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Motian Sickness

For the Love of Sarah showcases the adventurous and singular compositional style of pioneer drummer/composer Paul Motian. The compositions find new directions through the eccentric instrumentation and improvisational conversation held between Jeff Cosgrove on drums, John Hebert on bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Jamie Masefield on mandolin.

Each performance features an uncompromising musical connection between the musicians. The recording highlights duo conversation, dense quartet improvisation, trio sensitivity, and undeniable commitment to the musical moment. The group worked together to arrange and highlight the music’s subtle beauty.

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Album Review

Motian Sickness: The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah

Read "The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Washington, DC drummer Jeff Cosgrove's exploration of jazz drumming legend Paul Motian's music has been a labor of love. Motian, who passed away in November 2011, sent Cosgrove 29 tunes over the three years this project took to realize. Using traditional bluegrass musicians as a kind of laboratory, Cosgrove chose compositions that best fit the uncommon instrumentation, though there's nothing in the way of Appalachian folksiness about the music. Instead, these avant-jazz/modern classical interpretations lay bare the originality and stark ...

5
Album Review

Motian Sickness: The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah

Read "For the Love of Sarah" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The parts of the drum set, viewed individually or as a collective whole, fit neatly under the “percussion" heading in the musical instrument world, yet Paul Motian rarely seemed to view them as objects to be struck. Motian found a way to finesse the cymbals, flirt with the drums and free the drum set from the shackles of firm placement and strict time. His painterly approach to playing, which helped to give the Bill Evans Trio its organic identity, set ...

3
The Moment's Energy

The Veiled Meanings of Paul Motian

Read "The Veiled Meanings of Paul Motian" reviewed by Nic Jones


While Paul Motian's music could be regarded as amalgam of the predetermined and the free, that tells only a small part of the story. Similarly, arguing that his drumming was a merging of Kenny Clarke and Sunny Murray is no more helpful, even as it hints at the freedom in his work. But at this moment in time, and of course in light of his recent death in November, 2011, it feels too soon to determine whether or not he ...

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Album Review

Motian Sickness: The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah

Read "For the Love of Sarah" reviewed by Dave Sumner


There is an edge-of-sleep quality to the recently departed Paul Motian's drumming, and to much of the music he recorded. It's a dreaminess that reflects the spark of subconscious creativity even as the body sits at rest. For the Love of Sarah is a tribute to Motian's music, and from the opening moments it's like stepping into the middle of a story about a dream.It would be difficult not to draw comparisons with another recent Motian tribute album ...

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Recording

Motian Sickness - For the Love of Sarah (2011)

Motian Sickness - For the Love of Sarah (2011)

Source: Something Else!

Less than two months ago the great jazz drummer, composer and bandleader Paul Motian passed away at eighty years old, in what was arguably the most substantial loss in the jazz world of 2011. He left behind a legacy that's been well documented on this site, so I won't get into all that here. Instead, this space is devoted to addressing one last addition to that vast legacy during Motian's lifetime. For The Love Of Sarah isn't a Motian album ...

”Four Stars” - Downbeat

"Four & A Half Stars" - All About Jazz Italia

"...from the opening moments it's like stepping into the middle of a story about a dream." - Dave Sumner, All About Jazz

“For the Love of Sarah is brilliant!” - Jazz Notes SDP

“It was not intended but turned out one of the best tributes to our century's most outstanding drummer/composer, late Paul Motian. His genuine spirit is deeply reflected in their music.” - Kenny Inaoka, Editor in Chief Jazz Tokyo & Editor of the ECM Catalog

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

For the Love of Sarah

Self Produced
2012

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The Music of Paul...

Self Produced
2012

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The Story of Maryam

From: For the Love of Sarah
By Motian Sickness

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