Jazz Archives

This is one of the most highly underrated entries in Coltrane's voluminous catalog. Although the same overwhelming attention bestowed upon My Favorite Things was not given to Coltrane's Sound upon its initial release, both were actually recorded during the same three-day period in the fall of 1960. So prolific were those recording dates, they informed no less than five different Coltrane albums on Atlantic. The title could not have been more accurate, as each of the six pieces -- eight if you count the CD bonus tracks -- bear the unmistakable and indelible stamp of Coltrane's early-'60s style. "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and "Body and Soul" -- the only tracks not penned by Coltrane -- are given unique and distinctive voices. Animating the arrangements on these sessions were Coltrane (soprano/tenor sax), Steve Davis (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), and McCoy Tyner (piano). It's perhaps Tyner's recollection of the quartet as "four pistons in an engine" that most aptly explains the singular drive heard during Coltrane's extended runs on "Liberia." Tyner flawlessly complements Coltrane with full resonating chords that cling to his volley of sound. The rhythmic gymnastics of percussionist Jones is also showcased as his double-jointed bop swing and military band precision are distinctly displayed on the blues "Equinox." The opening six bars give Jones a chance to make a contrasting statement -- which he takes full advantage of. The two CD bonus tracks -- "26-2" as well as an alternate take of "Body and Soul" -- are also available on the Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box set. Regardless of the format, these recordings remain among Trane's finest.

:::Review by Lindsay Planer:::

John Coltrane - Coltrane's Sound (1960)

1. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes 6:42
Written-By – Buddy Bernier, Jerry Brainin
2. Central Park West 4:12
3. Liberia 6:45
4. Body And Soul 5:35
Written-By – Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Robert Sour
5. Equinox 8:33
6. Satellite 5:48
7. 26-2 6:09
8. Body And Soul (Alternate Take) 5:57
Written-By – Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Robert Sour


Credits
Artwork By – Marvin Israel
Double Bass – Steve Davis
Drums – Elvin Jones
Piano – McCoy Tyner (tracks: 1 to 5, 7 to 8)
Soprano Saxophone – John Coltrane (tracks: 2, 7)
Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane (tracks: 1, 3 to 8)
Written-By – John Coltrane (tracks: 2, 3, 5 to 7)

THE MARVEL OF THE JENKINS ERA!

I have a few selected recordings in my music collection that i considerlike my eternal treasures; i can listen to them on a regular basis, even after all those years and the pleasure, the excitement , the emotions i am having are as strong as ever. I never get tired to listening to them always discovering something new. This is like a journey to a wondeful world, another planet where everything is beautiful and nothing bad can happen to me. Just a few albums do the tricks like the self titled album from NOVALIS, WOLF CITY by AMON DUUL2, HAMBURGER CONCERTO from FOCUS or RED by KC and a few more. To this list, i can add this album SOFTS from SOFT MACHINE.Sometimes, it's difficult to explain.
I bought SOFTS back then in 1976 in the LP format of course and it has been a pillar of my collection and still is 31 years later! I saw SOFT MACHINE live in concert in Toulouse, France a few months before this release. The show was sold out (SOFT MACHINE was big in France!) and i witnessed SOFT history as it was one of the last concerts of MIKE RATLEDGE ever ,playing with the new guitarist JOHN ETHERIDGE.
Of course, SOFT MACHINE being SOFT MACHINE, personel changes occured once again with the departure of ALLAN HOLDSWORTH after just one album being replaced by JOHN ETHERIDGE.Also KARL JENKINS gave up the horns and concentratred to play the keyboards. ALAN WAKEMAN was hired to take over tenor and soprano saxes. Most importantly, as widely expected considering its shrinking role in the band, former leader MIKE RATLEDGE left discreetly. He is still present on SOFTS, but only on 2 tracks and the worst is that he is listed as a ......guest!!! MIKE RATLEDGE guesting! in his own band he created and led!!! the rise and fall of a great musician!.
With all these new changes, are we going to have another switch of the musical direction that we have been accustomed to with SOFT MACHINE? Not really as SOFTS bears a lot similarities with BUNDLES. First of all, the change of tha axeman doesn't affect the sound as ETHERIDGE plays-very-similar to ALLAN HODSWORTH. I am sure a lot of listeners wouldn't have noticed the difference if you don't mention the fact that this is not the same guitarist who plays on BUNDLES and SOFTS.
Hey! to keep the traditions intact, we are once again treated to another JENKINS percussion solo KAYOO, but the great part is when JOHN ETHERIDGE enters the fray with THE CAMDEN TANDEM for a furious, frenetic guitar/drums combo battle , kind of amazing for something labelled with the Soft Machine name on it; but that's a very exhilarating experience, especially when the short symphonic (yes , symphonic a la MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA)track NEXUS follows.
You will find every kind of music on this album, but everything blends together as a lot of pieces are bridged together.The album opens with the delicate ambient tune AUBADE played only with an acoustic guitar and a flute; what an enchanting intro it is. SOFT MACHINE playing beautiful romantic music, what happened to this world?
The meat of SOFTS comes next with some of my most beloved tracks ever: THE TALE OF TALIESIN and BAN BAN CALIBAN , 17 mns of joy and beauty. Great piano, fast furious guitar solos with a frenetic rythm section, then a symphonic soundscape to make it grandiose, a great theme and what to say about BAN BAN CALIBAN? maybe the most energetic track ever under a SOFT MACHINE name. Did i say funky? not really in the Detroit Motown style ,i mean but for them it's quite funky.The same goes for ONE OVER THE HEIGHT with this lively dynamic rythm section and a demential sax solo from ALAN WAKEMAN; that's really blowing the horn, believe me!
There is not one letdown on this album as there is so much to say, or better to hear.SOFTS is full of life, full of energy played by fantastic musicians (oh! JOHN ETEHRIDGE! what a force!). This is not uniform as there are so many different soundscapes going from the reflective melancholic ballad to the jazz/rock frenesy of a madman to a symphonic orgy created by these talented artists at their creative peaks. This is music the way i see it, i feel it , music the way it should be played , music for the ages! This is my 100 th review and to celebrate, i cannot give less than 5 stars.

:::Review by febus:::

Soft Machine - Softs (1976)

1. Aubade (1:51)
2. The Tale of Taliesien (7:17)
3. Ban-Ban Caliban (9:22)
4. Song of Aeolus (4:31)
5. Out of Season (5:32)
6. Second Bundle (2:37)
7. Kayoo (3:27)
8. The Camden Tandem (2:01)
9. Nexus (0:49)
10. One Over the Eight (5:25)
11. Etika (2:21)

Credits
- Roy Babbington / bass guitar
- John Etheridge / acoustic & electric guitars
- Karl Jenkins / piano, electric piano, pianette, string, Mini-Moog synthesizers, orchestration
- John Marshall / drums, percussion
- Alan Wakeman / soprano & tenor saxes
+ Mike Ratledge / synthesizer (3,4)

