Jazz Archives

Aside from the first disc of BBC radio sessions (with Wyatt still in the line-ups), much of the BBC sessions that the Machine played are present on this double disc and the four live radio sessions are spawned over four different line-ups and five studio albums released in the meantime. The first three tracks of the first disc are taken from previous 5 album with Phil Howard on drums and you can feel the man's free jazz tendencies, but they are not obtrusive and the tracks played have much more energy than the cold studio versions of 4 and 5, rendering a whole new light on them. The next track is a medley of four tracks from the 6 album, sporting Marshall and Hopper, but also Karl Jenkins (ex-Nucleus like Marshall), this sticking much more with the spirit of the then-current (and half-live I must say) album. The next two tracks are from a year later (and the 7 album) with another ex-Nucleus (Babbington) having replaced Hopper and again show them in particular fine form giving their instrument a full fitness workout!
The second disc starts with two tracks of the same session than on that finishing off the first disc but shows them in a vastly different mood. The short but impressive Babbington bass-droned track leads into a frenzied 6-sounding with Jenkins even blowing shortly into a flute. The rest of the disc is the same musos but augmented by guitarist Allan Holdsworth (yet another Nucleus refugee - this making Ratledge the only non-Nucleus alumni in the Machine at that time) that will make the Bundles album. The first 3 min track is a weird abstract music (noise?) that sorts of ruin the general ambiance, but the following two tracks more than makes up for it especially the multi-movement suite Hazard Profile.
The ting about this double BBC sessions record that makes it very worthwhile is the fact that the tracks from the 4 and 5 albums are so much warmer and livelier. It also has the benefit of shedding a little light on the oft-shunned (forgotten) 7 album.
Like all posthumous Soft machine release , this album is really of interest to confirmed Machinists , but if you are reading this review , you are probably very concerned , right?

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1971-1974 (2003)

Disc 1 (44:56)

1. As If (7:45)
2. Drop (6:56)
3. Welcome To Frillsville (10:33)
4. Fanfare/All White/MC/Drop (11:13)
5. Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album (3:33)
6. Hazard Profile Part 1 (4:56)

Disc 2 (34:59)

1. Sinepost (1:47)
2. Down The Road (7:34)
3. North Point (3:00)
4. The Man Who Waved At Trains (5:41)
5. Hazard Profile Parts 1-4 (16:57)

Credits
- Mike Ratledge / keyboards
- Hugh Hopper / bass (tracks 1-4, CD1)
- Elton Dean / saxophone (tracks 1-3, CD 1)
- Karl Jenkins / oboe, saxophone, recorder, keyboards (tracks 4-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- John Marshall / drums (tracks 4-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- Roy Babbington / bass (tracks 5-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- Allan Holdsworth / guitars (tracks 3-5, CD 2)
- Phil Howard / drums (tracks 1-3, CD 1)

In just two double discs Hux records will release the numerous radio sessions done for the BBC, this one ranging from the Halcyon days of 67 - where the Machine was still a psychedelic caterpillar - until 71 with the most classic line-up including Dean, Hopper, Wyatt and Ratledge. These are just the studio radio sessions but there are two others BBC live concerts available also and as usual with BBC archives the sound is pristine and the interest of them is invaluable.
On disc 1, the first five tracks are due to the line-up that recorded the debut album with Kevin Ayers singing and playing bass and this is maybe the best sounding live recording from that period. With Hope For Happiness and Strangest Scene as showcase for their dynamic qualities, that session may just be the most interesting of all the ones on the two double discs set. The next session is one of the definitive ones showing on how the tracks from Volume 2 have evolved to lead into the famous and seminal Third album. Four tracks from that album are meddled into one suite while the second track from the session is a first version (pre-album) of Moon In June where Wyatt recommends Ayers, Caravan Pink Floyd and thanks the BBC and its orchestra while singing. Du grand art, monsieur!!! This session is also invaluable because those tracks are much more often played as a foursome (with Elton Dean), but more rarely as a trio.
Then comes a strange UFO in the name of Instant Pussy (that should be more at home on a Matching Mole record although it does not sound anything like the latter MM version) that was strangely separated from the rest of the session, which closes the second disc. This anti-chronological order is due to Robert Wyatt, but it is the only one of a kind on this release! Then we jump to the mid 70 session the now classic quartet doing a medley of tracks that are present on the Third album.
Disc 2 starts with an early 71 session the band presenting the rather cold fusion (sometimes right into free jazz thanks to Elton dean's influences) of their album 4, this one not being quite interesting as there are tons of other recordings available on those tracks, although maybe not of this caliber! The next session of the same year but in June and also being of lesser interest if you have any live BBC recordings or anything on Cuneiform records. Do not get me wrong, these two sessions are absolutely essential to the unconditional fan, but again if one is of that category he will already own one or two live version of these tracks. Another strange "gift" on here is another Wyatt vocal improve playing with echoes but this is messy and like the Instant Pussy does not really belong here!
Finally comes the session from late 69 and another invaluable one as this is a rare version of the Machine as a septet before recording the third album. The lengthy medley produced here is an interesting version the machine sounding a bit like a jazzier Chicago Transit Authority with a four-man brass session as they had stripped the Keith Tippett Group from most of its collaborators, but Charig and Evans leaving relatively quickly and Dobson hanging around for just a while longer!
Apart from the two odd choices Monsieur Wyatt chose to include (I would tend to say ill- advisedly as they sort of ruin a bit the record), we have another superb Hux record release that is essential to Soft Machineheads. And apart from the parti-pris (anti-jazz rock attitude) of the liner notes from some writer, the presentation and luxurious booklet make this release hard to resist.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1967-1971 (2003)

Disc 1 (66:45)

1. Clarence In Wonderland (2:57)
2. We Know What You Mean (3:11)
3. Certain Kind (3:38)
4. Hope For Happiness (4:37)
5. Strangest Scene Recorded (aka Lullaby Letter) (4:55)
6. Facelift / Mousetrap / Noisette / Backwards / Mousetrap Reprise (11:54)
7. The Moon In June (13:02)
8. Instant Pussy (3:19)
9. Slightly All The Time / Out Bloody Rageous / Eamonn Andrews (19:12)

