The CHARLES GAYLE TRIO – Live At Disobey 1994 (BFFP 100 2LP / Re-2000)

Label: Blast First – BFFP 100 2LP

Format: 2 x Vinyl, Album, Deluxe Limited Edition / Country: UK / ℗ + © Blast First
Released: 1994 / Re-2000
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded 23 March 1994 at "Disobey", Upstairs At The Garage, Highbury. London
Artwork – Slim Smith
Painting – Carlo Zinelli
Photography By – Bleddyn Butcher
Recorded By – R. Haswell
Mixed By – Paul Kendall
Written-By – The Charles Gayle Trio
Matrix / Runout (Side A, Hand etched): BFFP 100 2LP - A1 K III F
Matrix / Runout (Side B, Hand etched): BFFP 100 2LP - B1 K III FX
Matrix / Runout (Side C, Hand etched): BFFP 100 2LP - C1 K III H
Matrix / Runout (Side D, Hand etched): BFFP 100 2LP - D1 K III F
Through a special agreement with "The Wire" magazine in a limited edition of 500 copies.

side 1
A - Holy Faith .......................................................................................................... 17:50

side 2
B1 - Holy Faith (continued) ....................................................................................... 5:35
B2 - Psalm Prayer ................................................................................................... 11:50

side 3
C - Hymn Of Redemption ....................................................................................... 16:05

side 4
D - Hymn Of Redemption (continued) .................................................................... 16:20

Personnel:
CHARLES GAYLE – tenor saxophone / bass clarinet / voice
HILLIARD GREEN – bass / voice
MICHAEL WIMBERLEY – drums / percussion

You’ve probably heard about The Garage, a popular music venue in Highbury, London, still going on nowadays. For a few years in the mid 90’s, the room above The Garage hosted a smaller club-in-the-club kind of thing. It was called Disobey, and its emblem was a funny mock up of the Disney logo. Disobey was founded by Paul Smith, the man behind avant rock record label Blast First, and its events (usually more experimental than the shows hosted at The Garage) attracted a crowd of hip personalities ranging from Jarvis Cocker to Nick Cave and Brian Eno.

That’s the environment where Charles Gayle recorded one of the best albums of his career. Aptly titled ‘Live At Disobey’, it sounds like the perfect companion to his free jazz masterpiece ‘Repent’: trio setting (though the rhythm section is Hilliard Green on bass and Michael Wimberley on drums here), same fury and intensity, extensively long tracks. Besides his usual tenor sax, Gayle sprinkles a little bit of bass clarinet again, but that doesn’t make much of a difference for the final result. If Gayle’s playing at his fiercest is your thing, look no further. Other than the obvious musical merits, ‘Live At Disobey’ is also pivotal because it marks the time Charles Gayle started to transcend the jazz scene and attract interest among the more open minded parts of the rock crowd, including features on a magazine like The Wire, which contributed to the release of cd (and later double LP) on a rock label like the aforementioned Blast First.

 No wonder this renewed interest in his music would soon lead to some other unexpected and interesting collaborations.

Note:
The Garage, Highbury. London:
https://www.thegarage.london/live/
https://www.thegarage.london/
Address: 20-22 Highbury Corner, London, N5 1RD

If you find it, buy this album!