Wojtek Mazolewski, bass player, is frequent guest on my blog. I reviewed his "Monster of Jazz" (2010) and "Alchemia" (2008) recorded with excellent Pink Freud band plus "Freeyo" (2009) recorded in trio with Gos and Wojtczak. All these albums (and other not mentioned here) are simply very, very good and point to very important feature of Mazolewski's play: whether he flirts with avantgarde, mainstream, free jazz or ventures into rock or even pop territory he maintains this same uniquely his own voice. Always daring, creative and self-ironic, he is brilliant wherever he chooses to turn his attention. He is one of few, VERY few, musicians whose musical language appeal to both lovers of free and avantgarde music niche and can simultaneously be voted to be played on Polish most popular and famous chart (44th position on hit list by Trójka).
One of the explanations of the success of many Mazolewski projects is his ability to pick up right musicians who are not only among best in the country but more importantly share his artistic visions, his attitude toward art, his Boheme way of life (or better to say: image ;-). This time he is accompanied by Michał Bryndal on drums, and rhythm section they created is key to success of this album. It's trance-like, broken and angled line is simply breathtaking, among the most forward thinking and original in Polish music. These two rhythm wizards are often joined by excellent piano play by Joanna Duda and two expressive brass players: Marek Pospieszalski on saxophon and Oscar Torok (from Slovakia) on trumpet.
Many years ago Mazolewski was deeply involved in yass revolution in Poland and he has maintained this experimental attitude over the years, his Quintet being kind of test vehicle, for his ever-changing musical ideas. He recorded first album in this format in 2007 (issued 1 year later) with completely different staff and comprising totally different music. There is no continuity altogether although there is clearly development. So let me in the end ask this question: where Mazolewski is steering with this record?
In my opinion this record shows he is maturing quickly leaving behind himself all yass lack of seriousness, order, respect for tradition which was sometimes honestly speaking a nuisance for adult listener. Already excellent "Alchemia" album (2008) marked his evolution toward play as much creative as focused on quality, on beauty of sound which together with special kind of recording procedure used in this session (using tape and without many rehearsals) gave music rarely met spatiality, density and featherweightednes. Hopefully Mazolewski will stay on this track in future as well...

:::Review by polish-jazz.blogspot.com:::

Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet - Smells Like Tape Spirit (2011)

1. Newcomer 6:06
2. Planeta Guzików 4:37
3. Kaczeńce 6:20
4. Gwiazda z Pragi (O Owocach Ciał Nieziemskich) 5:18
5. Pożycz Stówę 1:05
6. Populacja Sikorek 4:35
7. Smells Like Tape Spirit 6:37
8. Księżniczka nr 9 i 10 4:19
9. Oberek 5:44
10. Jedynak 3:22
11. Newcomer (Sunny Take) 3:42

Credits
Oscar Torok – trumpet
Marek Pospieszalski – saxophone
Joanna Duda – piano
Wojtek Mazolewski – double bass
Michał Bryndal – drums

Jazz is no stranger to eclecticism. Musicians have been bending, breaking, reshaping, and reincorporating since the very beginning of jazz history. In fact, departing from jazz tradition might as well be the definition of jazz.
If that is indeed the case, guitarist Rob Price has, with his current release, At Sunset , marked himself as a classical jazz composer and player. Combining everything from free improvisation to country, blues, and California surf music, Price has made a truly multi-genre, decidedly entertaining album. From the Frank Black-meets-Charlie Hunter tune "Main Title" to the appropriately moody "Where it Snows," Price, with the aid of percussionist Joey Baron, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, and bassist Trevor Dunn, brings each of the album's disparate compositions alive. Executed with restraint, the music is more about mood than overt musical dexterity, and the album benefits from this collected approach.
Highlights include the already mentioned "Where it Snows," on which Dunn contributes a highly atmospheric, extended solo, supported by Baron's distinctively hollow-toned, low key drum work; a 1950s cruise down Sunset Strip, "Night Vision"; and the brooding blues "At Sunset."
Price simultaneously takes his experimentations seriously enough to give them weight, and with enough humor to keep them free of awkward affectation. An enjoyable mix, this is an album for the gut as much as the brain.

:::Review by FRANZ A. MATZNER:::

Rob Price - At Sunset (2004)

1. 1600 Hours
2. Night Vision
3. Icicles
4. Main Title
5. Jack of Cats
6. Where It Snows
7. Mouse Game
8. At Sunset.

Credits
Rob Price: Guitar
Ellery Eskelin: Tenor Saxophone
Trevor Dunn: Bass
Joey Baron: Drums

Ralph Ellison once wrote a great essay in which he seemed to predict jazz's ultimate dependence on a music industry driven (and subsidized) bya star system. The irony, Ellison suggested, is that jazz is largely created by anonymous musicians, who because they are "devoted to an artwhich traditionally thrives on improvisation [...] very often have their most original ideas enter the public domain almost as rapidly as they are conceived to be quickly absorbed into the thought and technique of their fellows."

There is a bittersweet implication here—as if it's somehow nobler to be an unknown, poverty-stricken musician, and as if becoming a jazz celebrity inevitably involves selling out. But I don't know if you could convince trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur of either of these propositions. Though he may agree that the star system is a horrible invention, he recently had the opportunity to reestablish his own reputation, and I can almost hear him thanking [insert the deity of your choice here] for that.

After all, until this chance came along, Moncur was coming very close to total obscurity—and from what I can tell, he wasn't enjoying it, materially or philosophically. In the '60s, he had been a participant and leader in several stellar Blue Note sessions (now collected on a Mosaic box set), but he more or less hadn't been heard from again until, well, last year. Why? It could be that his (smart) impulse to control his own publishing rights got him blacklisted by the Blue Note big wigs. Or maybe that blacklisting had something to do with his turn toward the avant-garde. Or perhaps it was something else altogether— something even more painful (see Fred Jung's AAJ interview with Moncur for several moving allusions). In any case, here at last is one of the rewards of a jazz culture that has become downright curatorial in recent years (a fact sometimes too-quickly decried by those of us who prefer our music in the clubs): at least we're starting to value the contributions of lesser-known veterans.

To be sure, Moncur's new album, Exploration, is markedly different from his '60s output. Here, he is dealing with a much larger ensemble (an octet featuring such varied personages as Gary Smulyan, Billy Harper, and Andrew Cyrille), for which Mark Masters' compelling, dense arrangements are perfectly suited. True to its name, Exploration is not a simple repackaging of Moncur's work, but, rather, a sincere statement of artistic growth (a noble thing any age, but particularly when you're in your late 60s). A brief summary: "New Africa" is a gorgeous suite whose creation was apparently assisted by Moncur's wife, Tamam. "Sonny's Back" weighs in on the "almost-bop" side of things and is named after Moncur's friend, Sonny Rollins. And speaking of friends in high places, Moncur's signature tune ("Monk in Wonderland") is named after another fellow traveler (you-know-who), who I suspect is his biggest influence. (I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the amazing alto solo on this tune, incidentally. Thanks, Gary Bartz.) "Love and Hate" is strangely named; it sounds like all love to me (slow, mellow, sweet). And for the hardcore fan, "Excursion" is a more or less totally free several minutes.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Bottom line: welcome back, Grachan. We missed you.

