Friday, February 26, 2016

TONY OXLEY – 4 Compositions For Sextet (LP-1970)




Label: CBS – 64071
Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: UK / Released: 1970
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded on February 7, 1970 and released on LP by CBS that year.
Liner Notes – Michael Walters
Engineer by – Mike FitzHenry
All compositions by Tony Oxley

A1 - Saturnalia ............................................................................. 10:09
A2 - Scintilla ................................................................................... 8:56
B1 - Amass ................................................................................... 13:00
B2 - Megaera ................................................................................. 6:09

Personnel:
Tony Oxley – drums
Evan Parker – tenor sax
Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
Paul Rutherford – trombone
Derek Bailey – guitar
Jeff Clyne – bass

Released in 1970, 4 Compositions for Sextet was one of a pair of records drummer Tony Oxley recorded for CBS, which, at that time, seemed to be very interested in British free jazz -- the label also recorded at least three LPs by avant guitarist Ray Russell and a pair by Evan Parker.


Oxley's band for this outing was a dream group of Brit outsiders: Derek Bailey on guitars, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flügelhorn, Evan Parker on saxophones, Oxley on drums of course (the only British drummer besides Robert Wyatt who could play pop or free jazz with equal enthusiasm), Paul Rutherford on trombone, and Jeff Clyne on bass. The four tunes are all outer-limits numbers; all methadrine takes on what were happening improvisations. It's true that there are loose structures imposed on all four tracks, but they quickly dissolve under the barrage of sonic whackery. At times, dynamic tensions present themselves, such as on the beautiful "Scintilla," where Bailey shows what made him Derek Bailey in the first place: his willingness to take even preconceived notions of free improvisation apart. There are also puzzling questions that the sextet cannot resolve (e.g., how far to take harmonic investigation). It's clear not even Parker wants it to completely disintegrate into the ether; he holds forth with Wheeler that some semblance of order, no matter how tenuous, be kept. And while it's true these selections all sound dated by today's standards, and by how far each man has come in terms of musical growth, there is still something compelling here in the chopped-out framework of "Amass" or Parker's attempt to blow Oxley from the room with outrageously long lines that seem to come from the mouthpiece of the horn rather than its bell in "Megaera." There is also a stalwart "anti-Americanism in all of it," an anger directed at the Yankee jazzers who were now moving toward fusion or even the avant cats who relied too heavily on tradition. In any case, this is a fine record historically, for seeing where the Brit free music movement came from. 
_ Review by Thom Jurek



A year on from The Baptised Traveller, Tony Oxley's debut recording as a composer, this LP from 1970 is perhaps even more indicative of how the experimental music of the time ended up in the jazz bin seemingly by default. That said, all the essential attributes which are needed to add to the impetus of jazz are still here in abundance--the extraordinary empathy between the players, the clarity of thinking as to where the music needs to go and the continuing search for fresh and revitalising ideas to help it get there--but Oxley's diverse musical background (which even by this time had ranged from duties as housedrummer at Ronnie Scott's club to military band drumming, classical studies, working with John McLaughlin and forging an increasing commitment to freely improvised music) and natural self-discipline invests these compositions with a more wide-ranging sensibility. Oxley's lucid notes guide the listener through the structural bones of the compositions to which the musicians add improvised flesh and, while the results are no more likely to appeal to staunch traditionalists than they were all those years ago, the sheer vision of these works makes them compulsive listening. 
_ Review by Roger Thomas



If you find it, buy this album!

16 comments:

  1. TONY OXLEY – 4 Compositions For Sextet (LP-1970)
    Vinyl Rip/FLAC+Cover

    1fichier:
    https://1fichier.com/?qnv2vreagy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonderful, Vitko!!! :))

      (and looking forward to "Le Marchand de Calicots"...)

      Delete
  2. Released in 1970, 4 Compositions for Sextet was one of a pair of records saxophonist (??????) Tony Oxley recorded for CBS,
    i think it's lapsus calami
    thanks for great music
    Alex in Solex

    PS any chance for uploading in lossless - if you have it - Nu Creative Methods ‎– Le Marchand De Calicots
    thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, of course that the lapsus, I'm very limited with time, so I have to work quickly, often without checking ... :)
      PS: I have LP "Le Marchand De Calicots", for a few days look here in the comments.
      Cheers.

      Delete
    2. thank you for this great album & for your instant response...
      hope for more obscured albums uploads , i wish all the best
      Alex in Solex

      Delete
  3. Truly a history document.. Thanks Vitko.

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  4. Thanks Vitko for this fine free jazz LP

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  5. Wow, I didn't know this one at all. Thank you!

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  6. Always love coming across albums I've never before known about. I look forward to listening. Many thanks!

    -Brian

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  7. another first for me...though the players are known heroes...thank you...

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  8. Nu Creative Methods / Le Marchand De Calicots (LP-1981)
    that link is dead!

    tpny oxley link still working... thanks!

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  9. Belated and enormous thx for this unfindable album. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete