Lesson plan

Riobec

Riobec is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Günter Sommer recorded in Berlin on June 17, 1988 as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label. In the album liner notes, Sommer is quoted as saying, "To play with Cecil Taylor is a challenge, in many different ways, also on the physical level. Just to have the stamina to last out over a period of one to two hours of extremely active playing is a minimum requirement. At the same time you have to be able to rely on the flow of your own ideas, what you try to impart. Not only just reacting to his music, but keeping up with him, bringing in your own material... We had only improvised together for about twenty minutes that afternoon and so, for the concert, I had to rely on my own fund of experience. The fact that Taylor gives the same importance to each and every note as part of the Whole, made me treat my drums differently. Every single piece, even the cymbal stands, every drum, had the same value, and that is not usually the case. But the continuous 'vibrations' coming from the piano that struck my equipment and were then bounced around, set the whole thing oscillating, anyway."

Back to article

Article summary

Riobec is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Günter Sommer recorded in Berlin on June 17, 1988 as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label. In the album liner notes, Sommer is quoted as saying, "To play with Cecil Taylor is a challenge, in many different ways, also on the physical level. Just to have the stamina to last out over a period of one to two hours of extremely active playing is a minimum requirement. At the same time you have to be able to rely on the flow of your own ideas, what you try to impart. Not only just reacting to his music, but keeping up with him, bringing in your own material... We had only improvised together for about twenty minutes that afternoon and so, for the concert, I had to rely on my own fund of experience. The fact that Taylor gives the same importance to each and every note as part of the Whole, made me treat my drums differently. Every single piece, even the cymbal stands, every drum, had the same value, and that is not usually the case. But the continuous 'vibrations' coming from the piano that struck my equipment and were then bounced around, set the whole thing oscillating, anyway."

Key claims

No claims recorded.

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.