:::Review by Andrew Durkin:::

Grachan Moncur III - Exploration (2004)

1. Exploration

2. Monk in Wonderland

3. Love and Hate

4. New Africa

5. When?

6. Frankenstein

7. Excursion

8. Sonny's Back

Credits
Grachan Moncur III, trombone;
Mark Masters, arrangements;
Tim Hagans, trumpet;
John Clark, French Horn;
Dave Woodley, trombone;
Gary Bartz, alto sax;
Billy Harper, tenor sax;
Gary Smulyan, baritone sax;
Ray Drummond, bass;
Andrew Cyrille, drums

Optical Delusions, the 2011 album from Spanish fusion outfit Planeta Imaginario, serves us rich jazz rock with constantly changing rhythmic structures that characterize Frank Zappa and the Canterbury scene. There is an excellent balance between the interplay of instruments, with none dominating the whole song or given the whole share of freedom within the phrasing of the song. While some sections are complex and tightly composed, other sections lay down a steady beat so that all of the instruments can jam and improvise.
Whenever the rhythm gets predictable on this album, there are layers added or there is a flourish that keeps you interested and moving. There is almost a big band sound that comes from the horns playing in harmony. The solo piano and horn interludes that are interspersed throughout the songs provide a relaxing break from the varied instrumentation and complex composition.
The first half of "Collective Action" quickly shows us the layered jazz jams and rich rhythms that are all throughout the album. After another piano interlude, however, there is a tightly composed section with constantly changing time signatures and rhythms which provides a satisfying rest before a steady drum, bass, and keyboard beat accompanies a horn solo. "The Garden of Happy Cows" distinguishes itself after the first few minutes when the band launches into a breakdown which slowly gains layers and complexity until the instruments can unite again with a melody that transitions into a piano interlude. "Hemangioma" and "The Sea...and Later the Sun...and the Reflection" are also noteworthy for their slowly building climaxes. "Xarramandusca" has a much larger number of free jazz sections which provide an atmosphere that breaks up the light upbeat feel of the rest of the album. The opening of "Angioma" shows the compositional characteristics of progressive rock, with changes that are unpredictable but go well with the song structure. "Sidewalk Licker" begins with a meditative piano solo which sets the mood perfectly for the beats to follow.
This album makes it clear that Planeta Imaginario has many influences all across the musical spectrum. Optical Delusions never loses your attention because of the amount of musical variety that is being showcased. Anybody that's a fan of energetic rhythms, rich composition, and layered instrumentation should find a lot to enjoy on this album.

:::Review by Sancho Panza:::

Planeta Imaginario - Optical Delusions (2011)

1- Acciò Col-lectiva (10:16)
2- El jardì de las vaques alegres (9:40)
3- Xarramandusca (11:36)
4- Bona sort, amic meu (1:45)

Preludis Clinics del Home-gos
5- Angioma (3:50)
6- Bisturí (0:45)
7- Hemangioma (3:09)

8- Introducció de Llepavoreres (2:37)
9- Llevaporeres (8:00)

Elements imperfectes sobre quartz vermell
10- Element de la puresa imperfecte (4:15)
11- Element del art pur i imperfect (6:21)
12- Element de la persuasió imperfecte (2:40)

13- El mar, i llavors sortí el sol. i el reflexe (13:18)

Credits
- Marc Capel / Hammond L100 organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Challen piano, Yamaha CS80 & Jen SX1000 synthesizers
- Dimitiris Bikos / fretless bass
- Natsuko Sugao / trumpet
- The-Hien Trinh / trombone
- Alfonso Muñoz / alto, soprano & baritone saxes, percussion
- Vasco Trilla Gomes dos Santos / drums, percussion

Guest musicians
- Sisu Corominas / tenor & alto saxes
- Pablo Selnik / flute (9-13)
- Guillem Serra Llorenc / French horn (1, 2, 5-7),
- Liba Villavecchia / tenor sax solos (1, 2)

Jack Walrath (born May 5, 1946 in Stuart, Florida) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus and Glenn Ferris, among others.
Walrath began playing the trumpet at the age of nine in 1955 while living in the small town of Edgar, Montana. He attributes his wide range of musical appreciation to a “lack of negative peer pressure which so often happens in cities.” In 1964 Walrath graduated from Joliet High School and attended the Berklee College of Music. He pursued a composition diploma program instead of a full degree program so that he could concentrate specifically upon music classes. During his Berklee years he backed a number of R&B singers in the Boston and Cambridge areas and gigged with his fellow students. While in Boston he worked in the band Change with bassist Gary Peacock. Walrath graduated from the Berklee program in 1968.
In 1969 Walrath relocated to the West Coast and found work in Los Angeles’ jazz scene. Soon he was a member of the band Revival, with trombonist Glenn Ferris, and the West Coast Motown Orchestra. An opportunity soon arose to work with the legendary Ray Charles, with whom Walrath did one tour of the United States. By 1970 the openings for jazz musicians in Los Angeles began to dry up, and Walrath relocated again to New York City.
Walrath spent the next several years working with mainstream and Latin jazz bands.[3] In 1974 Walrath was working in the band of saxophonist Paul Jeffrey when the leader introduced him to bassist Charles Mingus, a pioneer of bebop and post-bop jazz who was experiencing a career resurgence. Baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett had recently left Mingus’ band, and Walrath was eager to fill the opening. He joined tenor saxophonist George Adams, pianist Don Pullen and drummer Dannie Richmond in the quintet, which was acclaimed as one of Mingus’ finest ensembles and broke new ground by leaning towards free jazz and non-chordal improvisations. Aside from Richmond, who had worked with Mingus off and on since the 1950s, Walrath enjoyed the longest unbroken tenure of any Mingus sideman. He made music with the bassist up until Mingus’ death in 1979. The primary albums of interest from Walrath’s tenure with Mingus are Changes One and Changes Two, both recorded for Atlantic Records in 1974. The latter album features Walrath’s composition “Black Bats and Poles” (originally entitled “Rats and Moles” until Mingus decided it needed a darker name). Walrath has extended the Mingus legacy through his work with Mingus Dynasty, a mid-sized tribute band, and the Charles Mingus Big Band coordinated by Mingus’ widow, Sue Graham Mingus.
Walrath has been a sideman for Muhal Richard Abrams, Ricky Ford, Sam Rivers, Joe Morello, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Ray Anderson, Craig Harris, Pete LaRoca, Mike Longo, Elvis Costello, Larry Willis, George Gruntz, Gunther Schuller, Hal Galper, Bobby Watson, Richie Cole and others. He has worked with the WDR Big Band, the Jazz Tribe and the Charli Persip Superband. Walrath's appeal was summed up by reviewer David Grogan: "Like Mingus, Walrath delights in rich melodic nuances and colors, with blue notes stretched amid bursts of rhythmic energy."
Ensembles under Walrath’s own leadership have included The Jack Walrath Group, Wholly Trinity, Hard Corps, The Masters of Suspense, and The Jack Walrath Quintet. In 1987 Walrath received a Grammy nomination for a cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (on the album Master of Suspense) featuring Willie Nelson. His compositions have been performed and recorded by Hamiet Bluiett, Red Rodney, Larry Willis, Mike Clark, Cecil Brooks III, Ray Mantilla, Hank Jones, Zé Eduardo, and the Manhattan New Music Project. His television scores include Homicide: Life on the Streets.
Walrath has received composition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Composition Grant and the Mary Flagler Cary Trust, and performance grants from the NEA and Quad City Arts. He has had compositions and arrangements commissioned for virtually every instrumental combination from symphony orchestra to solo piano. He has conducted seminars, master classes, music camps and clinics in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Israel, Finland and across the United States. Walrath has also written an instruction book, 20 Melodic Jazz Studies for Trumpet (published by Advance Music), and is currently working on an autobiography, CD and record guide.

