These CDs were recorded live at a club called Le JAM in the city of Montpellier in the South of France.  The occasion was a series of intensive workshops and concerts over a period of two weeks.  We call these type of setups ëGrass Rootsí touring and we have done this before in the United States, Cuba, Senegal and India.  However this is the first time we have done this kind of thing in Europe.  The concerts recorded here were open to both students attending the workshops and the public, the atmosphere and energy was informal and loose.  This is the form in which we prefer to communicate our musical ideas and hopefully we will be able to continue in this approach in the future.

In the tradition of music to which we belong performances are not based on the playing of material from the ëlatestí album.  During concerts we play whatever material we feel at that moment, it does not matter which album the material is on.  At every performance there will be some compositions never before performed by us (i.e. complete spontaneous compositions), some that are new to the audience and some older original material that may or may not have been recorded.  Only the compositions "Resistance Is Futile" and "Reflex" have never been recorded before.

There was a lot of hard work put into doing this project.  Without all of the hard work of Geoffroy DeMasure, Sophia Wong, Michaela Mayer, Pierre Walfisz and all the musicians in the band these workshop, concerts and this recording would not have been possible.  We hope that this music communicates to you and that you enjoy it.
 

1st Set  Abundance (Fullness)      TIME
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Wheel of Nature                                  18:54
Beyond All We Know                         06:05
9 to 5                                                   14:42
Change The Guard                              08:57
Ah-Leu-Cha (fast)                               05:28
Law of Balance/Figit Time                  13:49
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Total Time                                           67:55
 

2nd Set The Wanderer                    TIME
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Resistance Is Futile (Limitation)         15:14
Hits/Straight No Chaser                      06:10
Easy Living                                         07:07
Urban                                                  07:37
Flint                                                    12:15
Pad Thai                                             02:55
Straight Ahead                                    05:46
Reflex                                                 05:59
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Total Time                                          67:05
 

Composition Title              Composer
Wheel of Nature                     Steve Coleman
Beyond All We Know           Steve Coleman
9 to 5                                         Steve Coleman
Change The Guard                 Steve Coleman
Ah-Leu-Cha                             Charlie Parker
Law of Balance/Figit Time Steve Coleman/Doug Hammond
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Resistance Is Futile              Steve Coleman
Hits/Straight No Chaser      Steve Coleman/Thelonious Monk
Easy Living                             Leo Robin/Ralph Rainger
Urban                                        Steve Coleman
Flint                                          Jerry Goldsmith
Pad Thai                         Steve Coleman
Straight Ahead                       Mal Waldron
Reflex                                       Steve Coleman
 

Steve Coleman and Five Elements

Steve Coleman                            alto saxophone, vocals
Jonathan Finlayson                     trumpet
Ambrose Campbell-Akinmusire  trumpet
Andy Milne                                 piano, keyboards
Anthony Tidd                              bass
Jesús Diaz                                   percussion, vocals
Sean Rickman                             drums
Geoffroy DeMasure                    trombone  (guest)

Recording Engineer Vincent Mahey and Hervé Martin
Mixed by Steve Coleman and Joseph Marciano
Mix Studio Systems Two Recording Studio
Mastered by Nicholas Prout
Mastering Company Foothill Digital

Producer Steve Coleman
Executive Producer Pierre Walfisz
Assistant Producer Geoffroy DeMasure
Cover Design and Layout Jérôme Witz
Photography Guy Le Querrec
Liner Notes Steve Coleman

Concerts recorded live at Le Jam Club, Montpellier France  July 12-13 2001
Mixed at Systems Two Recording Studios, Brooklyn, NY  July/August 2001
Mastered at Foothill Digital, New York, NY                         August 21, 2001

All songs composed and arranged by Steve Coleman are published by Goemon Publishing Co. (SESAC / GEMA).

Steve Coleman plays a Selmer Series III Alto Saxophone, Vandoren mouthpieces and Vandoren reeds.

A very special thanks goes out to Geoffroy DeMasure, Pierre Walfisz, Daniel Baumgarten, Jean Peiffer and all the staff at Le JAM, Sophia Wong, Michaela Mayer, Thomas Stowsand, Michel Lecomte, Jean-Marc Garbay, Nancy Marciano, Jean-Paul Gauvin, Patrick Selmer, Sani Widowati, all the cats in the band and all of the students who attended the workshops at Le JAM

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