Apogee (Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh album)

Apogee is an album by saxophonists Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh, recorded in 1978 and released on the Warner Bros. label.^[1][2]

Apogee
Studio album by Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh
Released	1978
Recorded	May 17–21 and June 3, 1978
Studio	ABC, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	42:28
Label	Warner Bros. BSK 3236
Producer	Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
Warne Marsh chronology
Warne Out (1977) Apogee (1978) Conversations with Warne Volume 1 (1978)
Pete Christlieb chronology
Tell It Like It Is (1972) Apogee (1978) Conversations with Warne Volume 1 (1978)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
Jazz Review	[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[7]

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide states that "Apogee is an unadulterated burner, guaranteed to work for tenor freaks."^[7] The AllMusic review noted: "Apogee is an anomaly in many ways. First, it is a Southern California answer to the great titan tenor battle records of the '40s and '50s. Rather than sounding like a cutting contest, it sounds like a gorgeous exercise in swinging harmony and melodic improvisation by two compadres. ... the pair engaged a kind of freewheeling, good-time set that remains one of the most harmonically sophisticated recordings to come out of the 1970s."^[3] On All About Jazz, Chris M. Slawecki observed: "It is impossible to distinguish one man’s tenor from the other: sometimes they swing in unison, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes in duet or counterpunching, but they are always strong, meaty and powerful."^[8]

In Jazz Review, Mark Keresman called it "a sterling set of beautifully recorded, searing, straight-ahead, mainstream bop tenor madness."^[5] DownBeat reviewer Douglas Clark wrote, "Watch out when you slip this record out of its sleeve. It’s hot enough to burn your fingers... There’s fire on every cut... I recommend this album highly, but don’t blame me if it melts your stylus".^[4]

Track listing

1. "Magna-tism" (Pete Christlieb) – 7:32
2. "317 E. 32nd" (Lennie Tristano) – 6:34
3. "Rapunzel" (Donald Fagen, Walter Becker) – 7:15
4. "Tenors of the Time" (Joe Roccisano) – 7:42
5. "Donna Lee" (Charlie Parker) – 6:35
6. "I'm Old Fashioned" (Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer) – 6:50
7. "Lunarcy" (Lou Levy) – 7:13 Bonus track on CD reissue
8. "Love Me" – 4:13 Bonus track on CD reissue
9. "How About You?" (Burton Lane, Ralph Freed) – 9:37 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel

• Pete Christlieb, Warne Marsh – tenor saxophone
• Lou Levy – piano
• Jim Hughart – bass
• Nick Ceroli – drums
• Joe Roccisano – arranger (tracks 1–4)