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Angel Street
Studio album by Tony Williams
Released	1988
Genre	Jazz
Length	45:01
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Tony Williams Jason Corsaro
Tony Williams chronology
Civilization (1987) Angel Street (1988) Native Heart (1990)

Angel Street is an album by the American musician Tony Williams, released in 1988. He and his group supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

All of the songs were written by Williams, who had spent the early 1980s working on his composition skills. He was backed by Billy Pierce on saxophone, Charnett Moffett on bass, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and Mulgrew Miller on piano. "Pee Wee" was recorded by Williams's former bandleader, Miles Davis. Williams thought that his compositional abilities were stronger on Angel Street, and that he possessed a better sense of melody. He preferred that the group record only two or three takes of a track. Williams used a personalized drum machine to help him construct the songs; he included short drum solos between the tracks.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Windsor Star	A−

The St. Petersburg Times concluded that "Williams is unquestionably an expert and innovative drummer, but his composing skills—a recent concentration—are shaky... Most of the tunes ... are fuzzy and obtuse." The New York Times noted that "the music is easygoing, even at fast tempos; Mr. Williams knocks the tunes around with carefree mastery, but too often he allows his soloists ... to reel off the steady strings of 16th-notes and arpeggios that are hard-bop's common currency." The Los Angeles Times said that "the music, composed by Williams, is powered by his crisp stick work: rapidly shifting layers of rhythms coming from carefully tuned drums that almost give his playing a melodic quality."

The Windsor Star stated that the "group kicks and swings healthily ... on uptempo outings like 'Obsession' and 'Red Mask'". The Globe and Mail opined that "the ballads sound like most quintet's ballads—his musicians play them in a way that falls halfway between the dutiful and the inspired—but the heavy slugging, with Moffett as bullish as his leader, could only be the work of Tony Williams." The Times praised Williams's "breathtakingly sophisticated rhythmic and textural detail".

Track listing

References

1. "Record labels are filling the jazz bins". USA Today. September 13, 1988. p. 2D.
2. Macnie, Jim (March 8, 1997). "Renowned jazz drummer Tony Williams, 51, dies". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 10. pp. 10, 76.
3. Nelson, Nels (May 26, 1989). "He Sticks to Drumming: Styles May Change, but Williams' Beat Remains Loud & Clear". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 62.
4. Varga, George (June 14, 1989). "Williams drums up a legend". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D1.
5. ^ Pareles, Jon (March 5, 1989). "In Jazz, Young Players Turn to the Old Hard-Bop". The New York Times. p. A29.
6. ^ Miller, Mark (September 21, 1989). "Angel Street Tony Williams". The Globe and Mail. p. C15.
7. Lloyd, Jack (May 26, 1989). "A Fusion Artist Who Loves the Beatles". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 28.
8. Kot, Greg (June 5, 1989). "Leader of the band: Tony Williams becomes more than a great jazz drummer". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 3.
9. Smith, Brad (May 27, 1989). "Williams the composer strikes new beat with 'Angel Street'". Arts & Entertainment. The Republican. p. 22.
10. Sachs, Lloyd (November 3, 1988). "Tony Williams sounds young as ever at Showcase". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 2.54.
11. Franckling, Ken (December 23, 1988). "Tony Williams, 'Angel Street'". UPI.
12. MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 1205.
13. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette. Penguin Books. 1994. p. 1377.
14. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 772.
15. ^ Stevens, Peter (September 2, 1989). "Jazz". The Windsor Star. p. C2.
16. Snider, Eric (November 13, 1988). "Closing the circle". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
17. Sutro, Dirk (June 15, 1989). "Drummer Tony Williams Sticks with Raw Talent". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
18. Williams, Richard (March 18, 1989). "Crisp and clean". Jazz Records. The Times.

• Tony Williams (drummer) albums
• 1988 albums
• Blue Note Records albums