Jazz Archives

The aesthetic and cultural merits of Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music cannot be overstated. That it is one of the most obscure recordings in Blue Note's catalogue -- paid for out of label co-founder Francis Wolff's own pocket -- should tell us something. This is an apocryphal album, one that seamlessly blends the new jazz of the '60s -- Gale was a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra before and after these sides, and played on Cecil Taylor's Blue Note debut Unit Structures -- with gospel, soul, and the blues. Gale's sextet included two bass players and two drummers -- in 1968 -- as well as a chorus of 11 voices, male and female. Sound like a mess? Far from it. This is some of the most spiritually engaged, forward-thinking, and finely wrought music of 1968. What's more is that, unlike lots of post-Coltrane new jazz, it's ultimately very listenable. Soloists comes and go, but modes, melodies, and harmonies remain firmly intact. The beautiful strains of African folk music and Latin jazz sounds in "Fulton Street," for example, create a veritable chromatic rainbow. "A Walk With Thee" is a spiritual written to a march tempo with drummers playing counterpoint to one another and the front line creating elongated melodic lines via an Eastern harmonic sensibility. Does it swing? Hell yeah! The final cut, "The Coming of Gwilu," moves from the tribal to the urban and everywhere in between using Jamaican thumb piano's, soaring vocals à la the Arkestra, polyrhythmic invention, and good old fashioned groove jazz, making something entirely new in the process. While Albert Ayler's New Grass was a failure for all its adventurousness, Ghetto Music, while a bit narrower in scope, succeeds because it concentrates on creating a space for the myriad voices of an emerging African-American cultural force to be heard in a single rchitecture.

:::Review by Thom Jurek:::

Eddie Gale - Ghetto Music (1968)

1. The Rain 6:23
2. Fulton Street 6:47
3. A Understanding 7:50
4. A Walk With Thee 6:06
5. The Coming Of Gwilu 13:37

Credits
Bass - James "Tokio" Reid , Judah Samuel
Drums - Richard Hackett , Thomas Holman
Lead Vocals - Elaine Beener
Saxophone [Tenor], Flute - Russell Lyle
Trumpet, Recorder [Soprano], Kalimba [Jamaican Thumb Piano], Steel Drums, Whistle [Bird], Composed By, Arranged By, Conductor - Eddie Gale
Vocals - Art Jenkins , Barbara Dove , Edward Walrond , Evelyn Goodwin , Fulumi Prince , Mildred Weston , Norman Right , Sondra Walston , Sylvia Bibbs

The OM first appeared on the scene in 1970, particularly in the Show "Toxic and Electric horn 6" with Toti Soler, Josep Polo Montaberry and Doro. They recorded two singles for Edigsa (Vindra the Llum) and sang a theme (Waiting of Godot). In May 1971 they recorded their first single and album namesake Edigsa. In late 1971 they began to record an album titled "Death of Butterfly". In 1972, after a brief reappearance, the group separates and Jordi Toti Soler recorded a solo album in July 1973 entitled "Gat blanc" which reflects his inclination to the Flemish and the use of the guitar espanola.

Excellent guitar driven jazz rock on this album!! Sometimes a bit mellow and Miles Davis-like, sometimes more rocking. The instrumental performances are way above average, and even the occasional vocals are good. The last track, called "Waiting of Godot" is perhaps a bit unnecessary, since it's a bit too easy going, but overall a very much recommended album, for the lovers of jazz, instrumental music, and guitar rock.

:::Review from http://progres-agitation.blogspot.com:::

Om – Om (1971)

1.Excusa 6-8 (12:21)
2.No ho sap ningu (6:23)
3.Zitro's Ache (5:33)
4.Excusa Num.1 (12:54)
5.Vindra La Llum (4:30)
6.Waiting of Godot (4:36)

Credits
Bass - Manuel Elias (tracks: 1 to 4)
Bongos - Xavier Batllés (tracks: 1 to 4)
Drums - Peter Hodgkinson
Drums, Organ, Tambourine - Martí Soler (tracks: 5, 6)
Electric Bass - Manuel Elias (tracks: 5, 6)
Electric Guitar, Cello - Jordi Soler (tracks: 5, 6)
Guitar - Martí Soler (tracks: 1 to 4)
Guitar, Percussion - Jordi Soler (tracks: 1 to 4)
Maracas, Percussion - Francesc Pi De La Serra (tracks: 1 to 4)
Percussion - Rafael Poch (tracks: 1 to 4)
Trumpet - Xavier Garcia

The P.C. in the title refers to Pierre Courbois, the drummer whose country of origin I keep forgetting - Belgium or Holland - in any event the group contained people who were known in Northern European early 70s jazz-rock circles - in particular keyboardist Jasper van't Hof and guitarist Toto Blanke, whose later 70s group Electric Circus gets mentioned in the recent Krautrock discographies. [BB]

