GORDON BECK TRIO – Gyroscope (Morgan Records – MJ 1 / LP-1969)

Label: Morgan Records – MJ 1

Morgan Records Twin Stereo / MJ1 Jazz Series

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: UK / Released: 1969

Style: Post Bop, Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at Morgan Studios, London, England, 1968.

Engineer – Andrew Johns

Producer – Monty Babson

Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Label): MJ 1 A

Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Label): MJ 1 B

A1 - Gyroscope ................................................................................................. 7:09

A2 - Clusters ..................................................................................................... 7:06

A3 - Suite No. 1 ................................................................................................ 6:40

B1 - Miss T Fying .............................................................................................. 3:58

B2 - Sincerity ..................................................................................................... 5:20

B3 - And Still She Is With Me ............................................................................ 8:22

B4 - Oxus .......................................................................................................... 3:18

All compositions written-by – Gordon Beck, except

track A3 (written-by – Gordon Beck, Jeff Clyne, Tony Oxley)

Personnel:

Gordon Beck – piano

Jeff Clyne – bass

Tony Oxley – drums, percussion

GORDON BECK TRIO – Gyroscope / Extremely rare, original first UK pressing 1969 / 7-tracks / stereo LP of advanced British Jazz on the seldom seen Morgan label, recorded at London's Morgan studios / Catalog Number: MJ1 ___  Out of Print __

Also re-issued on CD in 2002 (Art of Life Records/Catalog Number: AL1003-2) __ Sold Out __

Beck was a self-taught musician who left the engineering world to become a professional player in England. He eventually blossomed into one of Europe's finest studio and session pianists, able to function effectively in many settings and alongside any vocalist or instrumentalist. His father was a violinist, and Beck started his jazz career with various London bands before joining Tubby Hayes in 1962. Beck stayed in that group three years, making his first tours outside England, before beginning his own band. Beck's trio was the house band at the Ronnie Scott's club in the late '60s, and in 1967 Beck began cutting albums and doing studio work. He gained international attention from 1969-1972 as part of Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine, his strong playing and propulsive solos making him an effective contrasting voice within the group to Woods. The Machine toured America in 1971, and Beck left the following year to start another band, Gyroscope, and also reactivated his trio. He was part of the group Piano Conclave in the early '70s, but became a busy freelancer from 1974 on, working with major stars like Lena Horne, Gary Burton, Clark Terry, Charles Tolliver, and Woods again. He also got involved in education, becoming co-organizer of the Treforest Summer School in 1978.

...Gyroscope , featuring the group of Oxley and Jeff Clyne (Ron Carter-esque in his ubiquity in British Jazz), minus McLaughlin (Experiments with Pops), was six original compositions and comes off as a much more serious album than its predecessor.

The compositions on Gyroscope, all by the pianist except for one trio credit, are pleasant post-bop launching pads. Played with lesser musicians, they may have come off as trite and derivative, as might much British jazz (for a criminally ignored region of jazz, the Brits might have had the highest concentration of notable musicians to be found in one city—London). It was the inventiveness of his "backing band" that pushed the pieces and the leader far past their potential. Oxley, who would go on to play with Riley, didn't stay supportive for very long, adding his free ideas to the mix very quickly, most notably on the title track, "Suite No. 1" and the lengthy closer "And Still She Is With Me" / "Oxus". While closer to the more traditional jazz played by the likes of Johnny Dankworth and Tubby Hayes (Beck's former employ-er), the open experimentation of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and John Surman were bound to have an effect in a scene as small as late '60s London. This open clash of styles stands as a period document and makes Gyroscope a compelling listen.
(Review by ANDREY HENKIN, July 17, 2002 AAJ)

If you find it, buy this album!

TONY OXLEY – 4 Compositions For Sextet (LP-1970)

Label: CBS – 64071

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: UK / Released: 1970

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded on February 7, 1970 and released on LP by CBS that year.

