Air Above Mountains < Buildings Within > cover

Air Above Mountains < Buildings Within >

Released

This live LP, recorded at Moosham Castle in Langau, Austria in 1976, may be Taylor’s most stunning solo performance. He was at a creative peak as an improvising pianist in the early 1970s, beginning with the albums Indent and Silent Tongues and leading to this marathon (76 minutes on CD, up from roughly 45 on the LP). Taylor lays down a few relatively simple figures at the beginning of the concert, then spins out lyrical extrapolations of those, broken up by dense clusters of notes that are more percussive and textural than melodic. By the end, it’s like he’s pulled a single spool of thread from his pocket and woven a tapestry before your eyes.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Street Talk cover

Street Talk

Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Saxophone Summit, David Liebman
Maroon Cloud cover

Maroon Cloud

Nicole Mitchell
Treasure Island cover

Treasure Island

Keith Jarrett
Dark Day cover

Dark Day

Fred Anderson Quartet
Under the Sun cover

Under the Sun

Human Arts Ensemble
Ripples cover

Ripples

Husmo HAV
Live at the East cover

Live at the East

Pharoah Sanders
Polyhymnia cover

Polyhymnia

Yazz Ahmed
Stones cover

Stones

Mats Gustafsson, Colin Stetson