As Serious As Your Life

As Serious as Your Life is a solo album by the multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe McPhee, recorded in 1996 and released on the Swiss HatHut label in 1998.^[1] The title track is named for the 1977 book by Val Wilmer.^[2]

As Serious as Your Life
Studio album by Joe McPhee
Released	1998
Recorded	May 27, 1996
Studio	Mixtery in Trumbull, Connecticut
Genre	Jazz
Length	56:48
Label	HatHut hatOLOGY 514
Producer	Pia & Werner X. Uehlinger
Joe McPhee chronology
A Meeting in Chicago (1996) As Serious as Your Life (1998) Legend Street One (1996)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[2]

AllMusic reviewer Brian Olewnick stated: "As Serious as Your Life offers a fairly wide picture of the range of his talents and creative genius, and is arguably the finest of his solo recordings. Highly recommended."^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Joe McPhee except as indicated

1. "The Death of Miles Davis" - 6:28
2. "A Wish in One Hand" - 6:42
3. "Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" - 5:30
4. "As Serious as Your Life 1" - 9:11
5. "Haiku Study 1" - 4:43
6. "Conlon in the Land of Ra" - 5:10
7. "The Man I Love" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 6:47
8. "Tok" - 2:27
9. "As Serious as Your Life 2" - 3:21
10. "After the Rain" (John Coltrane) - 5:26
11. "Party Lights" - 1:03

Personnel

• Joe McPhee - reeds, pocket cornet, piano, electronics

References

1. Joe McPhee discography accessed April 22, 2015
2. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 983. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
3. Olewnick, Brian. As Serious as Your Life – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 21, 2015.