Birdhouse (album)

Birdhouse
Birdhouse
Studio album by Fred Anderson
Released	1996
Recorded	February 20, 1995; (track 4 April 7, 1994)
Studio	Sparrow Sound Design, Chicago
Genre	Jazz
Length	62:59
Label	Okka Disk
Producer	Fred Anderson , Bruno Johnson
Fred Anderson chronology

Birdhouse is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson, released in 1996 on Okka Disk.

The title refers to Anderson's Chicago club that closed in 1978. Three pieces are played by a quartet with pianist Jim Baker and long-time collaborators bassist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Hamid Drake. "Like Sonny" is dedicated to saxophonist Sonny Stitt.^[1] The final song, "Waiting for M.C.", is an Anderson-Drake duo from the sessions for the album Destiny (1994) by pianist Marilyn Crispell

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[3]

In her review for AllMusic, Joslyn Layne stated: "Birdhouse finds tenor sax great Fred Anderson leading his quartet through four originals that cover a spectrum of moods."^[2]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "Birdhouse never quite fires, perhaps because the pianist is so restrictive, though 'Like Sonny', a tribute to Sonny Stitt with no hint of pastiche, is worth the wait."^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Fred Anderson except as indicated

"Birdhouse" - 18:55
"Bernice" - 16:11
"Like Sonny" - 15:33
"Waiting for M.C." (Fred Anderson - Hamid Drake) - 12:20

Personnel

Fred Anderson - tenor sax
Jim Baker - piano
Harrison Bankhead - bass
Hamid Drake - drums

References

^ Original Liner Notes by Peter Kostakis
^ ^a ^b Layne, Joslyn. Fred Anderson – Birdhouse: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 36.

[Liner_notes-1] Original Liner Notes by Peter Kostakis

[Allmusic-2] Layne, Joslyn. Fred Anderson – Birdhouse: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2014.

[penguin-3] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 36.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Fred Anderson
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums	The Missing Link (1979) Vintage Duets (with Steve McCall, 1980) Black Horn Long Gone (1993) Birdhouse (1995) Fred Chicago Chamber Music (1996) Fred Anderson / DKV Trio (1996) Back Together Again (with Hamid Drake, 2003) From the River to the Ocean (with Hamid Drake, 2007) Staying in the Game (2008)
Live albums	Dark Day (1979) The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1 (1980) Destiny (with Marilyn Crispell and Hamid Drake, 1994) Live at the Velvet Lounge (1998) Fred Anderson Quartet Volume One (1998) 2 Days in April (1999) Fred Anderson Quartet Volume Two (1999) Duets 2001 (with Robert Barry, 1999) Birthday Live 2000 (2000) On the Run, Live at the Velvet Lounge (2000) Back at the Velvet Lounge (2002) The Great Vision Concert (2003) Blue Winter (2004) Timeless, Live at the Velvet Lounge (2005) Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume III (2007) A Night at the Velvet Lounge Made in Chicago 2007 (2007) 21st Century Chase (2009)