Fire in the Valley is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded live at the Fire in the Valley Festival in 1996 and released on the Eremite label. He leads a trio with bassist John Voigt and drummer Laurence Cook, the same lineup as the previous studio album Tri-P-Let.[1]

Fire in the Valley
Live album by
Released1997
RecordedJuly 27, 1996
VenueUMASS, Amherst, Massachusetts
GenreJazz
Length41:19
LabelEremite
ProducerMichael Ehlers
Jemeel Moondoc chronology
Tri-P-Let
(1996)
Fire in the Valley
(1997)
New World Pygmies
(1999)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz    [3]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek notes about Moondoc "Unlike many free jazzers who try to blow the guts out of the horn each and every time they improvise, he digs deep into the jazz tradition for his material... His tone is more reminiscent of Jackie McLean's while his playing style comes from the same place that Charles Tyler's does."[2]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz says that the album "is a tough, often abrasive and, to be honest, slightly unrelieved set which doesn't benefit from a recording which makes no effort to buff up the blunter edges."[3]

The All About Jazz review by Derek Taylor states "Cook and Voigt bustle back and forth between volcanic eruptions and quieter dispersions, and Moondoc’s sound is similarly varied between raw, raucous honks and elongated, emotionally charged lines."[4]

Track listing

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All compositions by Jemeel Moondoc
  1. "Fire in the Valley" - 39:51
  2. "Encore" - 1:28

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Fire in the Valley at Eremite
  2. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Jemeel Moondoc – Fire in the Valley: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (7th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 1161. ISBN 0141014164.
  4. ^ Taylor, Derek. Fire in the Valley review at All About Jazz