Disc 2 (60:51)

1. Virtually (9:58)
2. Fletcher's Blemish (12:11)
3. Neo-Caliban Grides (7:34)
4. Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening (2:46)
5. Eamonn Andrews / All White (7:11)
6. Mousetrap / Noisette / Backwards / Mousetrap Reprise / Esther's Nose Job (21:11)

Credits
- Kevin Ayers / bass, guitar, voice (tracks 1-5 CD1)
- Robert Wyatt / drums, voice
- Mike Ratledge / keyboards
- Hugh Hopper / bass (tracks 6-9 CD1, CD2)
- Brian Hopper saxophone, flute (track 6 CD1)
- Elton Dean / axophone (track 9 CD1, CD2)
- Marc Charig / trumpet (track 6 CD2)
- Lyn Dobson / saxophone, flute (track 6 CD2)
- Nick Evans / trombone (track 6 CD2)

IMHO, it was during their Zamla Mammaz Manna era that the combo extraordinaire Samla Mammas Manna delivered their best stuff - go figure, surpass the SMM material! "Familjesprickor" was their farewell album, so you can say that the Swedish band left the stage with flying colours (in fact momentarily, since a brief reunion took place a few years later). Apparently, this final phase was not easy to carry on: drummer Hans Bruniusson left soon after the recording sessions had started, and had to be replaced by Vilsot Hansson, while the curtain call ambience was clearly felt in the air during the time spent in the studio, performing, rearranging and mixing the new repertoire. Yet, you can tell that this ambience, so inconvenient in terms of emotional stability, proved to be fruitful in terms of musical merits and energetic performing. By this time, new guitarist Enio Haapala (Apetrea's replacement) had instilled an enhanced drive into the guitar parts making them more powerful and psychedelic, in this way, affecting the band's overall sound, which is now more sophisticated, more charged, more aggressive. The band themselves claim that the music in this album is not "as optimistic and happy as it used to be", but the listener should not expect mournful and/or languid music. Everything remains as colourful and exciting as always, only more tense, and as I already stated, more aggressive and more charged - that's where the inner tension comes from, mainly. There is also a decreased number of folly chanting, and that may be another hint of the lack of happiness in the album, a lessened desire to sing and hum. Regarding the repertoire itself, it's perfectly even in its richness and sense of surprise, all the time demanding a lucid awareness from the listener. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the opening track displays an impressive mixture of polka and jazz rock, with some Frippian guitar and Zappaesque extravagant chord progressions in the keyboard parts. A great opener, indeed. Track 2 is more remarkably melodic, with guitarist Haapala assuming the leading role, except for a brief piano solo by Hollmer. 'The Forge' includes some disturbing guitar soundscapes and some delicious circus-like accordion chords on a funky-rock basis: something the listener needs to hear before the ultra-dadaist genius nonsense displayed in 'The Thrall' - Henry Cow fan membership required to enjoy this one. A bit less deconstructive but more intensely aggressive is 'The Panting Short Story', mostly due to the guitar parts: the odd tempos and bizarre chord progressions on keyboards keep things standing firmly on SMM's typical jazzy ground, but the hard rocking vibes in Haapala's riffs and picks remains prominent right until the end of the song. I feel the fade-out comes too soon - I wish this particular fave of mine would have been a bit longer. The nest two numbers bring some extra colours in ZMM's pallet: the reggae cadence in 'Pappa' comes pretty handy in order to convey some jolly, healthy sarcasm; the subtly added touches of Latin jazz in 'The Farmhand' helps to reduce the tension that has been predominant for most of the album. And finally, 'Kernel in Short and Long Castling' starts as typical SMM (burlesque + jazz complexity + folkish nuances), but it won't take long before the tension starts to show again, in this way providing a proper ending for the album. Overall rating: 5 stars, no less for this masterpiece.

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

Zamla Mammas Manna - Familjesprickor (Family Cracks) (1980)

1. Five Single Combats (5:52)
2. Ventilation Calculation (5:05)
3. The Forge (5:04)
4. The Thrall (5:05)
5. The Panting Short Story (3:52)
6. Pappa (with right of veto) (4:27)
7. The Farmhand (7:33)
8. Kernel in Short and Long Castling (5:40)

Credits
- Lars Hollmer / keyboards, accordion, song
- Eino Haapala / guitar, song
- Lars Krantz / bass, song
- Vilgot Hansson / drums, percussion
- Hans Bruniusson / drums, and some percussion on "Pappa"

Some wouldn´t consider this the best Ian Carr or Nucleus album, but there´s plenty to enjoy. Sure, it´s not exactly on a par with the first two Nucleus albums "Elastic Rock" and "We´ll Talk About It Later", but it´s a nice example of the tunes, riffs, rhythms, and improvisation style of the band under Ian Carr´s leadership. And I happen to like the album art. A bit strange for Nucleus, and not totally fitting with the music, but it´s quite nice.
"Belladonna is maybe less complete overall than Solar Plexus but is most definitely the most elusive and sought after of Ian Carr's Vertigo label vinyl releases. By the time this record was recorded only Brian Smith remained of the Solar Plexus line-up, but in the new blood recruited, Carr was able to instill that same kind of energy and spirit that had made the previous Nucleus recordings such critical (if not commercial) successes.
The title track in particular has that rhythmic quality not dissimilar to Snakehips' Dream, a kind of irisistable foot tapping almost danceable beat that is totally and hypnotically infectious from its percussive Ian Carr led intro to it's pure jazz rock electric mid section.
The piece Suspension is apparently Ian Carr's most satisfying studio track; one of those single takes that only happen once or twice in a career ... do I have to say more?"

