From the River to the Ocean

For Palestinian political slogan, see From the river to the sea.

From the River to the Ocean is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with drummer Hamid Drake, which was released in 2007 on the Thrill Jockey label.

From the River to the Ocean
Studio album by Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake
Released	2007
Studio	Soma Studios, Chicago
Genre	Jazz
Length	63:43
Label	Thrill Jockey
Fred Anderson chronology
The Great Vision Concert (2007) From the River to the Ocean (2007) Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume III (2008)

Music

For this project Anderson and Drake drafted three fellow Chicagoans: guitarist Jeff Parker and bassists Harrison Bankhead and Joshua Abrams, both of whom double on other instruments.

"Planet E" is an Anderson composition which appears previously on The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1 and Fred Anderson / DKV Trio. "Strut Time" is a classic set-closing blues by the saxophonist. "For Brother Thompson" is a modal piece dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring Bankhead on piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The title track and the closer, “Sakti/Shiva”, find Abrams moving to guimbri, a three-stringed acoustic bass associated with the Gnawa music.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

In his review for AllMusic, Sean Westergaard states "They might be known as avant-garde players, but this album is totally approachable and extremely soulful. From the River to the Ocean is not only among Anderson's finest albums to date, it has to be among the top jazz albums of 2007."^[2]

The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins notes that "The resonant, mature beauty found on From the River to the Ocean proves that contemporary free jazz doesn't always have to burn white-hot to generate emotional heat; simmering intensity can yield the same results."^[3]

The JazzTimes review by David Whiteis says "This set emphasizes subtlety over show, group interplay over individual scenery chewing, and ideas over pyrotechnics. In other words, it demands your full attention — it’s not background music for multitasking."^[4]

Track listing

1. "Planet E" (Fred Anderson) - 14:43
2. "Strut Time" (Fred Anderson) - 21:15
3. "For Brother Thompson" (Harrison Bankhead) - 7:44
4. "From the River to the Ocean" (Josh Abrams, Hamid Drake) - 13:36
5. "Sakti/Shiva" (Fred Anderson, Josh Abrams, Hamid Drake) - 6:25

Personnel

• Fred Anderson - tenor sax
• Hamid Drake - drums, frame drum
• Jeff Parker - guitar
• Harrison Bankhead - cello, piano, bass
• Josh Abrams - bass, guimbri

References

1. From the River to the Ocean at Thrill Jockey
2. Westergaard, Sean. Fred Anderson - From the River to the Ocean: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
3. Collins, Troy. From the River to the Ocean review at All About Jazz
4. Whiteis, David. From the River to the Ocean review at JazzTimes