JOACHIM KÜHN – This Way Out (MPS/BASF Rec. ‎– 2921752-3 / 2LP-1973)

Label: MPS/BASF Records ‎– 2921752-3

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP / Gatefold sleeve / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1973

Style: Free Jazz, Modal, Free Improvisation

Recorded in January 1973 at MPS Studio, Villingen, W. Germany.

Design [Cover], Photography By – Bernhard Wetz

Photography By [Liner Photos] – A.C. Besgaard, Anne Delmas, G. Hasenfratz, R. Kühn

Produced by MPS-Records, Villingen

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): A 0666 121 S 1 / 2921752-3 -1

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): B 0666 121 S 2 / 2921752-3 -2

Matrix / Runout (Side C runout, etched): C 0666 122 S 1 / 2921752-3 -3

Matrix / Runout (Side D runout, etched): D 0666 122 S 2 / 2921752-3 -4

side 1

A1 - Brother Rolf ....................................................................................................... 1:53

A2 - Byg Bridge ......................................................................................................... 5:53

A3 - Amok ................................................................................................................. 5:50

A4 - She's A Beauty .................................................................................................. 4:30

A5 - Spaced In .......................................................................................................... 4:28

side 2

B1 - Body And Soul ................................................................................................... 5:11

B2 - Phallic Dance ..................................................................................................... 6:03

B3 - Juxtaposition ...................................................................................................... 3:46

B4 - All The Things You Are ...................................................................................... 3:35

B5 - Paris '72 ............................................................................................................. 0:58

side 3

C1 - This Way Out ..................................................................................................... 4:51

C2 - Do Dat Dudek .................................................................................................... 5:25

C3 - Sound Color One ............................................................................................... 2:00

C4 - Sound Color Two ............................................................................................... 1:16

C5 - Other Way Out ................................................................................................... 3:45

side 4

D  -  Unison Union .................................................................................................. 20:25

Musicians:

Joachim Kühn – piano, alto saxophone

Gerd Dudek – tenor & soprano saxophone, flute

Peter Warren – bass, cello

Daniel Humair – drums, percussion

JOACHIM KUHN "This Way Out" (1973 German, 16-track double LP on MPS, with red labels and 2921752-3 catalogue prefix, front laminated gatefold sleeve with 0666 121 overstickered catalogue number. Stunning advanced Jazz here from a label that putout some of the very best, forward thinking, and often glorious sounding Fusion records of the seventies.

Joachim Kühn is joined by Daniel Humair, one of Europe’s most celebrated drummers, along with bassist/cellist Peter Warren, whose play has graced the albums of such diverse greats as Clarla Bley and John Scofield. The impressionistic miniature Brother Rolph serves as an introduction, the up-tempo Byg Bridge spans over to the helter-skelter of Amok, while the well-named ballad She’s a Beauty precedes the straight-ahead swing of Spaced In. Kühn tenders a personal solo-rendering of the classic Body And Soul, then switches to alto sax on the harsh, ritualistic Phallic Dance.

Juxtaposition features contrasting solo and group dynamics, and the trio show their standards chops on the medium-tempo All The Things You Are. The musical snapshot Paris 72 book-ends the 10 trio pieces. German saxophonist Gerd Dudek, whose playing credentials include Carla Bley and Don Cherry, joins the trio on the next six pieces. He takes up soprano on the Latin-like This Way Out, while he’s on tenor and Kühn on alto with hell-bent free solos on Do Dat Dudek. Sound Color One and Two are miniatures that explore the possibilities of musical textures. Other Way Out is a free dialogue between piano and soprano, and Unison Union brings the quartet together in a display of intuitive inspiration. 16 pieces of creative brilliance.

If you find it, buy this album!

STEVE MARCUS / MIROSLAV VITOUS / SONNY SHARROCK / DANIEL HUMAIR – Green Line (SMJX 10109 / LP-1970)

Label: Victor World Group ‎– SMJX 10109

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold / Country: Japan / Released: 1970

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at Victor Studio, Aoyama Tokyo 11 September 1970.

Artwork – Tadayuki Naito

Engineer – Norio Yoshizawa

Producer – Fujiya Jimbo, Tetsuya Shimoda

Manufactured By – Victor Company Of Japan, Ltd.

Green Victor World Group Label

Matrix / Runout (Matrix, label side A): SVIR-10067-A

Matrix / Runout (Matrix, label side B): SVIR-10067-B

Matrix / Runout (Runout, side A stamped): Ⓑ SVIR 10067 A 121+ UL

Matrix / Runout (Runout, side B stamped): SVIR 10067 B 111+

A1 - Melvin ........................................................................................................... 8:52

A2 - Mr. Sheets At Night ....................................................................................... 7:11

B1 - Green Line ................................................................................................... 6:15

B2 - The Echos .................................................................................................. 10:57

Personnel:

Steve Marcus – tenor and soprano saxophone

Sonny Sharrock – electric guitar

Miroslav Vitous – bass

Daniel Humair – drums, percussion

1970 Victor World Group ‎– SMJX 10109 (Japan) Stereo LP / GREEN LINE / Steve Marcus, Daniel Humair, Miroslav Vitous, Sonny Sharrock / Released in a gatefold sleeve with a double sided glued inner leaf containing credits and liner notes. ______Out Of Stock__

Truly stunning LP from four hungry young badasses in 1970.  Miroslav Vitous, Sonny Sharrock, Steve Marcus and Daniel Humair are all heavyweight cats captured in their youthful prime here, not a weak moment to be found. They each just sound so great! Vitous really stands out with a ton of seriously sick bass viol action--what's up with those simultaneous arco and pizzicato parts?!  He's just exploding on the groove in "Melvin", with Sharrock doing a perfect lean funky part, holding back to keep the groove simmering instead of blowing hard over it.  Vitous' solo in "Mr. Sheets at Night" and Marcus's painfully sensitive saxophone is something else. It's a gorgeous piece with a bristling spirit underlying the ballad surface. This album is a bit overlooked in Sonny Sharrock's discography, probably because it was released as a co-billing for the quartet, alongside the fact it's more of a straightahead jazz album than the legendary freakbombs he'd dropped in the preceding years in cahoots with Queen Linda.  His explosions on side B make for some seriously essential listening for any Sharrock-head. All four cuts are distinctive gems, but "The Echoes" is the one track that is an epic blowout that tastes good down to the last gnarly drop.  This is the real sound of jazz in 1970.

If you find it, buy this album!

JEAN-LUC PONTY QUARTET – Sunday Walk (LP-1967/Re- MPS Rec. – 0068.226)

Label: MPS Records – 0068.226
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1968 (?)
Style: Bop, Free Improvisation, Post Bop, Modal
Recorded June 1967, MPS-Tonstudio Villingen, W. Germany.
Artwork By [Graphic Work], Layout – Gigi Berendt
Photography By [Back Cover, Liner Photos] – Werkmeister
Photography By [Cover] – Jean Pierre Leloir
Photography By [Liner Photos] – Armbruster
Recorded By, Producer – Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer
Technician [Recording Director] – Willi Fruth
Liner Notes – Joachim E. Berendt
Translated By – John Wilde
Matrix / Runout (Matrix Print Label A): 0068.226-A
Matrix / Runout (Matrix Print Label B): 0068.226-B

A1 - Sunday Walk   (Daniel Humair) ....................................................................... 6:28

A2 - Carole's Garden   (Denny Zeitlin) .................................................................... 7:42

A3 - Cat Coach   (Wolfgang Dauner) ...................................................................... 6:00

B1 - You've Changed   (Carey / Fisher) .................................................................. 8:24

B2 - Suite For Claudia   (J.L. Ponty) ....................................................................... 9:50

Personnel:

Jean-Luc Ponty – violin

Wolfgang Dauner – piano

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen – double bass

Daniel Humair – drums, percussion

Original released on LP in 1967 in Germany (SABA, 15 139 ST) with gatefold cover. Re-issued on LP in 1968 (?) in Germany (MPS, 0068.226) with different cover. Second German Pressing. Black labels with silver-white print. ____ Out Of Stock, never on a CD.

