STEVE REID – Odyssey Of The Oblong Square (LP-1977)

Label: Mustevic Sound - MS 4001

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

Style: Soul-Jazz, Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Recorded "live" January 1977 New York City on WKCR FM's "Jazz Alternatives" show hosted by Peter Low.

Artwork – Vee Alexander

Liner Notes – Neyeswah Abiku

Engineer – John Dorn, Taylor Storer

Producer By – Steve Reid

A1 - Odyssey Theme . . . . . 0:57

A2 - Deacon's Son . . . . . 19:17

B1 - Odyssey Sweet . . . . . 5:05

         a) Sanctum Sanctorium

         b) The Oblong Square

         c) Panic Of '76

B2 - Ginsamseng . . . . . 16:17

(All songs composed by Steve Reid)

STEVE REID – drums, percussion

DAVID WERTMAN – acoustic bass

CHARLES TYLER – alto saxophone, maracas

ARTHUR BLYTHE – alto saxophone, percussion

AHMED ABDULLAH – trumpet, percussion

MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH – congas, ballophone, African prcussion

A bold odyssey from Steve Reid – his Odyssey Of The Oblong Square – a jawdropping session recorded in 1977 for a NYC radio show that's as rhythmically feverish and avant garde funky as the legendary drummer's other underground soul jazz classics of the 70s! If anything, the percussion is even more outstanding on Odyssey as it is on the great Nova and Rhythmatism sets for Mustevic – with Reid leading the charge on drums, and most of the other players contributing percussion on one way or another, for an all around frenetic sound, that's still unwaveringly in a groove. Mohammad Abdullah is on congas, ballophone and African percussion, with Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler on alto sax – the horns all really kill on this set – and David Wertman keeping an unpredicable acoustic bass groove. Includes 4 long pieces, including the 3 part "Odyssey Sweet", "Odyssey Theme", "Deacon's Son" and "Ginsamseng" – all Reid originals. Amazing! 

(Dusty Groove, Inc.)

Released as a self produced album in small quantities from a 1977 radio studio performance "Odyssey Of The Oblong Square", master drummer Steve Reid's loft jazz masterpiece is here in front of you. On this album he is joined by David Wertman on bass, Mohammad Abdullah on percussion, Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet and Arthur Blythe and Charles Tyler on alto saxophone. Rhythm and groove are the primary elements of the music, with the bass, drums and percussion locking together to produce a massive groove that propels the horns ever onward. "Odyssey Theme" fades in to the band already in full flight, with a punchy theme for horns and hand percussion. The lengthy "Deacon's Son" has a probing start for alto and trumpet, with a solid bass and percussion groove. Nice extended saxophone solo spools out over hypnotic percussion. Abdulla takes things to a higher level with a lively trumpet solo, picking the pace up to a high level fast and exciting but still well controlled. "Odyssey Sweet" has a fast Ornette-ish full band improvisation, free-bopping over a slinky groove. "Ginsamseng" begins with a fast, full band improvisation, and M. Abdullah's hand percussion anchoring the searching horns. The horns scale back and Wertman's bass comes to the forefront, deep and strong, acting as a pivot point for the music. Bass, drums and percussion lock into an epic groove that slowly builds in intensity, scaled by hot sounding trumpet. This was taught and exciting music powered by a wall of percussion, and is an excellent example of the kind of "loft jazz" that was being made in the late 1970's.

_ By Tim Niland

If you find it, buy this album!

STEVE REID – Rhythmatism (LP-1976)

Label: Mustevic Sound – MS 1001

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1976

Style: Avant-garde, Post Bop, Soul Jazz, Free Jazz

Recorded Nov & Dec 1975 at Mustevic Sound Studios, New York.

Artwork By – Quan

Layout – Brenda Reid

Engineer – Harrison Williams, Phillip Howell

Executive Producer – Mustevic Sound Inc.

