Manhattan Cycles

Manhattan Cycles
Live album by Revolutionary Ensemble
Released	1973
Recorded	December 31, 1972
Venue	St. Marks Theater, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	41:00
Label	India Navigation IN 1023
Producer	The Revolutionary Ensemble
Revolutionary Ensemble chronology
Vietnam (1972) Manhattan Cycles (1973) The Psyche (1975)

Manhattan Cycles is a live album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded on the last day of 1972 and released on the India Navigation label the following year.[1][2][3] The album documents a performance of an extended composition by Leo Smith.

Author Bob Gluck referred to the first half of "Manhattan Cycles: Side One" as shifting from foregrounded solos to what he calls "parallel play," a technique at which the group excelled, and "a performance mode in which all three musicians pursued their own direction while contributing to a shared overall construction. The 'glue' for such performance is a combined energy level, density, texture, and sense of shared purpose."[4] He noted that, due to the trio's cooperative orientation, "The Revolutionary Ensemble had no leader looking in from outside the hub of activity, no Miles Davis to limit musical forays from continuing until their logical end, however anarchic the journey."[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[7]

The AllMusic review awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars.[6]

A reviewer for Destination Out commented: "Recorded on New Year's Eve, 1972/73, there was doubtless plenty to be bombastic about at that time. But what we get instead is as un-bombastic as it gets. This is perhaps the most revolutionary aspect: no foreground, no background, a cooperative enterprise that enlists every technique at the artists' disposal... The entire performance is a model of interplay."[8]

Track listing

All compositions by Leo Smith.

1. "Manhattan Cycles: Side One" – 23:00
2. "Manhattan Cycles: Side Two" – 18:00

Personnel

• Leroy Jenkins – violin, viola
• Jerome Cooper – drums, bugle, metal hoops, flute, tape recorder
• Sirone − bass

References

1. Jazzlists: India Navigation LP discography, accessed April 27, 2018
2. Revolutionary Ensemble discography, accessed April 27, 2018
3. Sirone discography, accessed April 27, 2018
4. Gluck, Bob (2016). The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary Ensembles. The University of Chicago Press. p. 150.
5. Gluck, Bob (2016). The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary Ensembles. The University of Chicago Press. p. 144.
6. Revolutionary Ensemble: Manhattan Cycles – Listing at AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
7. Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. Random House. p. 168.
8. "Project for a Revolution in New York". Destination Out. February 1, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2022.