In their classic configuration, Association P.C. were comprised of percussionist Pierre Courbois, keyboarding Jasper Van't Hoff, bassist Siggi Busch, and guitarist Toto Blanke. Earwax retains the swing of jazz rhythms, although much of it is electrified and the playing abandons structure almost as often as it embraces it.  Best cut is "Round A'bout Nine" (sic), which is centred on a solo acoustic bassline, evocative of some traditional European folksong and accented with crazy percussive and electronic voicings -- eventually even the bassist dissolves into pure sound investigation.  Good free playing, although not particularly kozmik.  The linernotes to Earwax drop Soft Machine, MEV and er, Burnin' Red Ivanhoe as references. Sun Rotation immediately sounds heavier, tho I attribute some of this to Conny Plank's engineering role.  Courbois is playing more rock-based rhythms, and even gets into some near-funk at the beginning of "Totemism." Still, don't mistake this for Miles' fusion-- this album is very progressive and European and is closer aligned to some of the early ECM black sheep. Lotsa weirdo time signatures too (11/8 on "Neuteboom" and 7/8 on "Fran Theunissen".)  This is the record with the controversial slagging of free jazz on the back cover-- ironically, much of this album is without a groove. The live Erna Morena set sees them moving deeper into free rock, with a greater emphasis on textural playing.  Karl Wiberny guests on reeds and contributes to the album's best moment, on "Space Erna" where Van't Hoff's dense organ washes are roughed up by Wiberny's alto clarinet squonks.  By this point, the transgressions were established and although (or maybe because) Wiberny's blowing wasn't particularly virtuous, it lended itself perfectly to the group.  Nice and scrappy, an aesthetic which sadly became endangered-- shunned, really-- in jazz-rock as the 70s progressed. [DW]

The liner notes to Erna Morena throw around the Soft Machine comparisons pretty liberally but think post-Robert Wyatt when most "rock" elements (aside from electric instruments) have been lost - the liner notes also consider mentioning Chicago, Colosseum, Blood Sweat and Tears, Cream and Tony Williams' Lifetime in the same breath as a thinkable proposition so the historical element is invaluable. Although the LP, in part no doubt because of it's obscurity has always been a bit of a prize of mine, I was listening to it hard recently and all the experimental parts and ring modulator squawks are cool, when it's time to actually "blow" (you know, like Coltrane or something), they don't quite stack up. With titles like "Space Erna" and "Erna in India" there's a certain drone/trance aesthetic at work that gives it some appeal and it's important to remember that some people really thought those recently reissued Miles Davis double-lives from the era were crap at the time too, so you don't want to get really bogged down in evaluating it in some kind of purist jazz terms. [BB]

Joachim Kuhn joined Association PC for their final two recordings, Rock Around The Cock and Mama Kuku, replacing Jasper Van't Hoff when the latter took leave to form the much lesser project, Pork Pie. While the playing on these lps may tend toward the complex and technical, it's employed as a vocabulary rather than as something cosmetic. Listening to it as I type, I'd haveta say this occasionally evokes the powerhouse attack of Miles' lost quintet (cf. the 1969 Antibes gig, "In A Violent Way.") Worthy. [DW]

:::Review from http://www.freeform.org/music/a/Association_PC.html:::

Association P.C. - Erna Morena (1972)

1. Frau Theunissen's Kegel (8:05)
2. Erna Morena (37:12)
a) Space Erna (9:35)
b) Erna In India (5:50)
c) Erna Audi Maxima! (2:28)
d) Only Grass In My Stomach (12:17)
e) Schnoor 8 (7:02)

Credits
-Toto Blanke/ Guitars
-Jasper van't Hof/ E-Piano, Organ
-Siggi Busch/ Bass, Kontrabass
-Pierre Curbois/ Drums, Percussion

guest:
-Karl H. Wiberny/ Sax, Clarinet

When I was hearing the young French band NeBeLNeST for the first time, I instantly understood that they have to be one of the most interesting avant-garde progressive rock bands today. "Nova Express" is actually their second album, but unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to hear that album. My first thought was that they had reminiscences to KING CRIMSON, but without being clones. Later on I could also hear similarities to MAGMA, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, MATS & MORGAN, THINKING PLAGUE, UNIVERS ZERO. The music is energetic and intricate with intense drum playing masterly performed by Michael Anselmi. His one of the most interesting drummers I've heard recently. All the members are highly technical top musicians and the album is not surprisingly released on one of my three favorite labels: Cuneiform Records. Without doubt one of the best releases this year.

:::Review by Greger:::

NeBeLNeST - NoVa eXPReSS (2002)

1. BLaCKMaiL (9:35)
2. STiMPy BaR (5:12)
3. ReDRuM (11:03)
4. CiNeMa 1920 (5:00)
5. NoVa eXPReSS (15:32)

Credits
- Michael Anselmi/ drums
- Cyril Malderez / guitar
- Gregory Tejedor / bass
- Olivier Tejedor / synthesizers, devices