:::Review by Mr. Paul D. Curtis:::

Ian Carr's Nucleus - Belladonna (1972)

1. Belladonna (Carr) 13.37
2. Summer Rain (Carr) 6.11
3. Remadione (Smith) 3.48
4. Mayday (Carr) 5.40
5. Suspension (Carr) 6.15
6. Hector´s House (Smith) 4.34

Credits
Roy Babbington (bass)
Gordon Beck (piano)
Ian Carr (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Allan Holdsworth (guitar)
Dave MacRae (piano)
Brian Smith (saxophone, flute)
Clive Thacker (drums)
Trevor Tomkins (percussion on 01., 03 - 04.)

Being one of the most relevant bands in the seminal age of French prog, Moving Gelatine Plates was a peculiar musical force influenced by "Third"-era Soft Machine and Supersister, in this way anticipating (to a certain degree) the kind of sophisticated folly that Gong will turn into an essential part of its signature sound. The progressive element abundantly instilled with jazzy overtones, the touch of psychedelia and the patent humor are the three core aspects of MGP's sound: their sophomore effort "The World of Genius Hans" is really worthy of the word genius that appears in the title. Because of the flamboyant styles provided by Helminger on sax and Thobault on bass we can appreciate the influences from Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper, which makes for the powerful SM element in MGP. All in all, it would be unfair to label this band as a mere clone of Ratledge, Wyatt & co., since the ensemble manages to create a refreshing proposal in a global level. The band really knows how to approach the complexity of the musical arrangements with precision and sobriety. Some guitar inputs by Bertram together with some vocal passages remind me of yet another icon of experimental rock on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean - that is, Frank Zappa (big band era). With its 14 minute span, the namesake track stands out as a well- ordained mini-epic that goes fluidly through its various motifs.
'Funny Doll' finds the band going for more candid ambiences: despite the fact that the sax and lead guitar lines are noticeable dissonant, this piece is predominantly gracious, closer to Hatfield & the North than to Soft Machine, with an extra touch of Zappaesque humor. 'Astromonster' bears a more mysterious feel, not in a creepy sense, but ethereal: the initial lines on flute and distorted bass are a pertinent initiation to the elaboration of the intricate passages that emerge from minute 3, creating a combination of jolly and hypnotic vibes. 'Moving Theme' digs deeper in the band's extroverted side, and so does 'Cauchemar': comparing both, I feel that the former is more aggressive. 'We Were Loving Her' is based on a series of monochromatic organ layers upon which various effects and ornaments on sax, guitar and bass go floating by. The emergence of a sung section is a pretext for the elaboration of a cohesive arrangement. This particular piece is closer to late 60s psychedelia than to standard Canterbury (if there is such thing, I mean.). The closing track 'Un Jour...' works as a brief epilogue on soprano sax that bears a very lyrical feel: I wouldn't have minded if it had been a bit longer, at least. Anyway, this is all there is and it is fine by me - actually, more than fine, since this albums is a real prog masterpiece in my book. This gem should not be missing in any good prog collection, regardless of the collector's pet sub-genre(s).

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

Moving Gelatine Plates - The World Of Genius Hans (1972)

1. The World of Genius Hans (14:00)
2. Funny Doll (4:25)
3. Astromonster (6:15)
4. Moving Theme (3:46)
5. Cauchemar (3:46)
6. We Were Loving Her (3:28)
7. Un Jour... (1:25)
8. Synthème (Bonus-Track CD) (3:28)
9. L'Alchimiste (Bonus-Track CD) (3:20)
10. Les êtres d'or (Bonus-Track CD) (5:50)
11. Ombres (Bonus-Track CD) (3:30)
12. Rire de peine (Bonus-Track CD) (7:07)

Credits
- Maurice Hemlinger / organ, trumpet, soprano and tenor saxophone, flute
- Gerard Bertram / electric guitar, vocals acoustic guitar
- Didier Thibault / bass, vocals, 12-string guitar
- Gerard Pons / drums, percussion

One of the earthiest albums ever from Don Cherry a set of duets with tabla player Latif Khan recorded in Paris in the late 70s, and featuring Cherry in a range of soulful modes! Don doesn't just play his usual trumpet but keyboards, flute, gong, and other percussion as well a really incredible blend of instruments that's often overdubbed, so that Cherry's already adding in a few layers of his own sound before Khan comes in with some really rocking work on tablas! The blend of world and jazz influences is perfect and the album's as much of a treasure as Cherry's equally important Sonet sessions of the 70s. Titles include "Rhythm 58 1/4", "One Dance", "Air Mail", "Untitled", and "Sangam".

:::Review by Dusty Groove America, Inc.:::

Don Cherry & Latif Khan - Music / Sangam (1978)

01. Untitled / Inspiration From Home 05:35 (Ornette Coleman)
02. Air Mail 7:02 (Don Cherry)
03. One Dance 4:35 (Don Cherry)
04. Rhythm 58 1/4 3:13 (Latif Khan)
05. Sangam 13:10 (Latif Khan)

Credits
Tabla, Producer - Latif Khan
Trumpet, Keyboards, Gong, Flute [Bamboo Flute], Performer [Dousso N'koni], Voice, Producer - Don Cherry

An innovative vibraphonist who has traveled his own musical path throughout his career, Karl Berger is heard on this Black Saint release performing seven of his diverse pieces in trios with bassist Dave Holland and the colorful drummer Ed Blackwell. Many moods are explored; there is a feature for Blackwell and also a tribute piece for Ornette Coleman. Recommended as an excellent example of Karl Berger's inside/outside playing.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Karl Berger - Transit (1986)

1. Dakar Dance 4:49
2. Transit 6:34
3. Chimney Road 6:58
4. Ornette 3:56
5. Out There Alone 3:31
6. Drum First 6:46
7. Change 5:49

Credits
Bass - Dave Holland
Composed By - Karl Berger
Drums - Ed Blackwell
Piano - Karl Berger (tracks: 1, 3)
Vibraphone - Karl Berger (tracks: 2, 4-7)