Producer – Steve Reid

A1 - Kai . . . . . 11:31

        (Written-By – Les Walker)

A2 - Rocks (For Cannonball) . . . . . 9:30

        (Written-By – Les Walker)

B1 - Center Of The Earth . . . . . 4:05

        guitar – Melvin Smith,

        baritone saxophone – Charles Tyler,

        trumpet – Chris Capers

        (Written-By – Joe Falcon)

B2 - C You Around . . . . . 11:27

        (Written-By – Les Walker)

B3 - One Minute Please . . . . . 1:00

        (Written-By – Steve Reid)

STEVE REID – drums, percussion

LES WALKER – piano

DAVID WERTMAN – bass

ARTHUR BLYTHE – alto saxophone

MICHAEL KEITH – trombone

During the late 1960s and early 70s, jazz innovation mirrored social upheaval by consciously turning away from tradition and embracing the avant-garde. Elaborate collectives such as the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Miles Davis' hard-fusion trailblazers arrived at a wholly modern big band sound through exotic song structures and the use of electric instruments. With their aggressively lyrical and non-linear soloing, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Pharaoh Sanders eradicated the time-honored tenets of melody, harmony, and time signature, searching instead for spiritual truth within the music itself. Free jazz, "the new thing," experimental-- whatever it was called, the work of these artists was impassioned, unprecedented, and divisive, pushing music into unexpected realms.

Around that time-- and at the other end of the spectrum-- funk-jazz was more concerned with keeping a groove than breaking new ground. But it was far from static: Eddie Harris and Herbie Hancock used the on-the-one downbeat of James Brown and Sly Stone as the foundation for their sophisticated compositions, while Jimmy McGriff and Grant Green's warm, buttery solos dipped blues and R&B; into jazz's jelly jar. Not as challenging to the ear as free jazz, funk-jazz still hit harder than some of the fusionary misfires that followed and, 20 years later, spawned acid-jazz.

Steve Reid's Rhythmatism steps expertly between funky and free. "Soul jazz" is the perfect moniker for the album, which both reflects the exploratory soloing and marathon track lengths of the free jazz school and digs intently into hard-swinging grooves. Recorded in 1975, Rhythmatism is exactly what its title implies: an examination into the power and pliability of the beat.

Reid takes the helm on drums, and the rest of his acoustic quintet-- bass, piano, sax, and trombone-- exudes a warm, earthy sound, diving into the rhythmic core of their instruments rather than taking them on unfettered flights. Reid's drums propel these tunes against their tempo, building tension through repetition and slight nuance. There are no flashy fills-- instead, he's content to add subtle color with variations in volume and pace.

Album opener "Kai" is a masterpiece, a luscious, essential listen for anyone looking to discern the sanguine, pulsing heart of jazz music. Composer Les Walker's piano spars with Reid's hypnotic stick-and-brush work, but the drummer never flinches as the pianist hopscotches across the keys. Arthur Blythe alternates between flow and fire on alto sax while David Wertman's slippery upright bass provides a round, hearty bottom end. This 12-minute epic isn't a casual listen, but it's so fulfilling that you'll want to grant it your complete attention.

"Rocks (For Cannonball)" is the album's most explosively abstract tune thanks to Walker's meandering keyboard hysterics. Throughout it all, however, Reid stays locked on course. His technique comes to the fore as he pounds his kit against polyrhythmic percussion-- tambourine, shakers, bells-- plied by other band members. Once again, the rhythm section of Reid and Wertman is formidable and unshakable, and throughout this track-- as well as "C You Around"-- Blythe's minor-key sorties on alto are reminiscent of late-era Coltrane. The effect is transporting.

Beginning in medias res, the criminally short "Center of the Earth" is the album's emotional centerpiece. It sounds as if a studio tech pressed "record" at the teary-eyed peak of a climactic jam. With a sudden explosion of baritone sax, trumpet, and guitar-- plus a boxful of percussion toys-- the whole song is one ecstatic, extended crescendo. Music doesn't get any more joyful than this without putting its tongue in its cheek, and that's something a soul master like Reid simply had no reason to do.

_By Jonathan Zwickel (September 28, 2004)

If you find it, buy this album!