:::bio from wikipedia:::

Jack Walrath & The Mastes Of Suspence - Hipgnosis (2006)

1. Sweet Hip Gnosis
2. Hip Gnosis
3. Trane Trip
4. Philosopher Stone
5. Mingus Piano
6. Blue Sinistra
7. Games
8. Baby Fat
9. Premature Optomism
10. Eclipse
11. Love Enough For Everybody

Credits
Jack Walrath (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals);
Dean Bowman (voice);
David Fiuczynski (guitar);
Hill Green (acoustic bass);
Cecil Brooks III (drums)

Here is a fantastic and totally amazing album released by the 70s jazzy Krautrock band Dzyan. The music is very ambitious, unique and intense, combining a great diversity of genres from jazz rock, space/rock to world (eastern raga). This is ethnic jazz fusion at its very best, sometimes near to others German kraut/jazz formations as Embryo, but definitely freakier, drug inspired psychedelic music. Many tracks contain a delicate and a mystical oriental flavour combining sitar with prog passages, tremendous guitar base lines. All the compositions are perfectly executed, bringing enough convincing "weird" experimental effects and improvisations to reach the listener in a higher level of consciousness.
One of the most inventive release and a top krautrock band.

:::Review by philippe:::

Dzyan - Electric Silence (1975)

1. Back To Where We Come (8:57)
2. A Day In My Life (4:03)
3. The Road Not Taken (4:54)
4. Khali (4:55)
5. For Earthly Thinking (9:38)
6. Electric Silence (4:30)

Credits
- Peter Giger / drums, percussion
- Reinhard Karwatky / electric & double bass, superstring, Mellotrone, synthesizer
- Eddy Marron / guitars, sitar, Zaz, tambura, mellotrone, voice

Guitarist Skopelitis' dustpan approach to world music sweeps various ethnic instrumental grit and grime into the whirling blades of co-producer Bill Laswell's shop-vac. Contributing to the unholy mess are Foday Musa Suso on kora, oudist/violinist Simon Shaheen, gospel organist Amina Claudine Myers, percussionists Zakir Hussain, Aiyb Dieng and Guilherme Franco, drummer Jaki Liebezeit, bassists Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble, and, consistently providing the most bracing moments, Bachir Attar (leader of the Master Musicians of Jajouka) raising hell on the plague-of-locusts vernacular oboe, the rhaita. When Ekstasis's free-floating anxiety is at its peak, it could almost be the disc that Can fans have been waiting for since Ege Bamyasi.

:::Review by Bob Tarte:::

Nicky Skopelitis - Ekstasis (1993)

1. Tarab 7:19
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Jah Wobble
Written-By – Laswell, Wobble
Drums [Loop] – Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Violin – Simon Shaheen
Harp [Doussongoni] – Foday Musa Suso
Tabla – Zakir Hussain

2. Meet Your Maker 5:57
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Bill Laswell
Flute – Bachir Attar
Oud, Violin [Intro] – Simon Shaheen
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Cuica, Whistle, Other [Little Hammer] – Guilherme Franco
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers

3. Ghost Of A Chance 5:06
Performer [Chatan] – Aiyb Dieng
Bass – Bill Laswell
Baglama, Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Berimbau [Electric], Cuica, Cowbell – Guilherme Franco
Drums – Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers

4. Proud Flesh 4:48
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Jah Wobble
Kora – Foday Musa Suso
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Violin – Simon Shaheen
Tambourine – Guilherme Franco

5. Sanctuary 5:57
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Jah Wobble
Oboe [Ghaita] – Bachir Attar
Written-By – Attar, Wobble
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Talking Drum – Aiyb Dieng
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers

6. One Eye Open 4:41
Performer [Chatan] – Aiyb Dieng
Bass – Bill Laswell
Sitar [Coral], Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Written-By – Laswell
Drums – Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Violin – Simon Shaheen
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers
Berimbau [Electric] – Guilherme Franco

7. Heresy 5:36
Written-By – Suso, Wobble
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Jah Wobble
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Kora – Foday Musa Suso

8. Jubilee 4:39
Electric Guitar [12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Jah Wobble
Written-By – Suso, Wobble
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Talking Drum – Aiyb Dieng
Harp [Doussongoni] – Foday Musa Suso
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers

9. Witness 7:34
Bass – Jah Wobble
Written-By – Wobble, Shaheen
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Violin – Simon Shaheen
Harp [Doussongoni] – Foday Musa Suso
Baglama, Guitar [Dobro], Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis

10. Telling Time 4:57
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Amina Claudine Myers
Electric Guitar [6 & 12 String] – Nicky Skopelitis
Bass – Bill Laswell
Drums – Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Congas – Guilherme Franco


Credits
Artwork By [Cover] – James Koehnline
Artwork By [Layout And Design] – Aldo Sampieri
Engineer – Bruce Calder, Martin Bisi, Bob Musso
Engineer [Assistant At Greenpoint] – Imad Mansour
Engineer [Assistant At Platinum Island] – Chris Flam
Engineer, Engineer [Mix For Velocity] – Oz Fritz
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Photography – Ira Cohen
Producer – Bill Laswell, Nicky Skopelitis
Technician [Equipment] – Artie Smith
Written-By – Skopelitis

This album remains my absolute favorite of all. It is finally, after many years of searching, exactly my kind of music. There is the purity of ambient synthesizers, there is the sophistication of polyrhthmic beats. There is big boom of bass, the improvisation of bebop, the integration of Eastern themes. All that and Arabic lyricism as well. I have been following two threads of this kind of music since the 80s. One of them culminated in the music around Adrian Sherwood and OnU and the other around Bill Laswell and Axiom. In the end, Laswell was the champion and his music explores all the dimensions of sound I find fascinating, compelling and majestic. His collaborations with everyone from Sly and Robbie and Peter Namlook to his recreations of Bob Marley and Miles Davis are stunning. But in my opinion, his greatest work to date can be found on this album. It is track number seven, entitled The Hidden Garden / Naima. Yes, that Naima. It is, in my opinion, better than Coltrane's original. This is the music I have played in rented cars through the streets of Brooklyn and Tampa and Houston with the windows rolled down, just trying to show how that big boom can carry so much sophistication and flavor. This is the music that carries the literal wit of William S. Burroughs about deals with the devil.
The odd thing is with this album is like so many others, I don't associate a name with the songs. I just know them. They occupy a nameless place in memory because there is no communicating them. It's like a secret knowledge, a fountain of inspiration that you try to share but the water slips through your hands as you attempt to remove it from the source. I can say 'Laswell' to a few that know him and then what? There's this, of course, but there is also the perfect Dub Chamber 3. There's also the extraordinary Panthalassa. I know a man named Benzon who once looked after my son. If there's a man who knows my mind perhaps he is the one. In music he understands the power it transduces through the brain. I look at him with library envy and wish I could explain. I'll tell him Laswell and he'll nod, then pick up his horn and play a stretch and hang on to a note mystical and forlorn. And I'll say yes after a moment and say how did you know. He'll shrug and ask me don't we all who listen for the flow? And I forget this epic trance was dreamed in God's own mind, as I just wrangle syllables interpolated for the purposes of explicating that which transpired without any sense of time as if binded to the blind.

:::Review by cobb:::

Material - Hallucination Engine (1993)

1. Black Light 7:33
Written-By – B. Laswell, W. Shorter

2. Mantra 8:44
Written-By – B. Laswell, Caroline, Shankar
3. Ruins (Submutation Dub) 8:54
Written-By – B. Laswell
4. Eternal Drift 7:35
Written-By – B. Laswell, N. Skopelitis
5. Words Of Advice 3:58
Written-By – B. Laswell, W. Burroughs
6. Cucumber Slumber (Fluxus Mix) 7:30
Written-By – A. Johnson, J. Zawinul
7. The Hidden Garden / Naima 13:00
Written-By – B. Laswell, N. Skopelitis, S. Shaheen
8. Shadow Of Paradise 9:45
Written-By – B. Laswell, N. Skopelitis, Shankar

Credits
Arranged By – Bill Laswell
Bass – Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, Jonas Hellborg
Drums [Kit] – Sly Dunbar
Electric Piano, Organ [Hammond B-3] – Bernie Worrell
Ghatam – Vikku Vinayakram
Ghatam [Chatan], Congas, Percussion – Aiyb Dieng
Guitar, Sitar, Baglama – Nicky Skopelitis
Kanjira [Daff], Tambourine – Michael Baklouk
Ney – Jihad Racy
Oud – Simon Shaheen
Producer – Bill Laswell
Sampler, Programmed By [Beats, Loops] – Bill Laswell
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] – Wayne Shorter
Synthesizer – Jeff Bova, Nicky Skopelitis
Tabla – Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain
Violin – Shankar, Simon Shaheen
Voice – Fahiem Dandan, Liu Sola, William S. Burroughs
Zither [Qanoum] – George Basil

“Vezhliviy Otkaz, which means “polite refusal” in English, is one of the most original and erratic rock bands in Russia. They have never gone for pop stardom or tried to establish themselves as an underground “cult” act. Around 1986, they did perform in ripped tuxedos and throw pieces of raw meat into the audience, but this was a passing, and nearly forgotten, stage in their career.”

:::Review by Artemy Troitsky, "Moscow Times":::

Вежливый отказ - Гуси-Лебеди (2010)

1. Марш 2:48
2. Дорожная 5:23
3. Мурка 4:48
4. Перевод 7:56
5. Страдания 3:33
6. Тикирика 4:42
7. Бурятская Морская 6:15
8. Блюз 5:54
9. Время 4:12
10. Lz 4:02
11. Этюд 3:44

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Mixed By – Роман Суслов
Bass, Contrabass, Vocals – Дмитрий Шумилов
Drums, Percussion – Михаил Митин
Piano, Flute, Violin, Vocals – Павел Карманов
Trumpet – Андрей Соловьев
Violin, Vocals – Сергей Рыженко

John's first real solo album of year 2010 (first 2010 release of Zorn's associated projects was Masada's "Mycale"). This work is real answer for those missing jazz in Zorn's works of some last years. This album is jazz.
Nothing from avant-garde. Nothing from klezmer, hard-core or electronics experiments. Nothing at all! This album is very tasteful, melodic, melancholic contemporary jazz music for piano and vibraphone, supported by rhythm section ( acoustic, electric bass and drums). Music is mid tempo, very elegant, pleasant to listen ( with very light post-bop influence). Each composition itself is almost masterpiece (even if not very complex technically). Main problem for me was the album as whole product: in fact John just used small perfect idea, and developed it till full album.
If separately each composition is almost excellent, there is very difficult to find a difference between compositions. In fact all album sounds a bit as one long song ( or album of remixes of same composition with very small difference between versions). At that point ( and remembering that Zorn declared he will release 12 albums in 2010) I for a first time feel some danger he will use just very small even genial idea for each this year's album just to fulfil his program. Still hope I am wrong in this...
Very pleasant and tasteful contemporary jazz album, just don't expect nothing experimental or unusual. Music (jazz) to enjoy.

:::Review by snobb:::

John Zorn - In Search Of The Miraculous (2010)

1. Prelude: From A Great Temple
2. Sacred Dance (Invocation)
3. The Book of Shadows
4. Affirmation
5. The Magus
6. Hymn for a New Millennium
7. Journey of the Magicians
8. Mythic Etude
9. Postlude: Prayers and Enchantment

Credits
Rob Burger: Piano, Organ
Greg Cohen: Acoustic Bass
Ben Perowsky: Drums
Kenny Wollesen: Vibraphone
Shanir Blumenkranz: Electric Bass

Don't be put off by the name. This is a high-energy album of fiery playing. An all-instrumental effort is what we have here from this California quartet's debut release. Five lengthy tracks, served up with some blistering guitar, sax and flute solos. While they "jam", they are in no way a "jam" band. There is a strong sense of melody present amongst all of the ripping. I'm hard pressed to say they sound like this or that, but if one were to make comparisons, one might say that they operate in the same area as Spaced Out sans the keyboards, although there is less of the fusion slant apparent. Maybe a less quirky version of Boud Deun, with sax and flute replacing the violin, would be a better starting point. I'm also reminded a little bit of later Kraan.
They kick the album off with a couple of stellar numbers, "Dragon Feed" and "Archemedes Tub". Both of these songs kick it into high gear right away showing that band has chops. The playing is tight and energetic all the way through both of these tracks.
They do take a breather here and there, like at the beginning of the third track "Oceania". Some nice rolling guitar and flute give way to a subtle intensity that builds up to a melodic guitar solo. The song finally breaks forth into mayhem and a nice guitar solo interspersed with sax flurries only to wind down into a nice percussive outro, featuring none other than Mr. Ambient himself, Steve Roach.
They close out the album with an 18-minute tune, "Path Of The Farwinds". This is another track that starts off with some nice guitar and flute interplay. Shades of Gong creep in with the addition of some glissando guitar work, though it soon breaks into the speedy breakneck pace that drives a lot of the album.
All in all, there is some great, tight playing, with enough variety to keep you interested for the duration of the disc's 60 or so minutes. I like it.

:::Review by Joe Fischer:::

Avant Garden - Maelstrom (2001)

1. Dragon Feed (10:03)
2. Archemedes Tub (9:14)
3. Oceania (12:32)
4. Into The Maelstrom (7:57)
5. Path Of The Farwind (18:25)

Credits
- Brian Gould / acoustic and electric guitars, e-bow, glissando
- Jason Kenney / drums and percussion
- Flamp Sorvari / Alto saxophone and flute
- Miles Gilster / bass

Guest artists
- Steve Roach / didgeridoo, spirit catcher, loops and percussion (3,5)
- J. D. Gardemeyer / percussion (3)
- Jesse Winn / percussion (3)
- Chris Dugan / percussion (3)

Afroskull is greasy persuasion and bad gris-gris. A New York City funk/rock collective by way of New Orleans, the ‘Skull is a sonic gumbo that is one part Funkadelic and one part Black Sabbath with generous helpings of Zappaesque runs and jazzoid horns. The interplay of their heady musicianship and fat bottomed grooves helps to keep les bon temps rouler all night long.
Born of saintly happenstance and house party jam sessions in The Big Easy, Afroskull has been intent on setting about the musical canvas with broad strokes and a menacing palette for more then a decade. Indulging in the sweet cross pollination of musical genres, they have created a hybrid sound they can call their very own. Taking their name from the perceived halo, that well worn LP fade, which framed the shrouded skull on the back cover of “Steppenwolf Live,” the band, in one word conceived a moniker that spoke to the heavy boogies they were cranking out on a regular basis.
Their early musical endeavors and growing reputation in and around New Orleans led the band; Joe Scatassa (guitar), Bill Richards (bass), Matt Barone (keyboards), Jason Isaac (drums) and a cadre of horn players, into the studio to cut their first album. Monster for the Masses, released in 2000, was received to critical praise. Although commercial success proved more elusive, the band’s stature, backed by their solid studio effort and high-powered shows, continued to grow even as they dealt with a multitude of changes.
Following band member departures, a brief hiatus, and a move back home to New York, Joe and Jason reconstituted Afroskull. With The Big Apple their backdrop and joined by Matt Iselin (keyboards), Dan Asher (bass) and Seth Moutal (percussion) the band was born anew, but with that same genre eschewing bend. Their live shows, a laboratory for their shifting provocative sound, were further enhanced by the solidification of the “Horns of Doom.”
Jeff Pierce (trumpet), Justin Flynn (tenor sax) and Rafi Malkiel (trombone) emerged from a rotating cast of horn players equipped with an individual swagger but firmly committed to the group dynamic. Tempted by their small yet loyal following and convinced by Joe’s intricate spiraling compositions Afroskull once again made for the studio.
The result, To Obscurity and Beyond, their first album in nine years, is a tempestuous marriage of rock, funk and jazz. Dripping with ecstatic elaborate arrangements, Joe Scatassa’s production and original compositions are hell bent on keeping you shaking your ass and banging your head.
Joined by Ronnie Cuber (baritone sax, bass clarinet), of Mingus Big Band and Frank Zappa fame, the lush brass orchestrations compliment and combat the underlying full throttle gonzo spunk. Punctuated by two spitfire vocal tracks, the mostly instrumental offering stampedes, but never tramples. To Obscurity and Beyond further separates Afroskull from the majority of their peers as it marks the return of their uniquely fierce and unrelenting voice to the scene.

:::Review from http://www.afroskull.com:::

Afroskull - To Obscurity and Beyond (2009)

1.…the launch (0:20)
2.Spyplane (6:20)
3.Waste Management (6:19)
4.Me & My TV (5:55)
5.Dance of the Wild Koba (7:26)
6.The Curse (7:38)
7.… could this be the end? (0:41)
8.Redemption (5:57)
9.Everything (5:55)
10.Zero Hour (6:22)
11.Escape From Rome (8:04)

Credits
Joe Scatassa – guitars
Matt Iselin – keyboards
Dan Asher – bass
Jason Isaac – drums
Seth Moutal – percussion
Ronnie Cuber – baritone sax
Jeff Pierce – trumpet
Justin Flynn – tenor sax
Rafi Malkiel – trombone

with special guest vocalist Michael Taylor

Jacek Kochan is a monster drummer. Born in Poland, he has been active in the musical scenes of Poland, USA, and Canada since the late 1970s. He is also an arranger, imaginative composer and music producer, but most of all - a superior drummer. His very distinctive modern drumming style is jam-packed and full of rhythmical gradations with stylistic references from the whole history of jazz. He is fully aware of versatile jazz and contemporary music traditions, but at the same time is completely immersed in contemporary fusion, funk, electronic and club beats. He is also very fluent in the language of free jazz, but in contrary to many others modern European drummers, he has no complex of avant-guard. He is a master of sound sampling, and has an exceptional gift of time and style. His smart and intelligent music is filled with nuances, full of space, with layers of acoustic and electronic sounds, and complex textures. As a drummer he does not over-emphasize the role of his instrument, but in contrary he focuses on collective sound, melodies, adventurous arrangements, original harmonies and rhythms.
Kochan's astonishing improvisational creativity makes him one of the most highly regarded and in-demand drummers on the Polish and European jazz scenes. His music engages the listeners, keeps them interested, sometimes puzzled, but always longing for more. Furthermore, Kochan excels in a recording studio environment, where he is able to masterfully utilize many wonders of the modern recording technologies, and at the same time able to restrain himself from the traps of artificial apparatus.
During the last decades, Kochan has played with many of the most important figures of American and European jazz : in early 80-ties he moved to New York. There he have played and recorded with jazz, funk and r&b bands and studied among the others.with Jaco Pastorius, Mike Clark, Robbie Gonzales.
By the mid 80's, Jacek moved to Montreal, where he further expanded his musical lexicon to include writing for choirs and orchestra (Tudor Singers, Repercussion) as well as playing and recording ethnic music (latin, african, balkan). There he worked with Michel Donato, Karen Young, Andrew Leroux, Yannick Rieu, Oliver Jones, Jean-Pierrre Zanella, Michel Cusson, Katleen Dyson, Helmut Lipsky, Lazaro Saucedo, Geoff Lapp, Johnny Scott and many others, perfoming at the clubs and jazz festivals.
In 1990, after moving to Toronto, he started to work as a leader and sideman in countless live and recording projects with artists like John Abercrombie, Jerry Bergonzi, Pat Labarbera, Kenny Wheeler, Don Thompson, Mike Murley, Neil Swainson, Reggie Schwager, Lorne Lofsky, Bernie Senensky, John MacLeod, Dave Restivo and Brian Dickinson.
In 1995 he returned to Europe where he continues to compose, play, tour and record music with artists like Dave Liebman, Greg Osby, Marc Copland, Gary Thomas, Joey Calderazzo, Palle Mikkelborg, Eddie Henderson, Dave Tronzo, Briggan Krauss, Cuong Vu, Eric Vloeimans, Lars Danielsson, Dave Fiuczynski, Bo Stief, Christian Spering, Michel Benita, Furio DiCastri, Franz Hautzinger, Klaus Dickbauer , Eddie Schuller, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Axel Dorner, Ernesto Molinari, Francois Corneloup, Krzysztof Knittel, Skerik, Tomas Stanko, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Adam Pieronczyk, Piotr Wojtasik, Assif Tsahar, Tomasz Szukalski, Maciej Sikala and Piotr Baron.

:::notes from www.polishjazz.com:::

Jacek Kochan - New Expensive Head (2003)

1. More (Kochan)
2. Part Time Vip (Kochan)
3. New Expensive Head (Kochan)
4. Less (Kochan)
5. Nott: Chain of Being (Kochan)
6. Lai-sien-kee (Kochan)
7. Mo Bu (Kochan)
8. Three Dollars Wiser (Kochan)
9. Faast (Kochan)
10. Scout's Inamorata (Kochan)

Credits
Jacek Kochan - drums, bass, keys, samplers, loops
Cuong Vu - trumpet, trumpet fxs
Skerik - tenor sax, sax fxs
Eivind Aarset - guitar, guitar fxs

By the end of the 90's, Wyatt had left rough Trade to join 60's legend Joe Boyd's label Hannibal records and this was good news for Wyatt, as he would produce some much more inventive records than OR or Dondestan. Recorded in Manzanera's studios with a batch of usual suspects, a few unknown newcomers, plus some surprising appearances such as Belgian JR/F guitarist Philip Catherine and The Jam's Paul Weller. With an Alfie booklet illustration throughout, the Sleep happens to be a delightful walk through the event of Wyatt's life at that moment.
And to say that Shleep had not started well, beginning with the album's weakest song, a Gabriel-esque tune, where Eno adds pop touches not really fitting Robert's personae. Much Wyatt-er is Duchess, filled with gurgling/bubbling/seesawing noises (courtesy of Eno), with Parker's (not Bird, you wisearse) difficult sax and Robert's unsettling piano. The album really starts with the mesmerizing Maryan, a superb Catherine-Wyatt composition, where Wyatt gives a Spanish twist with his trumpet, while Sato's violin is jerking tears from you. Emotions ala Rock Bottom; and it's not about to change with the poignant Was A Friend (Hopper co-writes with Robert). Past the strange intro, Wyatt's voice directly takes you to lands abandoned over two decades ago, with Robert playing all instruments. Last Straw is just around the bend, here!!! Awesome. The power of evocation is overwhelming, as you cannot help but thinking of RB in the lengthy sustained finale...The following Free Will & Testament didn't stand a chance matching the predecessor's dramatic greatness, but Paul Weller pulls a good Gilmour-ian guitar, while Wyatt contributes piano, organ and emotions.
Sept 9th is a mostly instrumental song with the returning Whitehead (remember RISTR?) and Parker adding dramatic horns to an already emotion-filled track. Again we are nearing the sublime of RB, with Whitehead's trombone wracking your guts out. Alien is again striking n the same area of your brains, Manzanera pulling a superb guitar solo over impeccable percussions and Merchan's fabulous bass. Wyatt's emotional voice again reminds of the poignant album resulting of that accident that put him a quarter a century ago in a wheelchair. The short Out Of Season has rob doing the whole instruments, except for Whitehead's trombone drones and is again aiming directly into your soul. Based on an Alfie visit to her parents in Spain, Sunday In Madrid has some stunning moments, with Eno's quiet synth underlines giving some excellent background tension (a bit reminiscent of Van Morroson's St Dominic's Preview), while Wyatt's constant wordy vocals is amazing. But nothing compared with his rap (that's right Robert raps superbly!!!!!) in the awesome Blues In Bob Minor. With Weller pulling some splendid guitar lines, if progheads ever had a problem with rap, BIBM might just be the key to open that door. A phenomenal bet successfully achieved, the album can only lets itself die out with the short Weller-penned instrumental Whole Point Of No Return, a dreamy drone where a trumpet evades to heaven.
Yes, Robert was on a creative high at this point, further help by the movie Little Red Robin Hood, produced by Italian enthusiasts DiLoretto and Bevilacqua, doing a documentary on Robert's activities. Shleep is definitely one of Wyatt's high point, the highest since Rock Bottom for sure and it'll take a complete miracle for him to top Shleep in terms of pure inventiveness. Sleep is just missing on the fifth star, because of a weak bonus track and a shaky start, but outside that, it's really a wonderful trip into Robert's brains.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Robert Wyatt - Shleep (1997)

1. Heaps of Sheeps (4:56)
2. The Duchess (4:18)
3. Maryan (6:11)
4. Was a Friend (6:09)
5. Free Will and Testament (4:13)
6. September the Ninth (6:41)
7. Alien (6:47)
8. Out of Season (2:32)
9. A Sunday in Madrid (4:41)
10. Blues in Bob Minor (5:46)
11. The Whole Point of No Return (1:25)

Credits
- Robert Wyatt / vocals, keyboards, trumpet, bass, percussion, violin

Guests

- Philip Catherine / guitar
- Brian Eno / syntheziser, back vocals
- Phil Manzanera / guitar
- Evan Parker / Soprano and Tenor saxophone
- Paul Weller / guitar, backing vocals
- Jamie Johnson / guitar
- Annie Whitehead / tabla
- Chikako Sato / violin
- Alfreda Benge / vocals
- Chucho Merchan / percussion
- Gary Adzukx / percussion

As if Mr. Bungle and at least a half-dozen more other projects were not enough, avant-bassist Trevor Dunn now leads his own Trio Convulsant.
This group mixes moody jazz with convulsive rock. Also in the trio is guitarist Adam Levy (Dan Hicks, Tracy Chapman, the Hot Club of San Francisco, etc.) and drummer Kenny Wollesen. This is a good album for people who like King Crimson and free jazz, for this album lies at the meeting point of hard, progressive rock and tough, jazz experimentalism.

:::Review by Tom Schulte:::

Trevor Dunn - Debutantes And Centipedes (1998)

1. Perfumed With Crime Dunn 4:08
2. An Attempt at Jealousy Dunn 6:31
3. Ann-Margret Dunn 7:25
4. Equation of the Found Object Dunn 6:22
5. I Remember Freakies Cereal Dunn 8:09
6. Premonitions Dunn 4:02
7. Echidna Dunn 4:50
8. Veiled Dunn 9:45
9. Aroma Therapy Dunn, F 4:17

Credits
Bass - Trevor Dunn
Drumms - Kenny Wollesen
Guitar - Adam Levy

Outback is the second of his dates for the CTI label, all of which are compelling, and some, like this one, are brilliant. Recording in a quartet setting with Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, and Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, Farrell, with his reeds and woodwinds, pushes the envelope not only of his own previous conceptualism in jazz, but the CTI label's envelope as well. For starters, this is not a funk, soul, or fusion date, but an adventurous, spacy tightrope-walking exercise between open-ended composition and improvisation. That said, there is plenty of soul in the playing, not only by Farrell, but by all the players -- and Corea never sounded less academic or pointillistic than he does here.
There are four compositions on Outback, all of which were arranged by Farrell. The opener is the humid and mysterious title track by John Scott.
Staged in a series of minor-key signatures, Farrell primarily uses his winds here, flutes and piccolos, to weave a spellbinding series of ascending melodies over the extended voicings provided by Corea -- not exactly in counterpoint, but in spacious contrast. Jones is his typically uncanny self, skipping over cymbals and using a set of sticks more softly than any man can and still drive a band. Airto is positively hypnotic with his hand-drum fills, rubs and shimmers, going through the beat, climbing on top of it, and playing accents in tandem with Farrell in the solo sections. "Sound Down" is a bit more up-tempo and features Farrell fully engaged on the soprano. Buster Williams lays down a short staccato bassline that keeps Jones' bass drum pumping. As Farrell moves from theme/variation/melody to improvisation, he brings Corea, who, uncharacteristically, vamps off the melody before offering a series of ostinato replies before Farrell clearly surprises everybody with the knottiness of his legato phrasing. Corea's "Bleeding Orchid" is a ballad played with augmented modes and continually shifting intervals that can be heard and mapped best by Williams' adherence to the changes, though his pizzicato fills provide a sharp contrast to Farrell's trills and columnar arpeggiattic meditations that come off as a cross between pastoral jazz classicism and Middle Eastern folk music. Finally, on the leader's own "November 6th," the stops are pulled out in a Latin jazz workout that invokes Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things," and Farrell digs deep into the tenor's middle register for a singing sound that brings to bear the Latin jazz howling of Gato Barbieri and the deep fire music of 'Trane, while being played through a gorgeously bluesy sophistication as the other players rally around and push through the tenor player's flights of near manic intensity. This is a stunner, an album that is at least as inspired as anything Farrell ever recorded, and perhaps more so.

:::Review by Thom Jurek:::

Joe Farrell - Outback (1971)

1. Outback (From The Motion Picture "Outback"), Composed By – J. Scott, 8:40
2. Sound Down, Composed By – G. Farrell, J. Farrell, 8:30
3. Bleeding Orchid, Composed By – C. Corea, 6:45
4. November 68th, Composed By – J. Farrell, 9:25

Credits
Bass – Buster Williams
Drums – Elvin Jones
Electric Piano – Chick Corea
Percussion – Airto Moreira
Saxophone [Soprano, Tenor], Flute, Flute [Alto, Piccolo] – Joe Farrell

With this second album, Cos still has half of Belgium laughing because of the artwork depicting Flemish grandmas. Although Loos was gone by this time, he is replaced by Marc Hollander (future Aksak Maboul) and Lonneux (ex-Recreation) takes the drum stool, but Dartsch still participates to the album. Then feeling is even more Canterbury-esque and the progression from the debut album is awesome. Marc Moulin (from the then-defunct Placebo) is the producer of the album and also contributes some killer Fender Rhodes on two tracks.
Opening electronic pulses will startle you if you were familiar with other Cos works, but this is a very brief moment, but another surprise awaits you on the following title track with its African percussions. Further Still (Nog Verder ) is a splendid slow Fender Rhodes-based track soon picking pace to end-up like a Weather Report-like funk. Boehme just funks along with sometimes-weird KB sounds startling you. The first side closes with the lenghty Flamboya, with Pascale Son making sweet love to Moulin's moog and Hollander's Rhodes, and soon the fuzzy keys send you flying across the channel to the Kent County. Clearly the first side's highlight, this track holds some of the best Wyatt-like scatting I have heard outside himself.
Son's opening Arabic influenced-vocals are a startling wake-up-and-pay-attention call especially when Schell pulls in one of those mystical Santana-like guitar solo just after it. The lenghty Idiot Leon is the cornerstone of the album with its fuzzy organ (David Sinclair-like) and weird quacking noises and a blistering Schell solo and wind instruments interventions. Closer Ixelles is a slow ode to the city where I was born some 13 years sooner and is probably my fave from the vinyl, but I can only be partial.
The four bonus tracks are excellent and great interest, especially a very different (and better) Nog Verder than the album version with its obvious Stella Vander-like vocals and Zeuhl-esque keyboards. A real touch of class!! But the other three were tracks that did not make the cut when the album was released. I can imagine how some choices can be painful.
The only regret I have is that Son's lyrics (actually Schell's) are not printed on the Musea first issue. As this album got a re-released from Musea in early 2006, one can hope that this will be amended. Nevermind the details, we are again looking at a splendid album that typifies the 70's Belgian scene much better than the mediocre Machiavel. Owning this album is one of the requisite to being a happy proghead and only the ones who do not know this cannot understand.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

CoS - Viva Boma (1976)

1. Perhaps next record (1:25)
2. Viva Boma (2:35)
3. Nog verder (4:32)
4. Boehme (3:17)
5. Flamboya (7:33)
6. In Lulu (4:08)
7. L'idiot Léon (10:48)
8. Ixelles (5:02)

Bonus tracks on CD release

9. Mon rebis (previously unreleased) (6:03)
10. Reine de la vallée (previously unreleased) (4:17)
11. Nog verder (demo version) (7:22)

Credits
- Pascale Son / vocals, oboe
- Alain Goutier / bass
- Daniel Schell / acoustic and electric guitars, alto and bass flutes, devices
- Guy Lonneux / drums
- Marc Hollander / keyboards, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, devices

Guests
- Bob Dartsch / drums, percussion
- Denis Van Hecke / cello
- Pipou, Jean-Louis Haesevoets / percussion
- Marc Mouli / Mini-Moog
- Roger Wollaert / drums
- Willy Masy or Jackey Mauer / drums, vocal improvisation

When in February 1993 Stanisław Sobóla of Polonia Records called me and offered cutting a record of Chopin music, I agreed to do so most readilly. But just as soon as I had hang up, panick took me over - Chopin a la jazz? Help me somebody!
Almost a year I hestitated before I got into the studio, since so much had taken to prepare myself mentally for the project. Mentally, which means not so much by way of practicing at the keyboard, as by thinking rather and careful listening to Chopin's music, as well as to some jazz pianists solo recordings. I felt that every concert I was playing during the period furthered me to the moment when I would sit at the piano and cut the record myself.
In the meantime Andrzej Jagodziński had recorded Chopin with his trio and I'd heard news about Benek Maseli fixing to do the same. It started getting crowded in the Chopin department anyway.
Finally the date was called for three days at the Warsaw's radio and TV studio at Woronicza Street. I invited the two greats - Stańko and Namysłowski - to join the session. It has all been a terrific experience and a fantastic lesson to me. I have discarded quite a few recorded pieces leaving only the most valuable in my opinion.
Generally speaking I wanted to stear clear of „remakes” of all sorts. Being an admirer of our great composer's genius myself, I knew that restyling Chopin „in a jazzy groove” would have been dealing trash and sacrilege. I tried to get out of his music things that I could use as a pretext for my own, personal playing. The Chopin's themes therefore often appear camouflaged, often marked rather than quoted. Whenever I was to quote Chopin - then I did it literally, after the original score.
The material includes two jazz standards: „My Secret Love”, where the left hand figure from Prelude in A flat major, adapted to the theme's harmony, has been employed in the accompaniment (the ending, however, is the original Chopin's prelude) and „Segments” by Charlie Parker, which - as far as harmony is concerned - strictly covers the opening of Etude in A minor Op. 25 Nr 4. You'll also discover quite a lot of easy playing, which is what I personally like the most, without holding on tight to an a priori settled harmony or from.Let me hope that you'll enjoy this record, those of you who know Chopin and love him as well as the jazzfans among you. I also hope that perhaps a few of the latter will find themselves motivated by it to get more familiar with his music.
Leszek Możdżer

:::Review From original liner-notes 1994:::


Leszek Możdżer - Chopin Impresje (2005)

1. Mazurek C op. 24 nr 2
2. Nokturn F op. 15 nr 1
3. Etiuda Ges op. 25 nr 9
4. Nokturn G op. 15 Nr 3
5. Mazurek A op. 17 Nr 4
6. Preludium As Nr 26 (My Secret Love)
7. Preludium A nr 7
8. Etiuda A op. 25 Nr 4 (Segments)
9. Mazurek F. op. 68 Nr 3
10. Nokturn F op. 15 Nr 1 (2nd ver)
11. Nokturn Fis op. 48
12. Mazurek G op. 24

Credits
Leszek Możdżer - piano
Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto saxophone (12)
Tomasz Stańko - trumpet (10)