MICHAEL MANTLER / CARLA BLEY – 13 and 3/4 (LP-1975)

Label: WATT Works – WATT/3, Virgin ‎– WATT/3

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: UK / Released: 1975

Style: Contemporary Jazz, Free Jazz

Recorded August 1975, Grog Kill Studio, NY.

Mixed September 1975, Scorpio Sound, London.

Design [Album] – Paul McDonough

Engineer – Dennis Weinreich

Engineer [Assistant] – John Hunt

Photography By – Li Tjiong

Producer – Carla Bley, Michael Mantler

A – 13 (for Piano and Two Orchestras) .............................................................. 22:00

Conductor, Written-By – Michael Mantler

Alto Saxophone – Buddy Pearson, Don Davis

Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Adams

Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis, Hamiet Bluiett

Baritone Saxophone, Bassoon – Ken McIntyre

Bass – Bill Rich, Dave Moore, Helen Newcombe, Peter Warren

Bass Clarinet – George Barrow

Bassoon – Gail Hightower, Karl Hampton Porter

Cello – Clare Maher, Hank Roberts, Judith Martin, Judy Dolce

Flute – Hal Archer, Patrice Fisher, Paul Moen

Flute, Soprano Saxophone – Nicholas Pike

French Horn – Greg Williams, John Clark, Peter Gordon, Bill Warnick

Oboe – Kathy Karlsen, Mike Lewis, Waldemar Bhosys

Piano – Carla Bley

Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Courtenay Wynter

Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet – Jim Odgren

Tenor Saxophone – Lou Marini, Richard Peck

Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Collin Tilton

Trombone – Gary Brocks, Michael Gibbs, Rex Shrout

Trombone [Bass] – Earl McIntyre

Trumpet – Greg Bobulinski, John Eckert, Lauren Draper, Leonard Goines

Tuba – Bob Stewart, Jack Jeffers

Viola – Al Visscher, Deena Leff, Drusilla Tesch, Mona Hector, Virginia Izzo

Violin – Alice Stern, Betty MacDonald, Brian Conklin, Laurie Schaller, Lila Baker, Michael Levine, Noreen Davis, Oskana Lenec

B – 3/4 (for Piano and Orchestra) ................................................................... 23:45

Soloist, Piano, Conductor, Written-By – Carla Bley

Bass – Peter Warren

Bassoon – Frank Nizzari

Cello – Clare Maher, Hank Roberts

Clarinet – Collin Tilton

Flute [Alto] – Paul Moen

French Horn – John Clark

Harp – Patrice Fisher

Marimba, Vibraphone, Bells [Orchestra Bells], Percussion [Miscellaneous] – David Samuels

Oboe – Roger Janotta

Piano – Ursula Oppens

Trombone – Michael Gibbs

Trumpet – Michael Mantler

Tuba – Bob Stewart

Viola – Michael Levine, Mona Hector

Violin – Betty MacDonald, Kathy Seplow

WATT records was the collaborative label established by composers Bley and Mantler to exclusively present their own music. And just as well, as even in the “golden age” that this was recorded in (1975) you can’t imagine too many record labels saying, “yeah, ok…why not?” to this music. This is a seriously dark and disturbing orchestral/free jazz/minimalist/cacophonous hell fire of an album...

This album paired the then husband-and-wife team of Michael Mantler and Carla Bley, one composition for large orchestra per LP side. Bley's "3/4" for piano and orchestra is a lovely, romantic locomotive of a piece, its clockwork rhythms dancing and chugging along, offering occasional peaks of luxurious, ecstatic release. The piano part, here performed by Bley (played by Keith Jarrett at the piece's premiere), isn't showy or pyrotechnic, blending in at all times with the orchestral writing which is the heart of the composition. "3/4" stands apart from her other work, sharing little in common with the styles evinced on Escalator Over the Hill, for example, and only partially pointing in the direction of the more hermetic offerings of Social Studies. Kurt Weill's presence is felt in the cabaret-ish melodies that surface here and there, but this is still uniquely Bley and, along with Escalator and Tropic Appetites, arguably her finest work. Mantler's "13" (for piano and two orchestras, again with Bley featured) inhabits another universe entirely, an altogether darker and stormier place. It's a magnificent piece, pitting the two orchestras in pitched battle with the piano valiantly struggling to be heard or to make peace -- a losing battle. Over the course of its 22 minutes, the music (much in the style of his writing for the Jazz Composers Orchestra) increases in tonal complexity as well as sheer volume, ending at a decibel level that may leave the listener worried for his/her speakers... it's power and anguish come through with more than enough force and conviction. It's a stirring, difficult work and one of Mantler's shining moments. 13 & 3/4 is very highly recommended if one is lucky enough to come across it.

