muzycy:
John Mills: tenor & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, keyboards
Steve Swallow: bass
Chris Massey: drums
Robert Creeley: voice

Editor's info:
Courage is drummer Chris Massey, sax / reed player John Mills and bassist Steve Swallow. The Way Out is Via the Door is a beautifully realized recording of intimate, creative jazz conversations, placing all three voices as equals and allowing the lines created to weave together and apart at will, sometimes floating over cushions of sound-wash, and creating spontaneous tension-release statements. This is the classic grouping of saxophone-bass-drums from another angle, perhaps from inside the mirror looking out, augmented by John Mills' wonderful use of the bass clarinet and by drummer Chris Massey?s statement that the drums are a melodic instrument as well. And Steve Swallow, one of the featured voices, shows that he is the master of the melodic bass line. The addition of the wonderfully sensitive poet Robert Creeley, here, from a series of live tour performances, only adds to the charm of this recording.

The Way Out is Via the Door was recorded at the Make Believe Ballroom in upstate New York by Tom Mark, who has recorded numerous sessions for ECM, Concord, Watt, Jack DeJohnette, Carla Bley, Alice Coltrane, Max Roach, and many others.