Saturday, January 20, 2018

AMALGAM – Samanna (Vinyl Records – VS 104 / LP-1977)




Label: Vinyl Records – VS 104
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Germany / Released: 1977
Style: Free Jazz, Jazz-Rock
Recorded at Riverside Studios, 26th January 1977.
Design [Cover Design] – John Fewster
Liner Notes – Trevor Watts
Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Adam Skeaping
Executive-Producer – Manfred Schiek
Producer – Trevor Watts
Matrix / Runout: (Side A Etched) A VS.104 A PF
Matrix / Runout: (Side B Etched) A VS.104 B PF

A1 - Samanna ................................................................................................... 20:47
A2 - Maas ........................................................................................................... 4:54
B1 - Unity .......................................................................................................... 14:44
B2 - Berlin Wall ................................................................................................... 6:50

Personnel:
Trevor Watts – alto Saxophone, percussion
Dave Cole – guitar
Colin McKenzie – bass (el. bass)
Pete Cowling – bass (el. bass)
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion

5th  album by the superb British Jazz / Improvised Music ensemble Amalgam, one of the precursors of British / European Free Jazz scene in the late 1960s and 1970s, founded by saxophonist Trevor Watts. On this album the lineup is a quintet, including guitarist Dave Cole, bassists Pete Cowling and Colin McKenzie and drummer Liam Genockey, which marks an extension of the quartet that recorded the previous album at beginning of the second phase of Amalgam, characterized by the dual saxophone – guitar frontline. The music is written entirely by Watts. This album was released on the tiny German independent Vinyl label, and was unavailable for many years. With the guitar and double electric bass the sound of the band becomes even more close to Fusion, but the extended improvisations and the virtuosity of the performers are still the same. This is still a classic and brilliant stuff as always!...



The opening sidelong title track is a wild fusion piece with some slightly dissonant passages, but the wild double bass-guitar attack is quite impressively funky (ala Stanley Clarke) and drives effortlessly the track throughout its 21-mins duration. Cole’s guitar shines occasionally (notably in the 2/3 to3/4 of the track. but mostly remains discrete, leaving clear the 8-lane freeway open to Watt’s wild sax meanderings.
Over the flipside, the 5-mins Mass features a cooler funky fusion, still double-bassed, where the both take turn in playing lead bass over a “simple” descending sax riff.
The B-side’s highlight is the almost 15-mins Unity, despite a slow start, where Watts lets it all hang out, but the double-bassed slowly and gradually clutch in the overdrive gear, letting Cole’s guitar get a wide chunk of funk in the mix as well. As the track climaxed around its 2/3, it slowly dies down to nought.
The 7-mins Berlin Wall closes the album in a pronounced dissonant sax spree, it is a raw, restless free-jazz sax wail over a punchy Prime Time undertow. Some of Watts' best work on record...   (Review by Sean Trane)


Well, Amalgam’s musical directions vary much from album to album, but Samanna is firmly entrenched in the funky jazz-fusion. Watts’ sax adventures are indeed still the driving force of the album, but here, the two bass-cylinder and Cole’s guitar unleash plenty of energy and power to the aural expansions...



If you find it, buy this album!

11 comments:

  1. AMALGAM – Samanna (Vinyl Records – VS 104 / LP-1977)
    Vinyl Rip/FLAC-96kHz+Artwork (373 MB)

    1fichier:
    https://1fichier.com/?z64do42wnt

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Thank you, Mr. Taylor. Your editions are always welcome. My respect.

      To all, I recommend searching for FMR releases through the catalog:
      http://www.fmr-records.com/catalogue.asp

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  3. So many thanks for this! I have this LP & a very dead turntable so I will enjoy hearing it again.

    -Brian

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  4. Thank you, just found this wonderful site, very happy. Cheers mate.

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  5. so interesting and thoughtful, with a new young british jazz scene in rapid growth, one wants to know about the old excellence too. thank you - how about some linked recommendations? there's so much one gets lost here...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, the musicians themselves are a recommendation. Whenever you like an album, you can then explore each musician's discographies individually and get many new interesting albums which you to look for in the future. That's how you do it. The tastes are different. And of course, track what's new on your favorite blog.

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  6. Thanks for the share.Wow,there's some intense playing and intense listening going on in this recording.

    ReplyDelete