The Great Pretender (Lester Bowie album)
1981 studio album by Lester Bowie
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The Great Pretender is the eighth album by American jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie as leader, recorded in June 1981 and released on ECM later that year.
| The Great Pretender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | June 1981 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 42:44 | |||
| Labels | ECM ECM 1209 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Lester Bowie chronology | ||||
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Reception
The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos stated: "The Great Pretender is a perfect title for this effort, a mix of funk and humor, gospel and jazz, with no small points of reference to Dizzy Gillespie, early doo wop, Mahalia Jackson, James Brown, and Sun Ra... The Great Pretender falls just short of Bowie's magnum opus The 5th Power, but not by much in terms of sheer modernism. It's utterly enjoyable creative jazz, worthy of a space in your collection."[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [3] |
Track listing
- "The Great Pretender" (Buck Ram) – 16:22
- "It's Howdy Doody Time" (Edward Kean) – 2:08
- "When the Doom (Moon) Comes over the Mountain" (Harry M. Woods, Howard E. Johnson; Lester Bowie (arr.)) – 3:39
- "Rios Negroes" (Bowie) – 7:17
- "Rose Drop" (Bowie) – 7:28
- "Oh, How the Ghost Sings" (Bowie, Donald Smith, Fred Williams, Phillip Wilson, Manfred Eicher, Martin Wieland) 5:50
Personnel
- Lester Bowie – trumpet
- Donald Smith – piano, organ
- Fred Williams – bass, electric bass
- Phillip Wilson – drums
Additional musicians ("The Great Pretender")
- Hamiet Bluiett – baritone saxophone
- Fontella Bass – vocal
- David Peaston – vocal
Technical personnel
- Manfred Eicher – producer
- Martin Wieland – engineer
- Dieter Rehm – cover design, cover photography
- Helmut Frühauf – liner photography