• List Price: $24.99  
• Your Price: $24.99
• In Stock: 1071

You must login to place orders.




Not purchasing for a business? See our consumer site.

BLACK VINYL. Tony Williams certainly counts among those unique drummers in jazz today, whose work has had a lasting influence on styles and still does. At the tender age of 16, saxophonist Jackie McLean brought him to his band in New York. He also made his first recording with McLean. Soon after, aged 17, Williams was already making a splash in the second Miles Davis Quintet.

Almost twenty years later, in 1980, on May 30 and 31, Tony Williams went to the Zuckerfabrik recording studio in Stuttgart/Germany, together with Tom Grant (keyboards, synthesizer, he joined this band on the recommendation of Jeff Lorber) and Patrick O'Hearn (bass, synthesizer). In the 1970s and early 1980s, this studio was an illustrious address for audio productions of all kinds. Larry Coryell, Wolfgang Dauner, Stephane Grappeli, Elvin Jones, Martin Kolbe + Ralf Illenberger, Volker Kriegel, Alphonse Mouzon, John Scofield and the United Jazz+Rock Ensemble recorded there, to name just a few.

Tony Williams and Peter Schnyder co-produced the recording.

The album was recorded in just two days and mixed right there in the studio.

This timeless album, released in an edition of only 500 copies, was hardly promoted at the time and may therefore have remained unknown to one or the other. All the better that now for the first time since the release of the Vinyl it is also available on CD (released 7/8/2022), and on this Record Store Day exclusive LP with a significantly improved sound.

Tony Williams composed Para Oriente & There Comes A Time (Tony supplied the vocals).
Tony Williams, Patrick O'Hearn & Tom Grant composed Jam Tune.
Patrick O'Hearn composed The Big Man & Beach Ball Tango

Media

Track Listing

Press Quotes

...This album is a vital part of jazz fusion lore. It provides a well-deserved opportunity for music aficionados to appreciate this album, especially on vinyl.

     —Robbie Gerson, Audiophile Audition

This is an important release, as it fills in a gap between Williams' 1978 fusion The Joy of Flying and his straightahead 1985 album Foreign Intrigue.

     —George W. Harris, Jazz Weekle

This is a must for Williams fans and for fusion fans in general. The sound quality is pristine and it's an easily digestible listen, just under 40 minutes.

     —Jim Hynes, Glide magazine

Tony Williams (1945-97) passed away much too soon during gall bladder surgery. Play Or Die is a welcome addition to his discography.

     —Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene

This 1980 album works best as a showcase for Tony Williams's towering talent as a jazz drummer, but connoisseurs of '80s synth will find much to love here too.

     —Will Pinfold, Urban Music Scene

Play or Die is much more than a curiosity, it's a legit statement on fusion jazz from one if its originators.

     —S. Victor Aaron, Something Else

An essential entry into the varied discography of one of the modern jazz milieu's most esteemed percussionists.

     —Doug Collette, All About Jazz

Play or Die is a strong record that casts a much-needed light onto a shadowy corner of a jazz icon's oeuvre.

     —Michael Toland, The Big Takeover