Windward Passages is a live album

Live album

A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...

 released by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 Dave Burrell

Dave Burrell

Davis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...

 that is considered "a widely acclaimed jazz-opera." It was recorded on September 13, 1979 in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and released by hatART Records in 1980 on double-LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

. hatART released the album again on LP in 1986 and then on CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 1994.

The album was Burrell's first collaboration with his wife, Monkia Larsson, who was a Swedish writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and librettist at the time. Burrell conceived this full-length opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic album as his reply to land development

Land development

Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

 in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, which was where he was raised. The live performance included various vocal singers, a 21 piece orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, dancers and a chorus

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

. At first, Burrell had trouble convincing some vocalists to perform with him because of how fast he played as a jazz pianist; one such example was Hilda Harris of the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 who told him "I can sing it, but you're playing much too fast."

Track listing

1. "Overture Windward Passages" (Burrell, Larsson) — 5:32
2. "Punaluu Peter" (Burrell, Larsson) — 7:12
3. "Stepping Out (Or, Monday Night Death Rehearsal)" (Burrell, Larsson) — 3:59
4. "On a Saturday Night" (Burrell, Larsson) — 5:54
5. "Sarah's Lament" (Burrell, Larsson) — 5:35
6. "Menehune Messages/Heritage/Carnival" (Burrell, Larsson) — 4:48
7. "Teardrops for Jimmy" (Burrell) — 5:16
8. "I Want to See You Everyday of Your Life" (Burrell, Larsson) — 5:11
9. "Black Robert" (Burrell) — 5:19
10. "My Dog Has Fleas/Polynesian Dreams/Popolo Paniolo" (Burrell, Larsson) — 13:19
11. "A.M. Rag" (Burrell) — 4:55

Personnel

• Dave Burrell — piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  

Production:

• Klau Baumgärtner — cover art
• Walter Bosshardt, Robine Clignett — design
• David Crawford — mastering
• Craig Johnson — production coordination
• Peter Pfister — engineer, editing, recording
• Peter Rolle — photography
• Pia Uehlinger — producer
• Werner X. Uehlinger — producer, editing

Reception

Allmusic notes that Burrell "so thoroughly a pianist, composer, and improviser that the three are inseparable in him" and that this album is the proof. Reviewer Thom Jurek marvels at how, performing live, Burrell is able to provide "lyrical invention and harmonic sense of balance" and how if what he "heard was possible, let alone true."