Although there were two earlier dates led by violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (for Palm in 1963 and Philips in 1964), this was the first album to get much circulation. Originally recorded for the German Saba label, and was available in the U.S. on Pausa LP as well. This is one of Ponty's best albums – a more straight-ahead late 60s session for MPS, without the fusion noodling of later years! This is a top notch advanced bop with Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass, Daniel Humair on drums and of course Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. These masters were among the best jazz players in Europe. Album compares well with stuff being recorded by the best American players of the time. Dauner, in his pre-electric phase, sounds like McCoy Tyner. In addition to "You've Changed" (one of the few standards ever recorded by the violinist), the band performs Denny Zeitlin's "Carole's Garden" and three group compositions, including Ponty's "Suite for Claudia." Already at this time, Jean-Luc Ponty was a highly original and brilliant player.
(Review by Scott Yanow, AllMusic)

Beautiful challenge of the old German MPS records, it is difficult to resist.

If you find it, buy this album!

DANIEL HUMAIR / GORDON BECK / RON MATHEWSON ‎– Morning! (Musica Records – MUS 3009 / LP-1975)

Label: Musica Records – MUS 3009

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

Style: Modal, Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at Fontana Studios in Milan, Italy in January 1972.

First recorded on label: Dire – FO 341 / Released 1972 / Country: Italy

Design – Studio Chouette

Photography By – Lucille Whan Humair

Composed By – Gordon Beck, Daniel Humair, Ron Mathewson

Producer – Alain Boucanus

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout): MPO MUS 3009 A

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout): MPO MUS 3009 B

         MORNING !

A1 - 1er Movement ............................................................................................... 12:10

A2 - 2e Movement .................................................................................................. 5:10

         (D. Humair / G. Beck / R. Mathewson)

         SUITE 5

B1 - 1er Movement ................................................................................................. 8:20

B2 - 2e Movement .................................................................................................. 5:45

B3 - 3e Movement .................................................................................................. 4:50

         (Gordon Beck)

GORDON BECK – piano

RON MATHEWSON – bass

DANIEL HUMAIR – drums, percussion

Originally recorded at Fontana Studios in Milan, Italy in January 1972 and subsequently released on the Italian Dire label on LP the same year. 

Recorded during a tour of Italy with Phil Woods, the European Rhythm Machine, consisting of Gordon Beck, Ron Mathewson and Daniel Humair, recorded this entire album in the course of one morning. The album features two long compositions; on the first page of vinyl "Morning!", composed by Gordon Beck, Ron Mathewson and Daniel Humair performed in two movements and on the other side "Suite 5", composed by Gordon Beck performed in three movements followed by the track.

Easily overlooked as a piece of obscure 1970s Britjazz nostalgia, and short and sweet at 36 minutes, this is an Italian recording of two suites that pianist Gordon Beck conceived with bassist Ron Mathewson and drummer Daniel Humair in 1972. It is short, but far from insubstantial.

The propulsive rhythm section of what at that time constituted the Phil Woods Rhythm Machine gets two extended workouts, all recorded in one morning while on a European tour. It would be fine to cite the Bill Evans primer as a major influence on Beck, but it would be selling him short. The breadth and diversity of ground covered in this session is astounding, from gorgeous postbopflurry to sparse and razor-sharp post-Webernianpointalistic free jazz. None of this should come as any surprise, Beck having worked previously with the incredible and irrepressible timbral powerhouse Tony Oxley. In other hands, such forays into experimentation might come off as mere flirtations, but the trio is obviously so comfortable with every gesture, composed or otherwise, that the album coheres beautifully and seamlessly.

In the first track "Morning!" Humair takes a driving solo that quickly turns funky and everyone follows suit with alacrity. Morning sometimes sounds like Herbie Hancock baiting Tony Williams in Miles's 1960s band before it becomes an astonishing collective improvisation, Beck's steel-hard chords calling and responding to Humair's chattering snare and lashing rimshots.

Suite 5 reflects Beck's immensely sophisticated grasp of the alternative implications of Bill Evans - his faultless timing of the turn of a fast phrase is always startling, and there's an unexpected amount of free-improv. About half way through the track, when freer terrain is traveled, Daniel Humairs brushwork is complemented beautifully by Ron Mathewsons effortless fast slides and runs on bass. Eventually, Beck can be found inside the piano, Humair and Mathewson bowing and scraping along with him. But there's a wide span leading from piano-led tunes, recognisably from the same pen as those on "Gyroscope", to free group improvisations that are exciting but not wild.

Review by MARC MEDWIN, All About Jazz, New York

If you find it, buy this album!

PHIL WOODS And HIS EUROPEAN RHYTHM MACHINE – Live At Montreux 72 (LP-1972 / Pierre Cardin – STEC 131)

Label: Les Disques Pierre Cardin – STEC 131

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: France / Released: 1972

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded June 19. 1972 at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Design [Cover, both side] By – Pierre Cardin

Photography By [Front/Back Cover] – David Redfern

Engineer – Stephen Sulke

Graphics – Hartmut Pfeiffer

Mastered By – Christian Orsini

Producer, Mixed By – Emmanuel "Pinpin" Sciot

Original French pressing with round corners

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): STEC 131 A

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): STEC 131 B

It's not my rip (a gift from A. R.) so I apologize for the relatively poor sound. But the album is great.

A  -  The Executive Suite .................................................................... 26:00

B1 - Falling ........................................................................................... 9:00

B2 - It Does Not Really Matter Who You Are ..................................... 15:00

All compositions by Gordon Beck

Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine:

Phil Woods --- alto saxophone

Gordon Beck --- piano

Ron Mattewson --- bass

Daniel Humair --- drums, percussion

This LP is a real rarity how for the record company that produced it, so also for the jazz music and the huge number of admirers an early Phil Woods. The album has never re-issued on CD. 

In the early 70s, the Italian-French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, great lover of music, founded a record company in his name, which had very short life and that was distinguished by his covers particularly elegant artwork, designed by himself.

In the short period of activity he published several LP's, not only of jazz, among which also the French edition of the Concerto Grosso by New Trolls.

Of particular interest are the recordings made during the Montreux Jazz Festival 1972 concert by Jean-Luc Ponty, the Lubat, Louis and Engel Group, in addition to this the European Rhythm Machine Phil Woods, who at the time was hailed as a masterpiece.

Briton David Waddington critic of Jazz called this album "a fluid and breathtaking improvisation titanic wise." The A-side of the vinyl with engaging twenty-five minutes of 'Executive Suite was also described by critics Brian Case and Stan Britt, in their Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz, "a tour de force of the alto sax, with no accompanying sequences in which Woods gives vent his extraordinary instrumental mastery acute from screaming extreme to severe extreme moaning of the instrument. "

In England, the album was released by Verve, on granting the French publisher, with a different layout.

At a distance of forty four years the record is still valid and is an extraordinary testimony to the evolutionary trend of those years jazz. Roberto Arcuri, about that experience said, "Go and hear the term European Rhythm Machine, that was not a rival of no one, Phil Woods was a wonderful musician, super, which remained like that. "

Colossal music. My favorite album for this month.

If you find it, buy this album!

PHIL WOODS AND HIS EUROPEAN RHYTHM MACHINE – At Frankfurt Jazz Festival (1970-LP-1971)

Label: Embryo Records – SD 530
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: US - Released: 1971
Style: Free Jazz, Post Bop
Recorded live on March 21, 1970, at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival.
Album  Design – Haig Adishian
Photography [Black & White] – Giuseppe G. Pino
Photography [Colour] – Marc Riboud
Producer – Horst Lippmann
Producer [Executive Producer] – Herbie Mann

PHIL WOODS – Saxophone [Alto]
GORDON BECK – Piano
HENRI TEXIER – Acoustic bass
DANIEL HUMAIR – Drums, Percussion

A1 Freedom Jazz Dance (Composed By – Eddie Harris) 13:30
A2 Ode A Jean-Louis (Composed By – Phil Woods) 13:30
B1 Josua (Composed By – Victor Feldman) 13:00
B2 The Meeting (Composed By – Gordon Beck) 11:00

