Allison, Ben / Peace Pipe
Album: Peace Pipe   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Allison, Ben   Added:Sep 2002
Label:Palmetto Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2002-10-14 Pull Date: 2002-12-16 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Dec 1 Nov 24 Nov 17 Nov 10 Nov 3 Oct 27 Oct 20
Airplays: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Oct 25, 2018: No Cover, No Minimum
Peace Pipe
4. Nov 25, 2011: No Cover, No Minimum
Third Rail
2. Jul 01, 2017: No Cover, No Minimum: Saturday Edition
Slap Happy
5. Oct 07, 2011: No Cover, No Minimum
Third Rail
3. Sep 27, 2016: A Show Has No Name
Third Rail
6. May 14, 2010: No Cover, No Minimum
Third Rail

Album Review
Craig Matsumoto
Reviewed 2002-10-10
Light mainstream jazz. The band includes a kora (African stringed instrument, similar to banjo) on many tracks! Which gives it a world-music sound that’s often exotic but sometimes borders on new age.

Ben Allison’s a borderline case ... he writes contemporary jazz that’s got enough adventure in the composing to be interesting, but it’s also got too much gloss -- it’s consciously relaxing and peaceful, as if to appeal to the Windham Hill or ECM crowd. Previous albums tipped too far that way -- and that’s why they’re not in our library.

The saving graces for this one: The novelty of the kora, and the fact that former Berkeley star Peter Apfelbaum is on tracks 1, 6, 8 -- where he adds a bit of punch. Eurojazz stalwart Tomas Ulrich is in there too.

1- Fun loping song, w/kora solo
2- Fast but peaceful
3- Relaxing mid/fast ditty: again, too peaceful. Some raspy sax work, though.
4*- Spanish sound! Gets into some nice tenor-sax soloing.
5- Softly bluesy. Don’t bother.
6**- Mildly post-bop song, a bit complicated. Nice Apfelbaum solo.
7- Comforting kora-and-bass piece
8*- Slow and more deeply jazzy than most
9*- Mid/fast little piece, gets sweeping near the end

Track Listing
1. Third Rail   5. Goin' Back
2. Slap Happy   6. Disposable Genius
3. Peace Pipe   7. Music Is Music
4. Dakan   8. Realization
  9. Mantra