Alamaailman Vasarat are back...and with power.
Of all the AV albums, this one takes the cake for heaviness. Maahan is a bit less folky and a bit more metal/avanty...which is not necessarily a bad thing.
However, one thing they do not dispose of is their energy. Even on songs that are slower and more avant- garde than rock, there is still a feeling the riverbed under the water moving, so to speak. This is perhaps one of my favorite things about The Hammers. They constantly change, to bring something new to he table while keeping everything under the Avant-Jazz- gypsy-RIO that they are now undeniable experts at.
As I've stated eariler, this is their heaviest work to date. Songs like Kyyhylly, Helmi Otsalla, and Huikeuden Lierio can move the earth when being blasted out of your speakers. However, there is a balance with quieter, more avant-garde styled songs (in a way that is similar to their debut album). These songs just to show that AV are no one trick pony, and have improved their song writing throughout the years. Elaimet Huutaa gives an almost dream like quality to the first part of the song before a more upbeat folky circus like theme. This song continues to contort its way through until it reaches an even bizarrer ending. Lumeen Nukkuneet follows in the endings haughting footsteps and sets an uncomfortable mood for the next five minutes. Its a brooding ride down into the depths of their underworld.
All in all, this is one hell of an album, and one of the best to come out of 2007. Needless to say, the musicianship is top notch, and I believe that their song writing ability has gotten better. Songs like the above show they are not afraid to add new things to the mix, while songs like Katkorapu and Kaarme Toi Ruton Kaupunkiin show that they still have the raw insanity from their previous albums. In this way, they are progressing from record to record, which make them one of the true progressive bands around now-a-days. While I don't enjoy this album as much as their second it is very exciting to listen to and provides an ever thrilling ride. There is also much to discover here, thus there is a lot to sustain on repeated listens. Recommended.

:::Review by Man With Hat:::

Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan (2007)

1. Maahan (0:58)
2. Kyyhylly (3:40)
3. Helmi otsalla (3:36)
4. Luiden valossa, naapurin talossa (3:40)
5. Huikeuden lieriö (3:53)
6. Eläimet huutaa (5:56)
7. Lumeen nukkuneet (5:29)
8. Katkorapu (4:24)
9. Käärme toi ruton kaupunkiin (3:24)
10. Rooman ruumiit (3:41)
11. Elukka (1:15)

Credits
- Jarno Sarkula / saxes, clarinets & other woodwinds
- Erno Haukkala / trombone, tuba, piccolo trombone
- Miikka Huttunen / pump organ, grand piano, keyboards
- Tuukka Helminen / cello
- Marko Manninen / cello
- Teemu Hänninen / drums, percussion

Perhaps the single album that best sums up Bobby Hutcherson's early musical personality, Components is appropriately split into two very distinct halves. The first features four Hutcherson originals in a melodic but still advanced hard bop style, while the latter half has four free-leaning avant-garde pieces by drummer Joe Chambers. Hutcherson allots himself more solo space than on Dialogue, but that's no knock on the excellent supporting cast, which includes Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Ron Carter on bass. It's just more Hutcherson's date, and he helps unite the disparate halves with a cool-toned control that's apparent regardless of whether the material is way outside or more conventionally swinging. In the latter case, Hutcherson's originals are fairly diverse, encompassing rhythmically complex hard bop (the title track), pensive balladry ("Tranquillity," which features a lovely solo by Hancock), down-and-dirty swing ("West 22nd Street Theme"), and the gaily innocent "Little B's Poem," which went on to become one of Hutcherson's signature tunes and contains some lyrical flute work from Spaulding. The Chambers pieces tend to be deliberate explorations that emphasize texture and group interaction in the manner of Dialogue, except that there's even more freedom in terms of both structure and tonal center. (The exception is the brief but beautiful closing number, "Pastoral," an accurate title if ever there was one.) Components illustrated that Hutcherson was not only the most adventurous vibes player on the scene, but that he was also capable of playing more straightforward music with intelligence and feeling.

:::Review by Steve Huey:::

Bobby Hutcherson - Components (1965)

1. Components 6:23
2. Tranquillity 5:01
3. Little B's Poem 5:08
4. West 22nd Street Theme 4:42
5. Movement 7:29
6. Juba Dance 5:21
7. Air 4:45
8. Pastoral 2:02

Credits
Bass - Ron Carter
Composed By - Bobby Hutcherson (tracks: 1 to 4) , Joe Chambers (tracks: 5 to 8)
Drums - Joe Chambers
Piano - Herbie Hancock
Saxophone [Alto], Flute - James Spaulding
Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard
Vibraphone [Vibes], Marimba - Bobby Hutcherson

This is the most pleasant musical surprise of the season. I received a promising CD (beautiful, interesting cover) from Israel (bad news if klezmer but not Moshe Berlin). I'm not sure what this is, but it isn't klezmer. It is the most delightful soup of avant garde jazz I've heard since, oh, the last time I saw Dutch percussionist Han Bennink.
Like Bennink's Trio Clusone, this is a trio, and the music is experimental, exciting, interesting, incredibly well-played and diverse. Unlike Bennink's band, there are occasional passages derived from klezmer. The band's publicist describes the mix as "combining styles as different as klezmer, Rock-In-Opposition, Downtown Music, Jewish Alternative Movement, garage rock, etc." This is far more cheerful music than one expects from the Tel Aviv alternative scene. Given that the band is only about a year old, formed by Russian emigrants to Israel, and still hasn't performed live a lot, I am even more pleasantly surprised.
The band is very tight, from the incredibly near-perfect rhythm section, to even the tight comic klezmer-inspired (but not remotely klezmer in effect) vocal harmonies on "Dancing." The album opens with a short, plaintive train whistle. It is the last moment of familiar sounds until the deceptively simple bass line that opens the aptly named "Danglers Song," a lovely piece quickly interrupted by a scramble of choking voice and other instruments. All the while, the drums and bass keep an interesting beat while the clarinet plays tunefully, gracefully. Except when it bends, or the voices return. The rhythm section is perfect. This is music that articulates the "oy" of Jewish music with humor. It fits in not only with the work of Tzadik's Anthony Coleman, but with the experimental early work of Israel's Shlomo Gronich (the black album, or the trio, "No Names"). Then it stops and the music moves on, into a "Semitic Tango" which is no more (and no less) tango than the klezmer pieces are klezmer. You can hear the tango rhythm, but that isn't the tune in the foreground.
Differently, "Dancing" contains klezmer riffs, but is not klezmer. Well, at times it could be a sort of punk klezmer, but the drumming is too tight, the bass too tight, the clarinet to lyrical. As might be expected, the "March" isn't a march - but sometimes it is something very close. And the voices, the voices on "March" comprise some of the best, passionate gibberish, recorded in a long time. On "Sippurim," we return to the voices, but now hear both davenning as well as klezmer, and then the album ends in triumphant, joyous, pounding chaos.
This is simply a delightful experimental jazz album. It is the sort of album one would expect to hear on Tzadik, but, like the work of, say, Klezmer en Buenos Aires, one doesn't. It is fresh, innovative, interesting music. This is music that makes you smile when you aren't awestruck at how good the band is.
It is, in short, my kind of music, and no more easy to pigeonhole or to describe than that. Hell, even the cover and inside notes are impossible to pigeonhole, but splendidly excellent. If your ears hunger for something new, something new that is worth hearing; something new that will change the way you hear a bit, then this is the album for you, too.

