Captain of the Deep

Captain of the Deep is an album by the American jazz drummer Denis Charles, which was recorded live in 1991 at the Zuid-Nederlands Jazz Festival and released in 1998 on the Eremite label.^[1]

Captain of the Deep
Live album by Denis Charles
Released	March 26, 1998
Recorded	May 9, 1991
Venue	De Effenaar Cultural Centre, Eindhoven
Genre	Jazz
Length	72:39
Label	Eremite
Producer	Michael Ehlers
Denis Charles chronology
Queen Mary (1990) Captain of the Deep (1998) A Scream for Charles Tyler (1992)

The album was issued to the public on the day Charles died.^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]

The album was listed as Cadence Magazine's reviewers' choice best recording, and also appeared in the JazzIz critics list of top ten recordings for 1998.^[5]

In his review for AllMusic, Steve Loewy wrote, "With a sound often approximating the work of early Ornette Coleman, the two horns spurt attractively dissonant themes, after which the four players turn out repeatedly fascinating solos and interactive lines."^[3]

Amiri Baraka called Charles's solos "hip, self-contained, quirky links and carriers of the whole," and noted that "behind Ayler-blunt melodies, straight-ahead timbre, the unique daring simplicity of Charles's rhythmic motive force, Deep has lovely moments."^[6]

Track listing

1. "We Don't" (Traditional) - 14:04
2. "Mota" (Breedlove) - 13:37
3. "Round About" (Breedlove / Charles / DeJoode / Moondoc) - 15:38
4. "Jamaj's" (de Joode) - 9:40
5. "Rob" (Breedlove) - 13:35
6. "Tobie Continyou" (de Joode) - 6:05

Personnel

• Denis Charles - drums
• Nathan Breedlove - trumpet
• Wilber de Joode - double bass
• Jemeel Moondoc - alto saxophone