And everyone looks to be having a very pleasant afternoon in the woods on the back cover, 
so that’s nice.

Listen out loud and enjoy!

If you find it, buy this album!

MICHAEL MANTLER – No Answer (LP-1974)

Label: WATT Works ‎– WATT/ 2, Virgin – WATT/ 2

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: UK / Released: 1974

Style: Contemporary Jazz

Recorded and Mixed At Blue Rock Studio, 1974.

Design – Paul McDonough

Engineer – Eddie Korvin, Frank Owen

Engineer [Assistant] – Richard Elen

Mixed By – Eddie Korvin

Photography By – Gregory Reeve, Jerry Bauer, Valerie Wilmer

Producer – Michael Mantler

        Number Six

A1 - Part One . . . . . . . . . . 4:55

A2 - Part Two . . . . . . . . . . 4:50

A3 - Part Three . . . . . . . . . 5:45

A4 - Part Four . . . . . . . . . . 2:05

        Number Twelve

B1 - Part One . . . . . . . . . . 7:35

B2 - Part Two . . . . . . . . . . 4:05

B3 - Part Three . . . . . . . . . 2:00

B4 - Part Four . . . . . . . . . . 2:55

Composed By – Michael Mantler

Words By – Samuel Beckett From "How It Is", 1964

Carla Bley – piano, organ, clavinet

Don Cherry – trumpet

Jack Bruce – voice, bass

A Beckett-like "Endgame" atmosphere, a feeling of hopelessness, pervades the work ... a very demanding, exceptionally intelligent production ....

No Answer marks the recorded beginning of Michael Mantler's fascination with the texts of Samuel Beckett as well as a long association with former Cream vocalist/bassist Jack Bruce. Here, with the spare instrumentation of voice, electric bass, keyboards, and trumpet (the late, great Don Cherry in outstanding form), he sets words from How It Is to accompaniment that ranges in style from bleak and spacy to almost funky. Bruce, with his high, plaintive voice, does a superb job here, investing the cynical, bitter text (example: "and the mud yes the dark yes the mud and the dark are true yes nothing to regret there no") with conviction and the right inflection of sorrow. On a couple of pieces, his bass kicks in for a momentary groove that sounds as though it was recalled from the type of Cream session that produced "I'm So Glad," but Mantler doesn't allow such relief to continue for long, antithetical as it would be to the Beckettian world he's conjuring. The songs aren't structured as pop pieces, however; they owe more to contemporary art songs despite the instrumentation, making the affair challenging to the listener expecting a rockish album but relatively easy compared to his earlier work with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra. The contributions by Cherry and Mantler's then-wife, Carla Bley, are crucial to the success of the album, each playing in a stark style that befits the matters at hand. No Answer is an unusually fine melding of theatrical text and music and one of Mantler's best efforts in this genre. Recommended.

FROM THE TEXTS

hard to believe too yes that I have a voice

yes in me yes when the panting stops yes

not at other times no and that I murmur yes

I yes in the dark yes in the mud yes for

nothing yes I yes but it must be believed yes

and the mud yes the dark yes the mud and

the dark are true yes nothing to regret there no   

...................

so things may change no answer end

no answer I may choke no answer sink

no answer sully the mud no more no answer

the dark no answer trouble the peace no

more no answer the silence no answer die

no answer DIE screams I MAY DIE screams

I SHALL DIE screams good

Instrumentation is sparse and somber, occasionally heavy on Bley's organ drone. Cherry's presence is comparatively brief, but he's his usual compelling, challenging self, the most distinctive trumpet voice around. Bley and Bruce carry the weight with virtuoso performances. ... This is music of great strength, created by a master composer who needs to be heard. Mantler's music demands the support of open, intelligent ears everywhere.

- DOWN BEAT

"No Answer" was a bold step into new territory. Jack Bruce, bassist/vocalist from rock group Cream, had proven himself much more than a pop singer on the epic "Escalator Over The Hill", Carla Bley's "chronotransduction", produced by Mantler between 1968 and 1971. On "No Answer" Bruce was given Samuel Beckett's tense/intense texts from "How It Is" to sing, Beckett is celebrated by some commentators for his grim humour. This, however, was never his appeal for Mantler: "I don't care for what people see as the satirical side of Beckett. I don't like the way the plays are produced, for instance. I like to see Beckett's work on a page, printed almost graphically - as a series of events. True, 'Watt' itself is a very funny book, but I never considered putting it to music. I was always so much attracted by the dark side, that was always enough. Enough material for a long time, to stay with that."