:::Review by backata:::

Kruzenshtern & Parohod - The Craft of Primitive Klezmer (2003)

01. Mishegene Parovoz
02. Focus Pocus
03. Dangelers Song
04. Semitic Tango
05. Dancing
06. Match
07. Cul-De-Suc
08. Vontzn In The Box
09. Sippurim
10. Tort

Credits
Igor Krutogolov: bass, vocals, percussion, toys
Russel Gross: clarinet, toys, percussion (voice on "Dancing")
Yog Schechter: drums, toys, percussion (voice on "Dancing")

James once again made an acurate description of the music and maybe the difference in rating might be due to the french singing on this album. Actually quite different than other Quebecois band but just as incisive in contents ( lyrics ) , here the singing is of crystal- clear French without the typically local accent and it is refreshing, but it does take some mastering of the languages to fully grasp how good this album is . Those texts on top of it are politically engaged , mind-challenging , thought-provoking , environementally-conscious and socially oriented . The music is accompanying such superb vocals and texts is in the same vein : Food for thoughts. Just like your cereal breakfast (and just as indispensible as that first meal ) it just crackles , snaps and rocks (it does not pop ) and will nourish your body and feed your brains so well that even your asshole boss cannot screw-up your day. If I must point out to other band , I would say fellow Quebecois Maneige with vocals , and sometimes G Giant and also Canterbury.
In short , this is another real gem from that part of the world , up there with Harmonium , Et Cetera , Sloche and Maneige. Mosts of the numbers present long instrumental passages only slightly interrupted by very on-the-dot lyrics ( Les Saigneurs instead of Seigneurs). The title says it all Contre Courant - against the flow (mainstream).

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Opus-5 - Contre Courant (1974)

1. Le temps des Pissenlits (9:09)
2. Il etait Magicien (11:44)
3. Les Saigneurs (9:22)
4. Le Bal (5:41)
5. Contre Courant (3:54)

Credits
- Olivier Duplessis / keyboards, vocals
- Luc Gauthier / guitar, vocals
- Serge Nolet / flute, vocals
- Christian Leon Racine / bass, vocals
- Jean-Pierre Racicot / vocals, percussion

A bit like Osibisa and Assagai, the band is an aggregate of African black players forming in London's Swinging Sixties an amalgam of musicians that could play under three names: Skatallites (thus exploiting the Jamaican group), The Interstate Road Show or Sarah Gordon's House Of Bondage (for the seedier clubs of London) before getting signed by manager Barry Murray and landing on Dawn label, along with Comus and Mungo Jerry, both under Murray's protection. Blessed with a very strange mask artwork, DF's sole album at least had an excellent name, although borrowed from jazz circles.
Right form the first notes of the opening lengthy instrumental Past Present And Future, you just know you're on different trip than usual, with the huge bass and guitar duo scaling up and down the drama Spanish with Flamenco/Corrida chords, before taking off in an unexpected brass rock joyful explosion, lasting the next 8 minutes (out of almost 10). Very different in the following Disillusioned that has a much more BS&T flavour without having its heavy cheesiness or one of Chicago's many good moments on the first three albums. During a lengthy harmonica solo, the group seems caught in a vinyl skip (as if the needle was stuck), the group seems stuck in a repetitive 7/4 time sigs that haunts you for minutes after its gone. Another lengthy track takes another brass rock road, not far from What If would be doing, but suddenly the mood shifts to an Arabian seedy night club with the sax leading the way, slowly developing its Coltranian wings (not visible/audible at first). The flipside (let me dream I have the 33RPM) starts on the flute, bass and organ gliding thru space, before chants and other disrupts them and start in the plaintive Hymn To Mother Earth proper. The track soon develops one of the most haunting organ sustain line around, while the tension keeps climbing Awesome.
The album closer, the almost 10-mins Mercy(variation N°1) starts with an almost African voodoo beat and soon again haunts the corner of your mind especially when the brass section solo simultaneously going in different directions and the percussions and drums drive you mentally insane into following their wild rhythms over a wild sax. What a frigging exit to this album.
Stuck on as bonus tracks are the just as-rare maxi-single (this furiously recalls Comus and its "album and maxi-single" thing, and guess what??? The bonus maxi-single tracks bring as much added value to the original album as it did with Comus. Starting up is yet another great cover of SJ Hawkins' I Put A Spell On You (I don't think I've ever heard a cover of this track I didn't love), which was at the base of a payola scandal. The Message To Mankind return to a If or BS&T style of brass-rock, a fine tune, but seemingly a tad hastened midway through (uncaught glitch or normal twist?? >> go figure, it seems repeated later). The flipside of the maxi-single holds the lengthy Fuzz Oriental Blues, which a great instrumental wher the Hammond lays king for eternity!!!
Apparently the group also embarked a UK tour called The Penny Concerts with Comus, Titus Groan and Heron (es-ISB) >> How I wished I'd seen that!! In either case, Demon Fuzz's sole album is probably of on the label Dawn best artistic success (with the undisputable Comus topping that list) and the Cd reissue with its bonus tracks should absolutely discovered by all progheads.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Demon Fuzz - Afreaka! (1970)

