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Marionettes on a High Wire

2001 studio album by Baikida Carroll

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 9, 2025
Entity authorityQ121365458 ↗
Source-derived summary

Marionettes on a High Wire is an album by trumpeter and composer Baikida Carroll. It was recorded on September 14 and 15, 2000, at Systems 2 in Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 2001 by OmniTone, Inc. On the album, which features original compositions, some of which were drawn from theater works, Carroll is joined by saxophonist Erica Lindsay, pianist Adegoke Steve Colson, double bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff.

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, David R. Adler wrote: "There's a beautiful kind of daring in the music -- a rough tenderness in Carroll's trumpet tone, a palpable spiritual commitment from all the players involved... Carroll and his group unleash a highly adventurous sound while remaining within certain jazz parameters: planned solo rotation, distinct harmony and form, straight swing tempo."

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated: "It's hard to locate Carroll on the continuum from traditional blues-based jazz to the free idiom, because he constantly balances elements of the two... Colson is excellent in accompaniment, and akLaff as ever provides powerful rhythmic support."

Glenn Astarita of All About Jazz noted that, on the album, Carroll "demonstrates acute technical skills along with his stature as a gifted composer who here, reaps the benefits of a power house ensemble." He commented: "Carroll's latest release equates to one beautifully fabricated production, that imparts a lasting impression... Recommended!!"

JazzWord's Ken Waxman remarked: "this fine CD shows that despite setbacks, Carroll has lost neither his chops nor his inventiveness. A strong freebop quintet session, it could be seen as extending the modal conception Miles Davis abandoned when he turned to electronic fusion in the early 1970s."

Writing for Bells, Henry Kuntz stated that the album features "music that's fresh, intelligent and dynamic, tight yet open," and wrote: "It swings, sings, probes, and has more of the engaging group interplay Baikida Carroll the musician and composer inspires."

Track listing

Composed by Baikida Carroll.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Marionettes on a High Wire” as 2001 studio album by Baikida Carroll. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2000, 2001—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Marionettes, High and Wire can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2001 studio album by Baikida Carroll. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 9, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q121365458. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2000 and 2001.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Marionettes on a High Wire”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Marionettes on a High Wire primary sources, Marionettes on a High Wire archive and Marionettes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Marionettes on a High Wire” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.