Liner Notes – Michael Walters

Engineer by – Mike FitzHenry

All compositions by Tony Oxley

A1 - Saturnalia ............................................................................. 10:09

A2 - Scintilla ................................................................................... 8:56

B1 - Amass ................................................................................... 13:00

B2 - Megaera ................................................................................. 6:09

Personnel:

Tony Oxley – drums

Evan Parker – tenor sax

Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn

Paul Rutherford – trombone

Derek Bailey – guitar

Jeff Clyne – bass

Released in 1970, 4 Compositions for Sextet was one of a pair of records drummer Tony Oxley recorded for CBS, which, at that time, seemed to be very interested in British free jazz -- the label also recorded at least three LPs by avant guitarist Ray Russell and a pair by Evan Parker.

Oxley's band for this outing was a dream group of Brit outsiders: Derek Bailey on guitars, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flügelhorn, Evan Parker on saxophones, Oxley on drums of course (the only British drummer besides Robert Wyatt who could play pop or free jazz with equal enthusiasm), Paul Rutherford on trombone, and Jeff Clyne on bass. The four tunes are all outer-limits numbers; all methadrine takes on what were happening improvisations. It's true that there are loose structures imposed on all four tracks, but they quickly dissolve under the barrage of sonic whackery. At times, dynamic tensions present themselves, such as on the beautiful "Scintilla," where Bailey shows what made him Derek Bailey in the first place: his willingness to take even preconceived notions of free improvisation apart. There are also puzzling questions that the sextet cannot resolve (e.g., how far to take harmonic investigation). It's clear not even Parker wants it to completely disintegrate into the ether; he holds forth with Wheeler that some semblance of order, no matter how tenuous, be kept. And while it's true these selections all sound dated by today's standards, and by how far each man has come in terms of musical growth, there is still something compelling here in the chopped-out framework of "Amass" or Parker's attempt to blow Oxley from the room with outrageously long lines that seem to come from the mouthpiece of the horn rather than its bell in "Megaera." There is also a stalwart "anti-Americanism in all of it," an anger directed at the Yankee jazzers who were now moving toward fusion or even the avant cats who relied too heavily on tradition. In any case, this is a fine record historically, for seeing where the Brit free music movement came from. 

_ Review by Thom Jurek

A year on from The Baptised Traveller, Tony Oxley's debut recording as a composer, this LP from 1970 is perhaps even more indicative of how the experimental music of the time ended up in the jazz bin seemingly by default. That said, all the essential attributes which are needed to add to the impetus of jazz are still here in abundance--the extraordinary empathy between the players, the clarity of thinking as to where the music needs to go and the continuing search for fresh and revitalising ideas to help it get there--but Oxley's diverse musical background (which even by this time had ranged from duties as housedrummer at Ronnie Scott's club to military band drumming, classical studies, working with John McLaughlin and forging an increasing commitment to freely improvised music) and natural self-discipline invests these compositions with a more wide-ranging sensibility. Oxley's lucid notes guide the listener through the structural bones of the compositions to which the musicians add improvised flesh and, while the results are no more likely to appeal to staunch traditionalists than they were all those years ago, the sheer vision of these works makes them compulsive listening. 

_ Review by Roger Thomas

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IAN CARR with NUCLEUS – Solar Plexus (LP-1971)

Label: Vertigo ‎– 6360 039

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: UK / Released: 1971

Style: Fusion, Free Jazz, Jazz-Rock

Produced for Ronnie Scott Directions Ltd.

Recorded on the 14th and 15th of December 1970, London.

Design [Cover Design] – B.E. Ltd.

Engineer – Roger Wake

Producer – Pete King

Original VERTIGO, UK first pressing.

Matrix / Runout (stamped): Side 1:  6360 039  1 Y // 1 420   1 1 1 04

Matrix / Runout (stamped): Side 2:  6360 039  2 Y // 1 420   1 1 4 04

A1 - Elements I & II ................................................................ 2:12

A2 - Changing Times .............................................................. 4:44

A3 - Bedrock Deadlock ........................................................... 6:52

A4 - Spirit Level ...................................................................... 9:20

B1 - Torso ............................................................................... 6:12

B2 - Snakehip's Dream ......................................................... 15:16

Line-up / Musicians

- Ian Carr / trumpet, flugelhorn

- Karl Jenkins / oboe, baritone saxophone, E-piano, piano

- Brian Smith / tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute

- Chris Spedding / guitar

- Jeff Clyne / bass, contrabass

- John Marshall / drums, percussion

Guest musicians:

- Kenny Wheeler / trumpet, flugelhorn

- Harry Beckett / trumpet, flugelhorn

- Tony Roberts / tenor saxophone, bass clarinet

- Ron Matthewson / bass

- Chris Karan / percussion

- Keith Winter / synthesizer

Solar Plexus is the third Nucleus album (now titled Ian Carr with Nucleus) and it is clear that a shift has occurred with Carr taking over songwriting duties from Karl Jenkins. The sound therefore is quite different, heavier predisposition to the brassier elements of jazz as well as a hint of experimental tones as the synth heavy "Elements I and II" display and reprised through the course of this recording.

Karl Jenkins was the main composer on NUCLEUS' first two albums, but "Solar Plexus" is 100% Ian Carr. I'll let Ian describe this album for you."I wrote "Solar Plexus" last year with the help of an "Arts Council" grant. It is based on two short themes which are stated at the beginning ("Elements I & II"). The first theme is angular and has a slow crab-like movement : the second theme is direct, simple and diatonic "Changing Times" and "Spirit Level" explore the first theme, and "Bedrock Deadlock" and "Torso" explore the second one. "Snakeships' Dream" tries to fuse both themes".

The big difference for me on this one compared to their first two albums is the bigger horn section. It's the same lineup here but there are 6 guests, 3 of which play brass.

"Elements I & II" is the just over 2 minute opening track. I'm thinking UNIVERS ZERO the first time I heard this dark and haunting soundscape. Synths and bowed bass help in that department. "Changing Times" opens like the sun bursting out from behind the dark clouds. Lots of horns in this very enjoyable track. This is simply a "feel good" song for me. Guitar with bass takes over late to finish the song. "Bedrock Deadlock" is very solemn with aboe and double bass for the first 2 minutes. Guitar, drums and percussion then take over. Sax after 3 1/2 minutes followed by trumpet. So much going on here. This is great ! "Spirit Level" sounds so amazing to start with those dark angular sounds. It then kicks in with bass, horns etc. The flugelhorn throughout is fantastic. Marshall really shines here as well. Ian had this to say about John's drumming."It's like an essay on how to play drums for this kind of music. He's got incredible strength, he's very powerful, yet he has equally incredible sensitivity". Some excellent sax in this song as well.

"Torso" is uptempo with guitar, horns, drums and bass. An outstanding sounding track. Sax solo before 2 minutes. A collage of sounds 4 1/2 minutes in then Marshall starts to solo. "Snakehips' Dream" is the over 15 minute closer. I like this one a lot. It's relaxing with electric piano and other sounds that come and go tastefully. Guitar comes in. I could listen to this all day long. Sax after 4 1/2 minutes. This song has the same main melody throughout.

I like this better than their debut but "We'll Talk About It Later" remains my favourite probably because it sounds a lot like Miles Davis at times. Interesting though that the first three albums really are quite different from one another. I'd like to dedicate this to the memory of Ian Carr who died six years ago. A great loss. I mentioned somewhere else about being surprised to see Ian had guested on one of the NO-MAN albums a few years ago, and at the time I thought "How did they manage to get Ian Carr to play on here". A true legend.

Note:

Ian Henry Randall Carr

Scottish jazz trumpeter, band leader, writer, and composer.

Born: 21 April 1933 in Dumfries, Scotland.

Died: 25 February 2009 in London, England, UK (aged 75).

He was perhaps best known for his group Nucleus which was successful throughout the 1970s, but also his work as one of the two leading members of the eponymous The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet during the 1960s, has in more recent times been much sought after by jazz music collectors for it's unique characteristics.

If you find it, buy this album!