Altoist Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine was the most adventurous group he ever led, bordering on the avant-garde at times. The 1970 version (which includes pianist Gordon Beck, bassist Henri Texier and drummer Daniel Humair) is showcased on this performing two group originals, Victor Feldman's "Josua" and "Freedom Jazz Dance." Beck's "The Meeting" is the briefest performance at 11 minutes, while the other three selections all clock in around 13. Woods' longtime bebop fans may not be that excited by these pretty free improvisations (although the musicians were clearly listening closely to each other), but the altoist's tone remained quite recognizable. Challenging and stimulating music.

_ SCOTT YANOW



Links in Comments!

PHIL WOODS AND HIS EUROPEAN RHYTHM MACHINE – Phil Woods And His European Rhythm Machine (1970-LP-1976)

Label: Inner City Records – IC 1002
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue; Country: US - Released: 1976
Style: Post Bop, Modal, Free Jazz
Recorded at Europa-Sonor Studio on July 5, 1970.
Album Design – Frank Vega
Engineer – Charles B. Raucher
Liner Notes – Nat Hentoff

PHIL WOODS – Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Recorder [English], Percussion, Voice
GORDON BECK – Electric Piano, Piano, Organ, Bells, Percussion, Voice
HENRI TEXIER – Acoustic Bass, Flute, Percussion [African], Voice
DANIEL HUMAIR – Drums, Percussion [Remo Roto-tom], Percussion [Woodblocks]

A1 Chromatic Banana
A2 Ultimate Choice
B1 The Last Page/Sans Melodie
B2 A Look Back
B3 The Day When The World...

In 1970, when Inner City Records was just getting off the ground, Phil Woods was in Europe enjoying himself, and collaborating with musicians who were definitely feeling the spell of the Miles Davis groundbreaking jazz fusion epic Bitches Brew. While always a staunch straight-ahead bebop player, Woods decided to mix it up a bit and incorporate elements of funk, rock, and free improvisation, much to the likely chagrin of his listeners. In fact, a vitriolic letter printed on the back cover from an unidentified fan residing in Chicopee Falls, MA, rips Woods for abandoning melody, criticizes his titles, and actually threatens him with physical violence should he ever show up in his town. Woods gives his terse reply, but as cynical as this discourse is, it could all have been whipped up by Woods to deflect any detractors to his "new thing." Truth be told, the music here is inspired and focused, even if it is not what devotees might expect. British electric pianist Gordon Beck (who took over for original keyboardist George Gruntz), French acoustic bassist Henri Texier, and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair are all extremely talented musicians, who alongside the excitable Woods forge strong bonds in amalgamating this modern jazz into a personalized sound. Bookended by really long jam-type pieces, the album also retains a certain amount of arranged and complex melody lines. The opener, "Chromatic Banana," is the piece that caused the letter-writing fan's consternation, and in the hilarious liner notes, Woods offers listeners a chance to win one in simulated plastic. Musically, it moves fast from 6/8 to free to 5/4, 4/4, and 7/8 meters in pre-fusion rock-funk modes, with the alto and Varitone-modified sax of Woods wheezing, wailing, improvising, and eventually vocally scatting. Beck's "The Day When the World..." has a folkish intro on the Hohner electric piano, moves from a steady rock beat to a poppish tune, and concludes with introductions of the bandmembers by one of the leader's children in English and French. A combo track of Beck and Woods, "The Last Page/Sans Melodie" starts as a pleasant ballad, then quickens to a bop and rock pace with Woods on a Varitone clarinet. The most straight jazz-oriented cut is also contributed by Beck: "Ultimate Choice" is a fleet bebop discourse between the pianist and alto saxophonist, with hard attacks and Woods digging in and establishing his territory. The short "A Look Back" is actually forward-thinking and progressive in a spontaneous manner via the spare recorder playing of Woods underpinning clacky percussion, rattles, and bowed bass...

_ By MICHAEL G. NASTOS



Links in Comments!