Side A
Past Present And Future (9:50)
Disillusioned Man (4:58)
Another Country (8:28)

Side B
Hymn To Mother Earth (8:10)
Mercy (Variation No. 1) (9:20)

CD Reissued

Past, Present And Future
Disillusioned
Another Country
Hymn To Mother Earth
Mercy (Variation No. 1)

with Bonus Tracks
I Put A Spell On You
Message To Mankind
Fuzz Oriental Blues

Credits
Sleepy Jack Joseph / Bass
Ayinde Folarin / Congas
Paddy Corea / Congas, Flute, Saxophone
Steven John / Drums
W. Raphael Joseph / Guitar
Ray Rhoden / Organ, Piano
Clarance Brooms Crosdale/ Trombone
Smokey Adams / Vocals

Following the symphonic explorations of 1972's Skies of America, Ornette Coleman became fascinated with the music of Morocco. Dancing in Your Head is the chaotic result of that experimental period with the formation of Prime Time. "Theme From a Symphony" (Variation One and Two) is a 27-minute dervish whirlwind mixed with funk. This was the first opportunity listeners had to hear the two-guitar assault of Charles Ellerbee and Bern Nix. With its infectious danceable melody, Coleman fused these musics together in a unique unpredictable way that had not previously been attempted. "Midnight Sunrise" is a field recording with Ornette playing in Morocco alongside the Master Musicians of Jajouka during a religious ceremony. Music critic Robert Palmer, the first to expose Ornette to the music and culture of Morocco, plays clarinet. Unfortunately this fascinating piece clocks in at only 4:36, with an alternative take not on the original album, at 3:50 featuring Coleman and Palmer playing in an absolute frenzy. Dancing In Your Head sustained Ornette Coleman's role of controversial innovator.

:::Review by Al Campbell:::

Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head (1977)

1. Theme From A Symphony (Variation One) 15:37
2. Theme From A Symphony (Variation Two) 11:06
3. Midnight Sunrise 4:36
Clarinet - Robert Palmer

Credits
Bass - Rudy MacDaniel
Drums - Shannon Jackson
Guitar - Bern Nix , Charlie Ellerbee
Saxophone - Ornette Coleman

Also released by the Freedom label, this was trumpeter Charles Tolliver's full-length album as a leader. One of the top brassmen to emerge during the era (although he never quite lived up to his potential), Tolliver had the fat tone of a Freddie Hubbard, the adventurous spirit of Woody Shaw and a somewhat original conception of his own that bridged the gap between hard bop and the avant-garde. He performs six of his originals with pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Joe Chambers and (on three of the selections) altoist Gary Bartz. This explorative and stirring music is well worth investigating.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Charles Tolliver - Paper Man (1968)

A1. Earl's World 4:23
A2. Peace With Myself 9:37
A3. Right Now 5:47
B1. Household Of Saud 6:06
B2. Lil's Paradise 7:05
B3. Paper Man 6:11

Credits
Bass - Ron Carter
Composed By, Trumpet, Producer - Charles Tolliver
Drums - Joe Chambers
Piano - Herbie Hancock
Saxophone [Alto] - Gary Bartz (tracks: B1 to B3)

The first time progheads (and the rock world in general heard) the name of Keith Tippett and his unique piano was on the KING CRIMSON single of Cat Food in very early 1970, and it created a shock. Obviously most observers could see that the then-unknown (to most anyway) Keith Tippett was obviously an excellent pianist, but his style left many astounded, but also turning away many. But those intrigued enough, probably sought who this weird guy was. A Bristol-born cornet and pianist, who met in 67 in the BS Music School, Elton Dean, Nick Evans and Mark Charig, forming the Keith Tippett Sextet, that played to some success in London's 100 Jazz Club. . Keith Tippett would also be signalled that year on BLOSSOM TOES' two albums as well as being determinant in the SOFT MACHINE's change of musical direction towards jazz-rock, since the group became a septet, using three of Tippett's collaborators.
Indeed, the names of Mark Charig, Lyn Dobson, Harry Miller, Roy Babbington, Elton Dean and Nick Evans should be familiar to many progheads, yet most of them had their "rock world" start with Keith Tippett and his first group. When his first solo album came out, "You Are here... I Am There" on the Phillips label, it was yet another shock as their awesome jazz-rock was at least on par with MILES DAVIS, HERBIE HANCOCK or IAN CARR's NUCLEUS, and further ahead than was Soft Machine. Funnily enough the KTG inversed their Phillips trajectory to Gracious and XXXX by having their second album on the legendary Vertigo Swirl label, while the debut was on the generic label. Titled "Dedicated To You, But You Were Not Listening" (a Soft Machine tribute), the album was certainly not easier on the ears either.
A good part of Keith Tippett's group would find themselves playing the horns on Crimson's Lizard and even on Islands, despite the presence of Mel Collins, who was alone during the tours to fill the horn dept. This wouldn't be the only collab between Fripp and Tippett as the former also produced the only album of the latter's huge group concept of CENTIPEDE. "Septober Energy" is probably one of the most controversial albums ever, with the group consisting of up to 50 musicians including all of Blossom toes, part of Soft Machine and many jazz-rockers present on the British Isles, even including the amazing JULIE DRISCOLL, whom he would soon marry and her taking the name of her husband, but adding an "s": she'd become known as Julie Tippetts since.
The Keith Tippett Group ceased activity in 71 and Keith's musical endeavours became even more adventurous, as he recorded some really challenging music, with Blue Print (produced by Fripp) and then found OVARY LODGE, a group that recorded two albums, the first again produced by Fripp. The music hesitates between a precursory RIO and written free jazz with improvs and contains again the usual suspects, the second album having wife Julie contributing. Keith would also help her with Julie's superb "Sunset Glow" in 74, recorded again with the usual gang, and somewhat similar and continuous of her "1969" album, still released under her Driscoll name. Since 76 (and still today), apart from appearing on Dean, Charig and other solo albums, Keith has mostly worked on his ARK or on his even more obscure MUJICIAN (sometimes with and sometimes without wife Julie), both of which projects are well into atonal and dissonant free-jazz and well out of focus of this site.

