"Are you ready for magic? The master musicians Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Gerald Cleaver will provide access with this album, the first they have released after playing together for decades.

Daniel Carter has been collaborating with William Parker since the early 70s and with Matthew Shipp starting in the mid 80s. This trio has played together on many recordings but by adding legendary drummer Gerald Cleaver to the mix they have created a masterpiece combination; a supergroup of sorts. This all-star project is presented in two parts/LPs. This is the first volume - with volume two scheduled to be published in the near future.

Listen to Welcome Adventure! and experience the mystical journey of these masterful artists as they guide you through the realm of magic."-577 Music

"Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Gerald Cleaver: ItÕs a mouthful and also a very significant chunk of Downtown NYC royalty. Multi-horn master Carter goes back almost fifty years with the bass icon Parker and the innovative pianist Shipp about 35 years, and all three have recorded together on several occasions over the years. Now with the addition of the drum boss Cleaver, a great combination just got greater.

More than anything, Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1 shows how the introduction of just one new member into a stew of vets so familiar with each other radically changes the dynamics.

Majestic Travel Agency begins, perhaps unexpectedly, as a groove. ThatÕs on Cleaver, who lays an unusual pulse underneath ShippÕs insistent note. Parker locates a precise pulse and before Carter even enters the picture, a unit fully integrated around this rhythm is formed. Carter just rides it nice and easy and as Cleaver pivots to a subtle snare roll, Shipp changes, too, densifying his phrasing. Ultimately, the song settles until a malleable mid-tempo gait, and as Carter and Shipp leisurely solo, ParkerÕs bass note placements are locked into CleaverÕs kick drum.

Carter is one of the very rare legit sax players who can slay it on the trumpet, too, and heÕs doing just that on ÒScintillate.Ó Just as he does on reed, he never forces out the phrasing, he lets it come to him instead. The rest of the guys put together a bluesy swing thatÕs for them uncharacteristically straight ahead but itÕs the perfect feel the song calls for.

But Carter isnÕt yet done pulling instruments out of his bag; ÒEar-regularitiesÓ is a feature for his flute (and later, muted trumpet) and he engages in some nice give-and-take with Shipp. Listen deeper and youÕll hear William Parker alternately lock in tightly with CleaverÕs serpentine patters and then with a bow connect with Shipp. In truth, all three are interconnected in a way that couldnÕt be synced better if it were scripted. Just as in ÒMajestic Travel Agency,Ó Parker discreetly twists the rhythm with a slight alteration to his bass pattern, Cleaver immediately picks up on it and adjusts accordingly, and before you know it, the song is transformed into something thatÕs rather funky. From there is a slow descent into something elegiac, with Carter playing an open trumpet with the sensitivity of Miles.

Note that the words ÒVolume 1Ó is in the albumÕs title. ThatÕs right, Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Gerald Cleaver recorded two albumsÕ worth of material and word is that Volume 2 will be out, too, before long. Based on what IÕm hearing on the first volume, it canÕt come soon enough."-S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews