31 January 2008

BRÖTZMANN / BENNINK "ATSUGI CONCERT" (GUA BUNGUE, 1980)




























Pierre has very kindly donated this great post. I'm sure there will be much interest in this around here. Many thanks to him.

30 January 2008

SOS (Surman, Osborne, Skidmore) - FM Broadcast 1975


This British saxophone trio was highly-acclaimed, but quite short-lived. It was formed by arguably the three greatest UK reedsmen of the time. They'd all played together for several years in different formats like Mike Gibbs band and John Surman's own big band.

The image above is the cover from their only commercial release, which was reissued on CD a couple of years ago by Ogun records and is still available direct from them.

The music is a curious blend of free improvisation, reels and jigs and post bebop. It makes use of Surman's pre-recorded synthesizer loops, which I'm not keen on, but which was probably quite revolutionary in jazz in those days. Certainly Surman went on to use these techniques in solo recordings on the ECM label. For me, though, the highlights of their music is the alto playing of Mike Osborne, who's career was tragically greatly shortened by mental illness, up to his death last year.

This recording is comprised of two radio broadcasts transmitted by the BBC in 1975.

Details
SOS BBC Sessions
Jazz in Britain
Broadcast 29-1-1975

John Surman bs, ss, bcl, synthesizer, e-piano
Mike Osborne as
Alan Skidmore ts, ss, ,dr

1. Announcer 1.17
2. Looking for the Next One 14.28
3. announcer 0.52
4. Rashied 9.00
5. announcer 0.50
6. News 3.04
7. announcer 0.28

Jazz Club
Broadcast 14.9.1975

as above, plus Tony Levin dr

8. Country Dance7.49
9. announcer 0.54
10. QE Hall 14.23
11. announcer 0.18
12. The Irish 4.49

Link in comments.

28 January 2008

STEVE LACY "WORDLESS" (FUTURA, 1971)




In 1971 steve lacy was hitting a real peak of sorts incorporating , what was happening musically in the the jazz laboratory that paris happened to be for those half a dozen years from 67-73. .
Lacy describes the fertility of the era and location( in his notes to the 3 disc set ‘dreams scratching the seventies’ on the savarrah lable, with amazement).


Braxton and members of the art ensemble of Chicago lived near by ( lacy reffers to them as the best free improvisors of the day), and lacy was also performing with experimental rock musicians, and electronic composers/ fluxus members such as alvin lucier and Fredrick rzweski who were both along with lacy rotating members of the pioneering electro acoustic improvising ensemble MEV.

All this seems to have informed the bold synthesis of total free improvisation and his distinctive monk influenced , deceptively simple compositional style.


That synthesis was only beginning to take shape by 1971.
This is album is fairly unique in being one of the few lacy albums one might consider ‘free jazz’ a very tough listen .. this is edge of the precipice stuff, lacy spins out of his classic tunes some of the most sonically aggressive improvisations of his career.

This one features the expat African American Ambrose Jackson , a mysterious presence (on trumpet) who appeared exclusively on a few albums recorded in paris, then disappeared again (from recording at least).
It would be interesting to know what happened to him, although he is a bit of a bystander on this album, he had a fulsome tone that showed promise and a degree of originality.


I think this is a fantastic album which deserves consideration for a full remastered reissue.
I’d certainly buy it.
Could be though that the master tape is lost or damaged gerard terrones who runs the marge/futura label has not seen fit to re release it.
Indeed this was my 1st ever upload in the comments of the ch#9 blog almost a year ago now!!




1/ Existence (Lacy) 5:55
2/ The Way (Lacy) 3:35
3/ Bone (Lacy) 7:30
4/ Name (Lacy) 8:30
5/ The Breath (Lacy) 9:00
6/ Prologue A Life On Its Way (Lacy) 5:30

Recorded Au Theatre de l'Epee de Bois, Paris on January 4, 1971
Produced by Gerard Terrones

Steve Lacy: soprano; Ambrose Jackson: trumpet; Irene Aebi: cello; Kent
Carter: bass; Jerome Cooper: drums.

1971 - Futura (France), GER 22 (LP)
???? - Musica Records (France), MUS 2006 (LP)

(this post from the OOP CD)

thanks to Dale for the original futura cover!!

Nels Cline/Jeff Parker/Nate McBride/Frank Rosaly - turning point, live at the empty bottle chicago dec 2005-lame 320

our friend brent, brings us a reupload of a great concert, featuring a performance of the entirety of paul bley's great improvart album "turning point".

brent had originally uploaded this elsewhere at 160kbs, i think he was at this concert , or one by this group elsewhere although he did not record it.


if this is an aud it certainly sounds great!

brent says.... "The link will lead you to a 320 kbps rip of the Nels Cline/Jeff Parker/Nate McBride/Frank Rosaly rendition of Paul Bley's *Turning Point,* performed at Chicago's Empty Bottle in December of 2005. (The accompanying photo, courtesy Michelle Harris & Pitchfork, is from a performance of the same pieces the following summer in Chicago's Union Park.) So far as I know this is the only recording of Cline & Parker playing together. I spoke to Parker a month ago about this session and he said that unfortunately there were no plans for the group to do a studio recording. Given the quality of Cline's other tribute records (*Interstellar Space*, *New Monastery*), it's a real shame they weren't able to put anything together.
recorded live at the empty bottle dec 2005
tracklist
1) Calls -2) Turning point -3) King Korn-4) Ictus04 - 5) Mr. Joy05 -6) Kid Dynamite06 - 7) Ida Lupino

nels cline- e,g
jeff parker-e g
nate mcbride- db, frank rosaly- drums

thanks brent

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DW4E30XV


visit nels clines home page
http://www.nelscline.com/

jeff parkers myspace site
http://www.myspace.com/peffjarker


more live jan garbarek 1969-71

our friend 'intempestif', brings us a couple more great concerts by jan garbarek's classic early 70's quartet.

this is the group that recorded the ecm classics, sart and afric pepperbird.
great stuff THANKS...intempestif!!!





here they are in chronological order

Jan Garbarek Quartet
Studentby Sogn, NorwayJuly 8, 1969


Jan Garbarek (ts, cl, bss, fl, p)Terje Rypdal (g)Arild Anderson (b)Jon Christensen (d)
Track 1:Karin's Mode (J.Garbarek)Daydream (B. Strayhorn)
Track 2:Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (P.Sanders)Capricorn Rising (P.Sanders)
Track 3:SmŒtt (J.Garbarek)SAS 644 (J.Garbarek)

jan Garbarek Quartet
Stadt TheaterBremerhaven, GermanySeptember 26, 1971
Jan Garbarek (ts, bss, fl)Terje Rypdal (g)Arild Anderson (b)Jon Christensen (d)
Track 1 [31:08]Song Of Space (J.Garbarek)..............12:02Afric Pepperbird (J.Garbarek)...........11:58Fountain Of Tears (J.Garbarek)...........7:08
Track 2 [23:57]Vips (J.Garbarek).......................11:47Rainbow (T.Rypdal).......................3:39At Det Var (J.Garbarek)..................8:31

these are wonderful and give us a rare glimpse of this group, playing other peoples tunes- the pharoah sanders medley is definately worth hearing!

intempestif said... 'Here are the links:
Jan Garbarek Quartet - Bremerhaven 1971http://www.divshare.com/download/3584964-5b2
Jan Garbarek Quartet - Sogn 1969http://www.divshare.com/download/3584963-858 '

20 January 2008

Garbarek at Moers 1973



Following Boromir's fine posting of Garbarek from Bremen in 1974, I thought I'd back up one year and put up this concert from 1973 at Moers.

This was the line-up featured on the "Triptykon" album on ECM. Arild Andersen was the bassist in the original quartet (with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen), but on the album and on this concert, Edward Vesala features on drums. Vesala went on to record a series of albums under his name for ECM and the "Nan Madol" and "Satu" are specially recommended. In the eighties he formed his Sound and Fury band which provided a spring board for budding guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. Vesala has collaborated for many years with veteran saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen. Andersen went on to record many albums under his own name for ECM, including with the Mesqualero group. Andersen is still active; Vesala died in the late 90s.

What's here is a long medley, basically, of about 45 minutes, followed by two encores, one of which is a take on Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". I really enjoy this set; long, flowing, loose, featuring some of Garbarek's most "freeish" playing, but the two others add considerably to the ambience as Garbarek is never one to insist on grabbing the spotlight all the time. The trio format also allows for more space for each player.

I always thought this trio was woefully under-recorded, so quite happy to grab this concert on Dime. Originally seeded by rudolff and re-seeded by jaype who added the artwork seen above. Thanks to both for their generosity (and good taste).


Players:

Jan Garbarek (ss, ts, bss, fl)
Arild Andersen (b)
Edward Vesala (d)


Tracks:

01. Rim (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 17:36
A.I.R. (C. Bley) 16:48
Selje (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 5:00
J.E.V. (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 5:44
Bruremarsj (Norwegian Folk Song) 3:45

02. Encore 1 (My Back Pages)

03. Encore 2 (Unknown Title)

19 January 2008

Chico Freeman Quintet - Live Amsterdam 1982


This recording is of uncertain lineage, I suspect it's a very good audience recording.

For those people not familiar with Freeman's work, he is the son of Von Freeman, 1940's bebopper. Chico's style embraces all forms of jazz from mainstream to free. He has played with just about every big name in the business, from Dizzie Gillespie to Lester Bowie, and led his own bands for the past 25 years or so. Interestingly, I saw that he did a performance at the 2006 Brecon Jazz Festival in a sextet led by British altoist Pete King, and included Alan Skidmore, in
an Elvin Jones tribute concert (that would have been worth seeing !). For non-Brits, the Brecon festival takes place each October in one of the most beautiful parts of Wales, and is one of the key events on the British jazz calendar. I suspect participants turn the gig into a bit of a holiday.

On this outing, he is accompanied by a trumpeter, Wallace Roney who featured in Tony Williams's band during the 1980s and has since led a number of his own bands. Jay Hoggard is a name I didn't know, but likewise has recorded with lots of other people, including a duo with Anthony Braxton.

This posting consists of just over half of the total concert. As this on it's own is over an hours playtime, I thought it sufficient to digest at once. I have the remainder of the concert, which I will upload at a later date if there is enough interest.

Details:
Chico Freeman Quintet
Amsterdam
Meerwaart 1982.11.14

Chico Freeman ts,ss, fl
Jay Hoggard vibes
Wallace Roney tp
Cecil McBee b
Ronnie Burrage dr

1) 19:20 Each One, Teach One (Ch. Freeman)
2) 25:15 Wilpan´s Walk (C. McBee)
3) 22:45 My One And Only Love

VBR link in comments. I have a flac version which I will post if there is interest.

11 January 2008

Jan Garbarek and Bobo Stenson Trio - Live Bremen 1974 (FM broadcast)


Personally, I'm not a fan of Garbarek's later ECM work, where he seems to have jumped all sorts on band wagons (and made himself very successful). I did like the stuff he did in the 70s with Keith Jarrett. This recording comes from the same era.
Details:

Jan Garbarek.....ts
Bobo Stenson.....p
Palle Danielsson.....b
Jon Christensen.....dr
0) (intro RB) 1:33
1) Desireless (Don Cherry) 30:28
2a+2b) Nr.8 (Jan Garbarek) 14:36 + 2:35 (aud.cass.flip)
3) Witchi-Tai-To (Jim Pepper) 26:50
4) Passion Dance (McCoy Tyner) 10:55
5) (extro RB) 0:25
total: 87:27

location: lila eule, bremen
rec. date: 1974-04-09
source: radio broadcast RB
broadcast date: 1995-08-27

Good though Garbarek is on this recording, the stars of the show for me are the members of the rhythm section. Desireless gives more than a nod towards Coltrane. Initially I thought that Stenson was merely doing a Tyler soundalike routine, but he develops the piece into much more (though at over 30 mins, the track is a little long, Danielsson must have had the stamina of an olympic athlete to sustain the relentless pace).

Links (flac and high quality VBR) in comments. Thanks go to owombat for seeding, and to unknown taper.

JUST A WORD ABOUT ETTIQUETTE.
The majority of you are not observing the basic rules of polite behaviour. Did your parents not teach you that it is ill-mannered to take without so much as a word of thanks? My last posting was downloaded by nearly 100 people. Only 3 of you had the courtesy to leave a comment. I know sometimes it's easy to forget to leave a note once in a while, but my guess is that many of you never leave a comment. Frankly I'm not willing to carry on posting material to be met with dumb silence.

7 January 2008

David Murray Quartet Last of The Hipman (flac and lame)




Red Records VPA129

David Murray Tenor Saxophone
Lawrence ‘Butch’ Morris Trumpet
Johnny Dyani (spelt Dyiani on record sleeve) Bass
George Brown Drums, percussion

Monk’s Notice (James Newton) (21, 41)
Patricia (David Murray) (13, 17)
Last Of The Hipmen (David Murray) (10, 34)

Recorded in concert in Rouen on January 30th 1978

Produced by Alberto Alberti and Sergio Veschi

Mixed at Studio 67 Bologna March 1978

This is another very early recording from Murray, this time with a full quartet. It’s one of a number released on European labels, and recorded in France or Italy during 1978. Five LPs were produced out of two concerts: one on the 30th January at Rouen University, and one over two nights on 6th and 7th February at the Theatre Mouffetard, Paris. There’s some evidence that Murray’s manager at the time, Kunle Mwanga, arranged for the recordings, and then sold tapes to different independent jazz labels. The 30th January date resulted in Let The Music Take You (released on [and still available from] Marge Records in France) and this record, released on Red Record based in Milan and currently not available commercially. The February solo performances were released on three vinyl LPs on different labels and I’ll post the two that are currently unavailable over the next few weeks.

The record gets its title from one of the tracks, although the track’s called 'Last of the Hipmen', the album sold as Last of the Hipman. As the album title doesn’t seem to make much sense (it certainly wasn’t the last that we heard of Murray), and only appears on the album sleeve, I’ve always wondered if it was a typo. They mis-spelt Dyani anyway.

Although my copy is visually perfect, you’ll get the full vinyl experience as I haven’t tried to remove the low volume crackles.

During this time there was no real stability to Murray's bands. Butch Morris was clearly in Europe with Murray at this time because he appears on the February Milan Stuio recording that was released by Black Saint as Interboogieology and an August live recording in London (released as The London Concert). Expatriate South African Johnny Dyani was heavily involved in the London new jazz scene at the time, and he appears on this date, The London Conference and the recording for 3D Family on September 3, 1978 live in concert at Willisau Jazz Festival (available on hatArt). Dyani seems to have made a big impression on Murray, and he dedicated recordings to him over the years using Dyani’s African name of M’Bizo. I know nothing about George Brown, and it seems unlikely from his playing here that he was the same G Brown who played Bop drums in the 1960s in the US.

As I noted in an earlier post 'Monk’s Notice' is a James Newton composition also recorded for Solomon's Sons almost exactly a year before, and the two Murray compositions were often featured in other recordings ('Hipmen' in 1981 and 1987; 'Patricia' in 1977, and 1986). You can find out more about Murray’s work during this time at my own blog http://wallofsound.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/david-murray-the-making-of-a-progressive-jazz-musician-part-two/)

The record company is also worthy of some note. Red Record was (and still is) run by Sergio Veschi in Milan, and started recording and / or releasing free jazz as part of the Italian left cultural movement. It's likely that the red in question was therfore the symbol of left-wing politics in Europe. Better known today for musicians like Bobby Watson, the label is a key institution of Italian and European jazz, and supporter of the American avant-garde (more details at www.ijm.it/wp/whos-who/sergio-veschi).

I rate this as one of Murray’s most interesting records of the 1970s. I hope you enjoy it. I just don’t know why it didn’t get a re-release.

6 January 2008

company- fables (1980- incus 36) - flac


this too, was a lucky introduction to free improvised music.
bought on the same day as the previously posted fictions .. and the bailey/holland improvised duets on ecm(which i no longer own) this one was a real revelation and remains one of my favourite incus sets.
a very luminous album ..that hopefully may one day see the light of day once more.
the incus back catalog in disarray now that derek's gone
who knows..
fables incus 36- 1980
derek bailey -guitar
evan parker -soprano and tenor saxes
george lewis- trombone
dave holland -bass
side 1-
atg 4
atg 6
atg 3
side 2-
atg 13
atg 2
atg 9
if by any chance someone has the bailey/holland duets they could upload in either flac or 320 mp3 that would be wonderful!!

mal waldron with the steve lacy quartet- journey without end ,1971 - Victor (Japan), SMJX-10134 reupload ,flac

heres a reupload of something posted
febuary last year.. an upgrade for friends..



its a pretty rare album.. lord knows why ..a wonderfully bleak but funky waldron..always was the perfect foil to lacy's dry ice precision.



JOURNEY WITHOUT END: Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy
1/ The Fire Now (Waldron) 9:05 2/ Journey Without End (Waldron) 12:30 3/ I Feel A Draft (Lacy) 7:54 4/ Bone (Lacy) 6:50 5/ Mar (Lacy) 9:15
Recorded at Studios Europa Sonor, Paris on November 30, 1971
Mal Waldron: piano; Steve Lacy: soprano; Kent Carter: bass; Noel McGhee: drums.
1971 - Victor (Japan), SMJX-10134 (LP), SMJ-6239 (LP), BER-6001 (LP) ???? - JVC (Japan), 101 J4 (LP)


the mp3 link is still active as far as i know here (192 kbs)
http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2007/03/mal-waldron-and-steve-lacy-journey.html

for the flacs ..see comments

5 January 2008

Two oldie-goldies from the Human Arts Ensemble



I thought I'd do a bit more of recycling from the now defunct C#9 blog. These posts were initially put in the comments section in response to Flux'us posting of the Black Arts Ensemble so I thought they deserve front-page status here.

Both ensembles were basically made up of a small core of musicians, centered around the drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw. This was a St. Louis-based outfit which would invite guest musicians, including the Bowie (Lester, Joseph) brothers and Oliver Lake. They would later shift to New York where Shaw made more records under the "Human Arts Ensemble" umbrella and Joseph Bowie founded Defunkt, a well-known 80s jazz-funk band.

The HAE records were mostly side-long jams with collective improvisation from the regular band members and guests. As such, they drew upon the dixieland tradition rather than the standard one of serial improvisation with one soloist at a time.

These four sides have all their different characters. The two pieces on Under the Sun are obviously inspired by folk music of the Middle East and further beyond. The title piece on
Whisper of Dharma invokes the serenity of the Asian jungles with its assortment of small instruments and quiet moods, not unlike the early Art Ensemble of Chicago, another ensemble from another city , but with Lester Bowie as the human link. Some similarity may also be found with the early quartet pieces of Anthony Braxton. The other side of Whisper, on the other hand, expresses the hustle-bustle of the North American urban reality.


Tracks:

Under the Sun

side 1: A Lover's Desire
side 2: Hazrat, the Sufi

Whisper of Dharma

side 1: Whisper of Dharma
side 2: A World New

The cast of characters is a bit too long to reproduce here, but the full line-up can be found in the attached scans.

Both these records were initially privately released and fetch huge sums of money for original copies. These rips, however, are from the Arista Freedom rereleases from the mid-70s, but I dont think anyone will notice any difference, audio-wise.

Joe Harriott - Southern Horizons



Following up the Harriott posting a couple of weeks back, here, as promised, is the earlier Southern Horizons, originally out on the Jazzland label, and inexplicably, never reissued.

This is Harriott on the verge of the free form/abstract period, but here, still anchored in the hard bop mode. This is stylish, elegant, tight, swinging; whatever label of appreciation you want to attach to it, this is still fresh music, close to fifty years after its creation. In content, it reflects his earlier 50s output as documented on recent compilations such as Killer Joe. He was to step into uncharted waters on his next release, Free Form, and to earn a name as an innovator and to draw perhaps unwarranted comparisons with the Ornette Coleman Quartet. For those looking for experimentation, better consult Free Form than this one. For those apprecating late 50s mainstream bop mode, look no further. If there was a poll of British contributions to jazz history, Harriott would be high on the list, even though he hailed from the Caribbean. He was later to innovate in a different direction by his collaboration with John Mayer on the indo-jazz fusions. However, by the end of the 60s his style was out of fashion and he ended his life as a pauper with very possessions apart from his alto sax.

This record sticks to the quintet line-up of sax, trumpet, piano, bass and drums (as on Movement), but with the added pizzazz of a superb bongos player on a couple of tracks, just to heighten the sense of hepness to the proceedings.

Partly original compositions, partly covers (including a dynamic take on Caravan), this was Harriott's first long-playing record as a leader.

Tracks:

(side 1)

1. Still Goofin'

2. Count Twelve

3. Senor Blues

4. Southern Horizons

5. Jumpin' with Joe


(side 2)

6. Liggin'

7. Caravan

8. You Go To My Head

9. Tuesday Morning Swing


Line-up:


Joe Harriott - alto sax

Hank Shaw - trumpet (on 1, 2, 3 and 5)

Shake Keane - trumpet, flugelhorn (on 4, 6, 7, 8
and 9)

Coleridge Goode - bass

Bobby Orr - drums

Frank Holder - bongos (on 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9)


Recorded on London, England, May 5, 1959 (tracks 1, 2, 3 and 5) and April 8 and 21, 1960 (tracks 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9)

Released as Jazzland JLP 37.

Interesting piece of trivia: Among the record engineers was a certain Joe Meek who would later go on to fame and fortune in his own right. Anybody recall "Telstar"?


Please note that another rip of this record can be found and downloaded at this site: http://shimanchu-devil.blogspot.com/2007/08/
joe-harriott-southern-horizons-1960.html

DAUNIK LAZRO "SWEET ZEE" (hatART, 1983/84)




Here’s something I like by Daunik Lazro who's own contributions don’t quite match those on his stellar recent records.
Still Kondo, Lewis and Joelle Leandre have plenty to contribute.
That alone should be recommendation enough.



Hat 2010 (2 lp’s)
Disc 1- ‘sweet zee ‘
Daunik Lazro - alto sax
Toshinori Kondo - trumpet and voice
Jean Jacques Avenel - db

Disc 2 side 1 ‘empire’
(dedicated to jac berrocal)

Daunik Lazro - alto sax,
Raymond Boni - guitar
Carlos Zingaro - violin

Disc 2 side 2  ‘enfances’
Daunik Lazro - alto sax
George Lewis - trb, toys
Joelle Leandre - db, voice


All tracks collectively improvised
Sweet Zee: recorded live at Jazzfestival Willisau on August 27, 1983.
Empire: recorded live at 3rd Sens Music Meeting, France on May 28, 1983.
Enfances: recorded at Dunois, Paris on January 8, 1984. ----

Again a post by sotise which I dare to take over. The above text is by primarely by sotise.
I would like to add that for the re-up the two tracks of  'Sweet Zee' (side A and side B of the double LP) were reinstalled as a continous performance. (This is a new rip not the previous one altered)

And not at least I want to point out that the concert released on the fourth side of this LP was released as CD in 2016. Actually the CD has the complete concert from this day. Available through the label Fou Records .




daunik lazro @ discogs

2 January 2008

Jimmy Lyons, Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill - Live Nickelsdorf 1980.

This is somewhat of a curiosity. The 3 great altoists improvising together, without rhythm section. I know nothing about this concert apart from basic details:-

1980-August-16
Nickelsdorf, Austria,
Konfrontationen 1980

Oliver Lake,as
Jimmy Lyons,as
Henry Threadgill,as

It is just a single piece of about 30 minutes. Thanks go to jazzrita for seeding. I'm not sure whether it is an FM broadcast or an audience boot, but the sound quality is very good. If anyone knows anything at all about this trio (was it a one-off gig ?) then I'd be pleased to hear from them. See if you can distinguish which player is which. I can make out Lyons's distinctive style, but can't tell between the other two.

I've put up an mp3 link. I have it in flac, which I'll upload if there is enough interest.

Link in comments.

FLAC VERSION NOW AVAILABLE - SEE NEW COMMENT