Bruce's voice, multi-tracked, soars and dives through Beckett's blackest moods, tellingly set by Mantler. An extraordinary performance. There is also intense keyboard work from Carla Bley, without a trace of the whimsy cultivated in later years, and bubbling, speeding trumpet work from the late, great Don Cherry.

If you find it, buy this album!

JOHN GREAVES / PETER BLEGVAD / LISA HERMAN – Kew. Rhone. (LP-1977)

Label: Virgin Records – V 2082

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: UK / Released: 1977

Style: Avantgarde, Contemporary Jazz, Fusion

Recorded at Grog Kill Studio, Woodstock, New York, October '76.

Engineering by Michael Mantler

Interactive multimedia track "Kew. Rom." produced by Les Corsaires and Voiceprint

Coordination and concept by François Ducat

Programming by Denis Thiriar

Artistic contributions from Peter Blegvad

A1 - Good Evening . . . . . . . . . . 0:33

A2 - Twenty-Two Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . 4:08

A3 - Seven Scenes From the Painting "Exhuming the First American Mastodon" By C.W.  

        Peale . . . . . . . . . . 3:32

A4 - Kew. Rhone.  . . . . . . . . . . 3:04

A5 - Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . 3:41

A6 - Catalogue of Fifteen Objects and Their Titles . . . . . . . . . . 3:36

B1 - One Footnote (To Kew. Rhone.) . . . . . . . . . . 1:29

B2 - Three Tenses Onanism . . . . . . . . . . 4:07

B3 - Nine Mineral Emblems . . . . . . . . . . 5:51

B4 - Apricot . . . . . . . . . . 3:05

B5 - Gegenstand . . . . . . . . . . 3:34

LISA HERMAN – vocals

JOHN GREAVES – piano, organ, bass, vocals, percussion on 'Footnote'

PETER BLEGVAD – vocals, guitars, tenor sax on 'Pipeline'

ANDREW CYRILLE – drums, percussion

MIKE MANTLER – trumpet, trombone

CARLE BLEY – vocals, tenor sax on 'Good Evening' and 'Footnote'

MICHAEL LEVINE – violin, viola, vocals on 'Minerals'

VITO RENDACE – alto & tenor saxes, flute

APRIL LANG – vocals on 'Pipeline' and 'Three Tenses'

DANA JOHNSON – vocals on 'Proverbs'

BORIS KINBERG – clave on 'Pipeline'

Kew. Rhone. is a concept album by British bass guitarist and composer John Greaves, and American singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Blegvad. It is a song cycle composed by Greaves with lyrics by Blegvad, and was performed by Greaves and Blegvad with vocalist Lisa Herman and others. The album was recorded in Woodstock, New York in October 1976, and was released in the United Kingdom in March 1977 by Virgin Records, credited on the front cover to "John Greaves, Peter Blegvad and Lisa Herman", but on the record label as "John Greaves and Peter Blegvad". It was issued in the United States in 1978 by Europa Records.

Kew.Rhone is an often overlooked masterpiece from the 1970s, a multilayered concept album that combines the complexity of RIO with the melodic sensibilities of the best Canterbury bands and which features perhaps the most erudite lyrics in the history of progressive rock.

John Greaves (music) and Peter Blegvad (lyrics) began their creative partnership when Henry Cow and Slapp Happy joined forces for Desperate Straits - their song 'Bad Alchemy' was one of that album's highlights, and they have continued to write and perform together on an occasional basis ever since. Following the recording of 'In Praise Of Learning' Henry Cow and Slapp Happy split, and John Greaves left Henry Cow at about the same time. He and Peter Blegvad went to New York, where they wrote this album and then recorded it with the assistance and participation of jazz greats Carla Bley and Mike Mantler. Vocalist extraordinaire Lisa Hermann was rightly given joint billing with the two songwriters; like Dagmar in Slapp Happy and Art Bears, it is her interpretation of the material that brings it to life. Robert Wyatt was so impressed that he bought two copies, in case one got damaged or worn out, and later sang a version of the title track on John Greaves' 'Songs' album.

