Transmissions (Alan Silva and Oluyemi Thomas album)

Transmissions is a live album by bassist Alan Silva and multi-instrumentalist Oluyemi Thomas. It was recorded in October 1999 at the Fire in the Valley festival at the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was released later that year by Eremite Records

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz

In a review for AllMusic, Steve Loewy wrote: "These five conversations... are exercises in how to maintain a continuous flow of ideas for nearly an hour of live performance. Thomas' primitive style has roots way in the past, but his radical approach and non-swinging style and partial rejection of traditional swing marks his lines as something beyond the ordinary. Silva caresses his strings, sliding, stretching, even whining, and, like Thomas, embraces unconventional ways of playing. Together, these two unsung adventurers wander in the wilderness and discover, if not oil, then at least some new perspectives on the musical experience."

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings noted that some of the pieces are "simple, almost sweetly beatific," while most of the interest "centres around Silva's often brilliant work."

Bill Shoemaker, writing for Jazz Times, stated: "Transmissions... is a welcomed opportunity to hear Silva reassert his compelling voice on the instrument... Silva is a keen listener, as is Thomas, who repeatedly ratchets the tension or shifts the color at the right moment to charge the dialogue. Transmissions is an absorbing album, and a clear signal of Silva’s ongoing vitality."

In an article for All About Jazz, Derek Taylor commented: "Never to my knowledge have bass clarinet and bass been wedded so consummately in isolation. The title to the disc is an apt one and captures the feeling of this team of tone scientists beaming out sonic signals that transcend the conventional continuums of space and time." Another AAJ reviewer remarked: "There is plenty of material on Transmissions to engage even the most stolid listener. Repeated listenings offer new rounds of discovery... This is wide open territory: Silva and Thomas charge into it like there's no tomorrow."

One Final Note's Scott Hreha stated: "Rare as it may be, some records are instant classics. Take this meeting between Alan Silva and... Oluyemi Thomas—an artifact so beautifully recorded, so spiritually executed, so evocative of deep fountains of knowledge that it seizes the attention from practically the first seconds of play. From there, Silva and Thomas meld their collective experience into 50 minutes of pure intuition, resulting in an unfathomable tone world of bass, reeds and peripherals guaranteed to open the doors to cultural perception."

Track listing

All compositions by Alan Silva and Oluyemi Thomas.

"Connecting with the Divine" – 16:20
"Lofty Flight" – 12:30
"Root & Branch" – 11:49
"Offering to the Exalted One" – 5:25
"Soft Flowing Waters" – 4:35

Personnel

Alan Silva – double bass
Oluyemi Thomas – bass clarinet, C melody saxophone, wooden flute, percussion

References

"Alan Silva & Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
^ Loewy, Steve. "Alan Silva and Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1298.
Shoemaker, Bill (June 1, 2001). "Alan Silva/Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". Jazz Times. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
Taylor, Derek (February 1, 2001). "Alan Silva & Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
Staff, AAJ (February 1, 2001). "Alan Silva and Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
Hreha, Scott (April 2001). "Alan Silva and Oluyemi Thomas: Transmissions". One Final Note. Retrieved April 11, 2022.

v t e Alan Silva
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Skillfulness (1968) Luna Surface (1969) In the Tradition (with Johannes Bauer and Roger Turner, 1993)
Live albums	Seasons (1970) Take Some Risks (1986) A Hero's Welcome: Pieces for Rare Occasions (with William Parker, 1998) Emancipation Suite (with Kidd Jordan and William Parker, 1999) Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra (1999) Transmissions (with Oluyemi Thomas, 1999) The All-Star Game (with Marshall Allen, Hamid Drake, Kidd Jordan, William Parker, 2000) H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box (2001) FreeJazzArt (with Jacques Coursil, 2014)

v t e Oluyemi Thomas
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	Nigeria (2001) First Ones (2005)
Live albums	Transmissions (with Alan Silva, 1999) Live in New York (2001) The Power of Light (with Henry Grimes, 2006) Beneath Tones Floor (with Sirone, 2008)

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