Cryptology (album)

In fall 1992, Steven Joerg took over as Homestead Records' manager. While he continued the label's indie-rock trajectory, Joerg adopted a radically different vision integrating free jazz on the same label where Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Big Black recorded seminal records. Pianist Matthew Shipp, who had a duo record with bassist William Parker on a Texas punk-rock label which had a deal with Homestead's parent company, talked him into signing the David S. Ware Quartet. According to Ware, Cryptology was "a meditation on Coltrane's example of using music as a vehicle for transcendence." ==Reception==

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek says about the album "It is raw, unwavering, and intense almost beyond measure." The Penguin Guide to Jazz states that "the long-form, linked improvisations on Cryptology is an impressive first draft." The album garnered a Lead Review slot in Rolling Stone by David Fricke, who says about the title piece "It's a sharp lesson for anyone who thinks free jazz is just a euphemism for no discipline". The Wire placed the album in their "50 Records Of The Year 1995" list. ==Track listing==

:All compositions by David S. Ware • "Solar Passage" – 6:42 • "Direction: Pleiades" – 9:04 • "Dinosauria" – 10:03 • "Cryptology / Theme Stream" – 14:19 • "Panoramic" – 10:45 • "The Liberator" – 10:44 ==Personnel==

• David S. Ware – tenor sax • Matthew Shipp – piano • William Parker – bass • Whit Dickey – drums ==References==