| Red Warrior | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Jazz, free jazz | |||
| Label | Axiom [1] | |||
| Producer | Bill Laswell | |||
| Ronald Shannon Jackson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Red Warrior is an album by the American jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, released in 1990. [2] [3] It was rereleased by Mango Records the following year. [4]
Production
The album was produced by Bill Laswell. [5] Jackson opted to record the album without horns, instead utilizing a three-guitar roster. [6] Red Warrior, inspired by a tour that Jackson undertook in Africa, was recorded in one day. [7]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  
[8] |
| Chicago Sun-Times |
[9] |
| Robert Christgau |
[10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | 
[11] |
| Los Angeles Times |
[12] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |
[13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
[14] |
The Washington Post thought that the guitarists "all fall into one hard-rock or funk cliché after another ... For all the volcanic energy happening at the bottom of this music, the top is so uninspired that it dooms the album." [5] The Los Angeles Times called the album "a flawed experiment," writing that Jackson "failed to solve metal's rhythmic stolidity." [12] The Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "the songs cut deeper than any Jackson has delivered since the days of his harmolodic fusion band, the Decoding Society." [9] The St. Petersburg Times relegated it to "the guitar-mag crowd." [4]
AllMusic wrote that "the mix is expanded with plenty of jazz improvisation, weaves of effects-riddled guitar lines, complex head statements, and, of course, the drummer's pan-stylistic rhythmic support." [8] Billboard called Red Warrior an "extremely uncompromising fusion" album. [15] The New York Times, in its Jackson obituary, deemed it "a fiery guitar-oriented session." [16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Red Warrior" | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Ashes" | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Gate to Heaven" | 5:14 |
| 4. | "In Every Face" | 6:06 |
| 5. | "Elders" | 13:33 |
| 6. | "What's Not Said" | 4:15 |
Personnel
- Ronald Shannon Jackson - drums
- Jack DeSalvo - guitar
- Jef Lee Johnson - guitar
- Konrad Mathieu - bass
- Ramon Pooser - bass
- Steve Salas - guitar
References
- ^ "Sounding Off". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. April 19, 1992 – via Google Books.
- ^ Giddins, Gary (November 15, 2004). Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century. Oxford University Press – via Google Books.
- ^ Wynn, Ron (4 Jan 1991). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. E19.
- ^ a b Green, Tony (15 Mar 1991). "Losing Battle for 'Red Warrior'". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 19.
- ^ a b "Recordings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Shimamoto, Ken (July 5, 2012). "Jazz Great Ronald Shannon Jackson Returns to DFW". Dallas Observer.
- ^ Flans, Robyn (July 1991). "Update: Ronald Shannon Jackson". Modern Drummer. Vol. 15, no. 7. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Red Warrior - Ronald Shannon Jackson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b Sachs, Lloyd (January 10, 1991). "Ronald Shannon Jackson, 'Red Warrior' (Axiom)". Features. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 56.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Ronald Shannon Jackson". www.robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 540.
- ^ a b Snowden, Don (7 July 1991). "Charting Pop's Format Orphans". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 54.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (8th ed.). Penguin. 2006. p. 684.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 353.
- ^ Macnie, Jim (July 4, 1992). "Jazz Postcards from the Edge". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 27. p. J18.
- ^ Smith, Steve (October 23, 2013). "Ronald Shannon Jackson, Composer and Avant-Garde Drummer, Dies at 73". The New York Times.