:::Review by Hugues Chantraine:::

Keith Tippett - You Are Here... I Am There (1970)

1 This Evening Was Like Last Year (9:10)
2 I Wish There Was a Nowhere (14:12)
3 Thank You for the Smile (For Wendy & Roger) (2:02 )
4 Three Minutes From an Afternoon in July (To Nick) (4:13)
5 View From Battery Point (To John and Pete) (2:00)
6 Violence (4:00 )
7 Stately Dance for Miss Primm (6:51)

bonus track

8 This Evening Was Like Last Year [Short Version] (4:07)

Credits
- Keith Tippet / Piano, keyboards
- Nick Evans / trombone
- Mark Charig / Cornet
- Elton Dean / sax
- Jeff Clyne / bass
- Alan Jackson / drums

This encounter between Chick Corea (sticking to acoustic piano), tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, bassist Eddie Gomez, and drummer Steve Gadd lives up to expectations. The original program featured three lengthy "Quartet" pieces including sections dedicated to Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. The CD reissue adds four briefer pieces that were previously unissued, including an unaccompanied Brecker workout on "Confirmation" that would be perfect for "blindfold" tests. This blowing date is highly recommended for all true jazz fans.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Chick Corea - Three Quartets (1981)

1. Quartet No. 1 10:09
2. Quartet No. 3 9:36
3. Quartet No. 2 Part 1 (Dedicated To Duke Ellington) 7:05
4. Quartet No. 2 Part 2 (Dedicated To John Coltrane) 11:48

Credits
Bass - Eddie Gomez
Drums - Steve Gadd
Piano - Chick Corea
Saxophone - Michael Brecker

 

1. Sonny Sharrock - Who does she hope to be?...4:42

2. LastExit Sonny Sharrock,Bochum 1988...10:19

3. Last Exit - Destination-Out (1986)...9:57

4. Linda Sharrock - SOLITUDE...4:41

5. Sonny Sharrock 1988 Knitting Factory...10:00

6. LITTLE ROCK @ ASK THE AGES SONNY SHARROCK...6:39

7. Thurston Moore -Tribute to Sonny Sharrock.mp4...7:27

8. Sonny Sharrock: Greatest. Guitar. Solo. Ever....2:54

9. SONNY SHARROCK QUARTET 1...1:05

10. Sonny Sharrock "Once Upon A Time" 1991...6:31

11. Oasis Chris Sharrock doing Keith Moon...1:02

12. Sonny Sharrock = unknown date , place or musicians...7:36

13. Sonny Sharrock Many Mansions...9:32

14. Sonny Sharrock "Soon" 1970...7:59

15. LINDA SHARROCK Dearly Beloved...3:39

 

Enjoy!

:::Ebba Jahn - Rising Tones Cross (1985):::
Time: 112 mins
DVD label: FilmPals DVD 01 and the film's,
www.EbbaJahn.com 
through which the DVD can be purchased or the film rented for screenings.

Eye of Sound: It may sound difficult to believe it, but most of the artists listed above were once striving for recognition in the jazz scene and fighting for sheer survival. Ebba Jahn's Rising Tone Cross captures a moment when these artists were just starting to create a "scene", when their sparkling creativity was not yet comforted by certainty and success. More interestingly, perhaps, the film deals with issues of class and race and with the differences between the social contexts of improvised music in Europe and America, challenging many assumptions about musicianship, career building, and the possibilities for an artistic livelihood. What really distinguishes this from other "jazz films", however, is the visual and narrative focus on New York as the metaphorical force behind the musician's creative burst, portraying it as a dirty, poor, rough and lively city not yet tamed by shinny images of  success and bourgeois comfort.

  

This film is a documentary composition of new jazz, New York as the city that generates it, and the musicians playing it. The thoughts of the saxophonist Charles Gayle, the bass player William Parker, and Peter Kowald from Germany accompany the film. Shot on 16 mm in the mid 80s this film remains one of a kind until today.

"Rising Tones Cross is a nostalgia piece for some, a valuable historical document for others...Many of the musicians are still active players, and unsurprisingly the film captures many who have departed firmly in their element: Charles Tyler, Don Cherry, Frank Wright, Denis Charles, Jeanne Lee, Wilber Morris, Peter Kowald...
The film is romantic. There is a certain appeal and charm to images of a dirtier and grittier New York...and the music is wonderful, compelling stuff even for people jaded about improvised music. Rising Tones Cross provides some continuity, showing how jazz survived..." Andrey Henkin

 