Side 1 of the vinyl original opened with "Good Evening", which functioned like the opening tune of a Broadway musical - some of the main musical themes of the album are played in a short but highly effective big band arrangement. This leads straight into "Twenty Two Proverbs", which is just that - a collection of proverbs from a variety of sources set to music and sung by Lisa Herman with occasional interjections from other voices - John Greaves' delivery of 'What have I to do with Bradshaw's windmill?' is one of the album's early highlights. The proverbs sometimes seem to relate to each other; 'A cat may look at a king' is juxtaposed with 'By night all cats are grey', while 'Names are not the pledge for things but things for names' flags up one of the album's main lyrical concerns. "7 Scenes From 'Exhuming The First American Mastodon' By CW Peale" follows, the lyrics based on the cover painting, itself based on CW Peale's painting of his own scientific project. This track has some remarkable brass by Mike Mantler, which plays off Lisa Herman's lead vocal to stunning effect. "Pipeline" follows, which pulls off the rare feat of having a line such as 'Figure b. illustrates the assertion 'Ambiguity can't be measured like a change in temperature' and making it melodic and catchy. The lyrics refer back to "7 Scenes"; objects mentioned in that song reappear here in a different guise (Names are not the pledge for things...). Again, despite the apparent complexity this a breezy, melodic song which will linger in the mind for a long time. The title track is the album's centrepiece, another hummable gem with opaque lyrics. The first part of the song is written solely using the letters in Kew.Rhone, for example 'We who knew no woe', and the second features a lengthy palindrome: 'Peel's foe, not a set animal, laminates a tone of sleep'. Once again all this is sung to some extremely memorable music, with some wonderful strings by Michael Levine and a superb vocal arrangement with another sterling contribution from John Greaves' pleasing Welsh tenor. The first half of the album culminated with Catalogue of Fifteen Objects and their Titles (Names again...), which is also referred to obliquely on 'Squarer for Maud' by National Health.

Side 2 kicked off with another short track, "One Footnote", which suggests further anagrams from the title and invites the listener to think of some more. "Three Tenses Onanism" is a highly poetic paen to the pleasures of self gratification and sees the music move more towards RIO/Avant prog territory, each of the three tenses being represented by a different musical idea. Peter Blegvad is the main vocalist here, his knowing New York drawl adding an extra dimension to the lyrics. 'Nine Mineral Emblems' returns to the jazz tinged Canterbury stylings of the first half of the album, and contains some accurate information about mineralogy given an unlikely but effective erotic subtext: 'When heated, SCOLECITE lengthens, squirms - not unlike the worm that looks for lodgings in a pearly urn'. "Apricot" feature's Blegvad's second lead vocal, and is probably the closest the album comes to a straightforward rocker (not very close, admittedly, but there's something of Lou Reed in the vocals and it has the album's most prominent electric guitar)."Gegenstand" brought the album to a subdued close - this track has the sparsest arrangement on the album, dominated by John Greaves' bass playing.

The instrumental performances are all superb throughout the album. John Greaves plays some beautiful piano as well as anchoring the arrangements with his ever inventive bass work. Peter Blegvad is not a great guitarist (as he admits himself) but acquits himself creditably on some extremely tricky guitar parts, while the supporting players all turn in splendid performances - this is very much an album of tightly focussed, carefully arranged ensemble playing, the arrangements allowing the individual players to shine without dominating the proceedings. It also functions well as a whole package - Blegvad was responsible for the sleeve design, which informs some of the lyrics, and some CD versions have an enhanced feature which takes you deeper into the album's concept. Music, lyrics and visuals all complement each other to perfection.

Greaves and Blegvad have both had long and distinguished careers, and they have written a wealth of good material together and individually, but nothing since has quite equallled this gem of an album. This is a genuine masterpiece, and no collection is complete without it.

_ Review by Syzygy

NOTE:

The album cover is a reproduction of a painting by Charles Willson Peale entitled Exhuming the First American Mastodon (1806–1808). The song it illustrates, "Seven Scenes from the Painting 'Exhuming the First American Mastodon' by C. W. Peale" interprets the painting with, according to Peter Blegvad, "a brazen disregard for the painter's original intent." It is a song about "the perils of being named or defined" and describes a world in which "definition is acquired as liberty is lost". This "naming" is referred to again in the Romanian proverb, "Names are not the pledge for things, but the things for names" that appears in the song "Twenty-Two Proverbs".

Buy the book: PETER BLEGVAD – Kew. Rhone. (Uniformbooks, 2014)

First released in 1977, Kew. Rhone. is an album with lyrics about unlikely subjects and unlikelier objects, lyrics which refer to diagrams or function as footnotes, or are based on anagrams and palindromes.

Kew. Rhone. would never trouble the charts, it aspired to higher things, and yet, re-released in various formats over the decades, curiosity about this categorically elusive work has grown. Now its authors and some of its connoisseurs have broken silence to discuss the record and to reflect upon the times in which it and they themselves were forged.

http://www.colinsackett.co.uk/kewrhone.php

http://www.colinsackett.co.uk/uniformbooks.php

Definitely see:

(—by Franklin Bruno) PETER BLEGVAD Interview:

http://www.believermag.com/issues/200911/?read=interview_blegvad

Peter Blegvad, Angel Trap (Blue), 1977.

Ink and watercolor impregnated with Suze (liquor made from blue gentian).

Happy New Year everyone!

Enjoy.

If you find it, buy this album!