Sphere - the complete live at umbria jazz / 2CD set

In recent times, a search of the Red Records archive led to the discovery of two quarter-inch tapes, believed to be blank. Upon closer examination, a single Sphere track was discovered on each of the reels. A remarkable discovery since, incredibly for such an important jazz group, the official recording legacy is limited to two Elektra Musician releases and two Red Records live recordings. (Sphere also signed with Verve in 1987, but the two recordings failed to capture the magic of the original group, mainly due to health problems of Rouse, who died in 1988).

Now the Complete Live at Umbria Jazz contains seven tracks, three of which are compositions by Buster Williams, on an album that gives space to his bass. Three compositions that previously appeared on Flight Path appear here in live performance: Pumpkin’s Delight by Charlie Rouse, Christina, which is a dedication by Buster William to his granddaughter, and the previously unreleased If Ever I Should Lose You.

Charlie Rouse, tenor sax
Kenny Barron, piano
Buster Williams, bass
Ben Riley, drums

    disc 1
    1 Tokudo
    2 Saud's Song
    3 Trinkle, Tinkle
    4 Decepticon

    disc 2
    1 Christina
    2 Pumpkin's Delight
    3 If I Should Lose You