BOY! ARE WE HAPPY TO SEE THE RELEASE OF THIS FIRST ITEM IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Ebba Jahn's documentary of the 1984 was shot partly at the New York Vision Jazz Festival curated by William Parker and Peter Kowald. Groups and musicians on film include Don Cherry & The Sound Unity Festival Orchestra; Jemeel Moondoc Sextet; Peter Brotzmann Ensemble; Peter Kowald Quartet; Billy Bang's Forbidden Planet; Charles Tyler Quintet; Peter Kowald Trio; William Parker & Patricia Nicholson Dance; Burton; Roy Campbell Jr.; Ruediger Carl; Daniel Carter; Dennis Charles; Ellen Christi; Curtis Clark; Marilyn Crispell; Charles Gayle; Wayne Horvitz; Masahiko Kono; Jeanne Lee; Wilber Morris; Bobby Previte; Irene Schweizer; David S. Ware; Frank Wright; John ZornThe early 1980s were a period of transition for the avant-garde fringe in New York. The loft scene -the days in which Ornette Coleman's home on Prince Street and Sam River's Studio Rivbea provided workshops for experimenters to develop their art - was drawing to a close, and the arrival of the Knitting Factory and its explosive impact on the Downtown scene was still a few years away. It fell to the artists themselves to create new opportunities.
As chronicled in Ebba Jahn's 1984 documentary, Rising Tones Cross, two such motivated visionaries were bassist William Parker and dancer Patricia Nicholson. The film centers around the Sound Unity Festival, a precursor to the couples' current Lower East Side bash, the Vision Festival.
It was the German bassist Peter Kowald, on an extended sojourn in New York that included a hefty formative role in Sound Unity, who convinced Jahn to make a film about the upstart festival. "It was clear to me that I wanted to have a German protagonist and an American protagonist," Jahn says. Her friend Kowald was the German choice, naturally, but America's representative had yet to be confirmed. "Originally, I had thought of Ornette Coleman. But on the day I arrived, first thing in the morning I met Charles Gayle, the most un-famous saxophonist at that time in New York City." That meeting, combined with a chance encounter with a cameraman who was working on Shirley Clarke's Coleman documentary, Made in America, led Jahn to shift her focus "from the most famous avant-garde saxophonist to the most un-famous."
"Instead of simply a compilation of festival footage - though performances by musicians like Jemeel Moondoc, Don Cherry, and Peter Broetzmann abound in the film - Rising Tones Cross was intended to be a "tool for music education. "For many people who saw the film in Germany, it was the first time they ever heard this type of music," she says. To help facilitate this reaction, Jahn put the most difficult music at the end of the film, easing the audience into it gradually. She also included a number of scenes intended to dispel common myths about free jazz. For example when Broetzmann's strapping 11-piece ensemble - boasting a tenor phalanx comprised of the leader, Gayle, David S. Ware, and Frank Wright - seems to be blowing chaotically onstage, Jahn's camera pans across Broetzmann's diagrammatic score to reveal an extraordinary amount of careful detail, planning, and scripting - the architecture girding the maelstrom. And having overcome an initial distrust and some reluctance to take part in the film, the enigmatic Gayle is revealed to be affable, erudite, and quite well-versed in jazz-history, a far cry from his dark public persona and stage presence. "He was perceived as a philosopher in Germany," says Jahn.
" In 1984, before Tonic or CB's Lounge or even the Knitting Factory and Rudy Giuliani, New York City was a rough-and-tumble place filled with a wonderful array of musicians in a state of hyper-creativity. Some of them had come out of the loft scene of the '70s or even earlier and were reconciling all the shades of the avant garde while others were creating entirely new vocabularies still being solidified today.
German filmmaker Ebba Jahn made 'A Jazz Film' that year with interviews, musical performances and fascinating visuals of the city before it became sterilized. For the film's 20th anniversary last year, Jahn put the film onto DVD format, a nostalgia piece for some, a valuable historical document for others. Many of the musicians featured are still active players: Charles Gayle, William Parker, John Zorn, Jemeel Moondoc, Irene Schweizer, Peter Brotzmann.
And unsurprisingly, the film captures many who have departed firmly in their element: Charles Tyler, Don Cherry, Denis Charles, Peter Kowald.
The two main voices of the film are Gayle and Kowald, an American and a German playing improvised music in basements and lofts and in the Sound Unity Festival, the precursor to today's Vision Festival. The film is romantic. There is a certain appeal and charm to the images of a dirtier, grittier New York.
The scene, always the scene, seemed to be more vibrant and the musicians less weighed down. And the music is wonderful, compelling stuff even for people jaded about improvised music. Rising Tones Cross provides some continuity, showing how jazz survived when pop and rap and heavy metal began to fully take over the public consciousness." (Steve Smith, Andrey Henkin, DMG)

Credits

PETER KOWALD QUINTET
Melting - Lines - Cycle

Charles Gayle
Peter Kowald
Marilyn Crispell
Rashied Ali

PETER KOWALD TRIO
Harvest Green

Charles Gayle
Peter Kowald
John Betsch

JOHN ZORN DUO
Sunday Afternoon at Life Café

John Zorn
Wayne Horvitz

BILLY BANG`S FORBIDDEN PLANET
Music For The Love Of It

Wayne Horvitz
Billy Bang
Oscar Sanders
Kim Clarke
Bobby Previte

WILLIAM PARKER & PATRICIA NICHOLSON ENSEMBLE
A Thousand Cranes Opera

Wayne Horvitz
Ricardo Strobert
Masahiko Kono
William Parker
Denis Charles
Lisa Sokolov
Jeanne Lee
Ellen Christi
Patricia Nicholson-Parker
Maria Mitchell
Carol Penn Muhammed
Frank Boyer
Keith Dames
A.R. Penck piano

CHARLES TYLER QUINTET
Life Can Be Whatsoever

Curtis Clark
Charles Tyler
Roy Campbell jr.
Wilber Morris
John Betsch


DON CHERRY & THE SOUND UNITY FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
Kangaroo Hoopie

Don Cherry
Peter Brötzmann
Rüdiger Carl
Daniel Carter
Ellen Christi
Felice Rosser
Peter Kowald
Wilber Morris
Denis Charles
Maria Mitchell

JEMEEL MOONDOC SEXTET
In Walked Monk

Jemeel Moondoc
Roy Campbell jr.
Rahn Burton
Ellen Christi
William Parker
Rashied Ali

IRENE SCHWEIZER DUO
For Julian Beck

Irene Schweizer
Rüdiger Carl

PETER BRÖTZMANN ENSEMBLE
Alarm

Peter Brötzmann
David S. Ware
Frank Wright
Charles Gayle
Jemeel Moondoc
Roy Campbell jr.
Masahiko Kono
Irene Schweizer
Peter Kowald
William Parker
Rashied Ali