley Cowell chronology
| Blues for the Viet Cong
(1969)  | Brilliant Circles
(1972)  | Handscapes
(1973)

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Alternative Cover

Brilliant Circles is the second album led by American jazz pianist Stanley Cowell, recorded in 1969. It was first released on the Freedom label and rereleased on CD with bonus tracks on the Black Lion label.[1]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]

In his review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow states: "The challenging repertoire falls between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde, consistently inspiring the talented players to play at their most creative. Recommended".[2] There is a consensus among many collectors that the Black Lion CD edition, which includes one bonus track and an alternate take of the title track, was very poorly mastered (with reduced volume in the right channel, resulting in the virtual inaudibility of Tyrone Washington's woodwinds).[3]

## Track listing

[edit]

All compositions by Stanley Cowell except as indicated

1. "Brilliant Circles" – 15:33
2. "Earthly Heavens" (Tyrone Washington) – 7:45
3. "Musical Prayers" (Washington) – 10:12 Bonus track on CD reissue
4. "Boo Ann's Grand" (Woody Shaw) – 9:07
5. "Bobby's Tune" (Bobby Hutcherson) – 10:42
6. "Brilliant Circles" [Take 2] – 15:45 Bonus track on CD reissue

## Personnel

[edit]

* Stanley Cowell – piano
* Woody Shaw – trumpet, maracas
* Tyrone Washington – tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet, maracas, tambourine
* Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone
* Reggie Workman – bass, electric bass
* Joe Chambers – drums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Stanley Cowell discography accessed January 5, 2015
2. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. Brilliant Circles – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
3. ^ "Any info on Arista Freedom records?". Steve Hoffman Music Forums. Retrieved May 16, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Stanley Cowell

Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.

Studio albums|

* Blues for the Viet Cong (1969)
* Brilliant Circles (1969)
* Illusion Suite (1972)
* Musa: Ancestral Streams (1973)
* Handscapes 2 (with Ron Burton, Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, and Sonelius Smith, 1974)
* Regeneration (1975)
* Waiting for the Moment (1977)
* Equipoise (1978)
* New World (1981)
* We Three (with Freddie Waits and Buster Williams, 1987)
* Back to the Beautiful (1989)
* Sienna (1989)
* Close to You Alone (1990)
* Angel Eyes (1993)
* Setup (1993)

Live albums|

* Handscapes (with Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, Danny Mixon, and Sonelius Smith, 1972)
* Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Five (1990)
* Live at Copenhagen Jazz House (1993)

Related articles|

* Strata-East Records

* v
* t
* e

Woody Shaw

Years given are for the recording(s), not first release.

As leader
or co-leader|

* In the Beginning (1965)
* Blackstone Legacy (1970)
* Song of Songs (1972)
* The Moontrane (1974)
* San Francisco Express – Getting It Together (1975)
* Love Dance (1975)
* Little Red's Fantasy (1976)
* Woody Plays Woody (1976–77)
* The Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage (1976)
* Rosewood (1977)
* The Iron Men (with Anthony Braxton, 1977)
* Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard (1978)
* Woody III (1978–79)
* For Sure! (1979)
* United (1981)
* Lotus Flower (1982)
* Master of the Art (1982)
* Night Music (1982)
* Setting Standards (1983)
* The Time Is Right (1983)
* Double Take (and Freddie Hubbard, 1985)
* Woody Shaw with the Tone Jansa Quartet (1985)
* Dr. Chi (1986)
* Bemsha Swing (1986)
* Solid (1986)
* Imagination (1987)
* In My Own Sweet Way (1987)
* The Eternal Triangle (with Freddie Hubbard, 1987)

With others|

* Home! (Gary Bartz, 1969)
* Coral Keys (Walter Bishop Jr., 1971)
* Child's Dance (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, 1972)
* Buhaina (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, 1973)
* Anthenagin (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, 1973)
* The Free Slave (Roy Brooks, 1970)
* Duet in Detroit (Roy Brooks, 1983)
* The Almoravid (Joe Chambers, 1971)
* Tones for Joan's Bones (Chick Corea, 1966)
* The Complete "Is" Sessions (Chick Corea, 1969)
* Brilliant Circles (Stanley Cowell, 1969)
* Conversations (Eric Dolphy, 1963)
* Iron Man (Eric Dolphy, 1963)
* Tex Book Tenor/Back from the Gig (Booker Ervin, 1968)
* Ichi-Ban (Louis Hayes and Junior Cook, 1976)
* The Real Thing (Louis Hayes, 1977)
* If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem (Joe Henderson, 1970)
* Joe Henderson Quintet at the Lighthouse (1970)
* Grass Roots (Andrew Hill, 1968)
* Lift Every Voice (Andrew Hill, 1969–70)
* Passing Ships (Andrew Hill, 1969)
* Bobby Hutcherson Live at Montreux (1973)
* Cirrus (Bobby Hutcherson, 1974)
* Bridge into the New Age (Azar Lawrence, 1974)
* 'Bout Soul (Jackie McLean, 1967)
* Demon's Dance (Jackie McLean, 1967)
* Reach Out! (Hank Mobley, 1968)
* Thinking of Home (Hank Mobley, 1970)
* Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) (Pharoah Sanders, 1970)
* The Cape Verdean Blues (Horace Silver, 1965)
* The Jody Grind (Horace Silver, 1966)
* Natural Soul (Buddy Terry, 1967)
* Pure Dynamite (Buddy Terry, 1972)
* Expansions (McCoy Tyner, 1968)
* The Git Go – Live at the Village Vanguard (Mal Waldron, 1986)
* The Seagulls of Kristiansund (Mal Waldron, 1986)
* Natural Essence (Tyrone Washington, 1967)
* Unity (Larry Young, 1965)
* Zawinul (Joe Zawinul, 1970)

Box sets|

* Woody Shaw: The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (Columbia, 1978–81 [2011])
* Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions (Mosaic, 1965–87 [2013])

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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