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Broken Shadows

Named for one of Ornette Coleman’s most evocative compositions, this all-star project honors the Coleman legacy along with the music of Coleman’s fellow Fort Worth native reed players Dewey Redman and Julius Hemphill, featuring the wildly inventive saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed, and the Bad Plus rhythm section of bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.

Debuting as a band in January 2017 for the Konceptions Music Series at Brooklyn’s Korzo, the band is a remarkably balanced vehicle for performing Coleman’s work, approaching it with fearless experimentation, deep grooves, and wicked humor. Emerging as a major talent from New York’s experimental Downtown scene of the late 1970s, Berne was a student of Hemphill and has led nearly 40 albums and collaborated with a coterie of exploratory musicians including Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, and Nels Cline, among many others. Speed is a three-time DownBeat Poll winner for his work on clarinet, and is a founding member of the Claudia Quintet. Anderson and King have recorded a dozen albums as members of the wildly successful Bad Plus, and each have extensive careers as bandleaders and sidemen.

Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Chris Speed: tenor saxophone & clarinet; Reid Anderson: bass; Dave King: drums.

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Live Review

Broken Shadows a JazzMI 2021

Read "Broken Shadows a JazzMI 2021" reviewed by Paolo Peviani


Broken Shadows JazzMI Triennale MiIano Teatro 24.10.2021 Tra le svariate decine di concerti proposti dall'edizione 2021 del festival JazzMI, il più interessante era senza dubbio quello dei Broken Shadows. Una formazione di altissima caratura, in cui troviamo due tra i migliori saxofonisti della scena avant contemporanea, Tim Berne all'alto e Chris Speed al tenore, in compagnia di Reid Anderson al contrabbasso e Dave King alla batteria, ovvero la sezione ritmica dei The Bad Plus ...

Radio & Podcasts

Exploring Broken Shadows

Read "Exploring Broken Shadows" reviewed by Bob Osborne


This show focuses on the reissue of the album by Broken Shadows a band inspired by the music of Ornette Coleman, Julius Hemphill, Charlie Haden and Dewey Redman. There is music from that release plus tunes from the musicians who inspired them, as well as from the individual members of the Broken Shadows band. Also featured is the new album from Silke Eberhard, and the 2018 album from Thumbscrew.Playlist Broken Shadows “Street Woman" from Broken Shadows (Intakt Records) ...

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Album Review

Broken Shadows: Broken Shadows with Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson, Dave King

Read "Broken Shadows with Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson, Dave King" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The context for Broken Shadows is--can you guess--the Ornette Coleman album of the same name, recorded in 1971 and released on Columbia Records in 1982. That, along with three tunes from Coleman's Science Fiction (Columbia, 1971), and more from the free jazz pioneer's Atlantic and Blue Note Records days. And while we're at it, throw in a pair of compositions from Julius Hemphill, one from saxophonist Dewey Redman and one from bassist Charlie Haden--all players with strong connections to Coleman. ...

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