KING CRIMSON – Lizard (LP-1970)

Label: Atlantic – SD 8278

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1970

Style: Prog Rock, Free Jazz

Recorded at Wessex Sound Studios, London, 1970.

Artwork [Inside Marbling] – Koraz Wallpapers

Concept By [Sleeve] – Peter Sinfield

Engineer – Robin Thompson

Mastered By – GP

Painting [Outside] – Gini Barris

Producer, Written-By – Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp

A1 - Cirkus Including Entry Of The Chameleons ......................................... 6:28

A2 - Indoor Games ....................................................................................... 5:38

A3 - Happy Family ........................................................................................ 4:15

A4 - Lady Of The Dancing Water ................................................................. 2:43

LIZARD       

B1 - Prince Rupert Awakes ......................................................................... 4:34

B2 - Bolero - The Peacok's Tale .................................................................. 6:30

B3 - a) The Battle Of Glass Tears Including Dawn Song –

        b) Last Skirmish –

        c) Prince Rupert's Lament .................................................................. 10:55

B4 - Big Top ................................................................................................. 1:05

Words By – Peter Sinfield

Line-up / Musicians

- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric keyboards & devices

- Mel Collins / flute & saxes

- Gordon Haskell / bass guitar & vocals

- Andy McCulloch / drums

- Peter Sinfield / words & pictures

with:

- Keith Tippett / piano & electric piano

- Mark Charig / cornet

- Nick Evans / trombone

- Robin Miller / oboe & cor anglais

- Jon Anderson of YES / vocals on "Prince Rupert Awakes"

_1         LIZARD is perhaps the most "difficult" of the early King Crimson albums, yet, for that very reason, it is also ultimately one of the most rewarding. The third release from Robert Fripp and company sees the band moving in a new and radical direction. The classically-inspired sweeping grandeur and controlled cacophony that typified the first two Crimson LPs has been here largely (but not entirely) replaced by a sound that has its roots much more deeply embedded in jazz.

LIZARD was highly avant-garde and demanding of its audience when it was released in 1970, and it remains a powerfully unique, almost disquieting listening experience today. While IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON's sardonic "Cat Food" may have hinted at the path about to be explored, nothing could have fully prepared fans for the truly bizarre, almost eerie colours of abstract sound paintings like LIZARD's first three songs: "Cirkus," "Indoor Games," and "Happy Family." Much of the credit for the feel of these tracks must be accorded to new vocalist Gordon Haskell, who had supplied the almost ethereal vocals for Poseidon's lovely "Cadence and Cascade." With Greg Lake departed for ELP, Haskell gets the space to reveal a voice of power and depth, which is by turns intimate, theatrical, scornful, fey and raving. The end of "Indoor Games" finds him cackling like a madman, but the delicately pretty "Lady of the Dancing Water" (the disc's most immediately accessible song) sees him don the guise of a sensitive poet-troubadour, paying court to his lady-love on the bank of a laughing stream.

The second half of the vinyl is given to the title suite. The first section of this masterful three-part song cycle features Jon Anderson of Yes on vocals, providing yet another savory flavour for LIZARD's exotic musical mélange. There is less of the jazzy experimentation which was heard on previous tracks; the direction here is more conventionally "progressive rock," with grandiose mellotrons, courtly subject-matter, and classically-oriented arrangements -- at this point almost a welcome respite from (or counter-balance to) the overt strangeness of the first half. The final installment, "Big Top," fades up to repeat the "Cirkus" theme, before diminishing hauntingly away, thus neatly framing this unique work of art. (Indeed, as art, this album is the total package -- the cover artwork is breathtaking, and the Pete Sinfield lyrics, with lines such as "Night, her sable dome scattered with diamonds," are some of the best poetry he has ever written.)

LIZARD may be an acquired taste, but it has stood the test of time as a lustrous example of early progressive rock at its most inventive. It is decidedly not for the faint-of-heart, but it is well worth taking the time to appreciate!

(Review by Peter)

 Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield, Greg Lake & Robert Fripp - King Crimson 1969

 King Crimson 1970 – Lizard

_2         In 1970, King Crimson was an unstable band, that surprisingly managed to produce excellent albums, landmarks in progressive rock. At this point, much of the original band had departed, with the exception of band leader Robert Fripp and lyricist Peter Sinfield. Luckily, they bring in many talented musicians in to round out the band. This lineup only lasted for the recording of LIZARD and never toured. Gordon Haskell is brought on as vocalist/bassist to replace Greg Lake, and does an admirable job. His raspy, brooding vocals fit the material perfectly. Andy McCulloch is competent as drummer, and his presence is felt, giving pace to the often chaotic jazz interludes. The addition of many woodwind and brass players gave King Crimson a much richer, jazzier sound. Keith Tippett's strongly Jazz flavored keys are an added plus (Keith was asked to join the band, but passed). The material found on LIZARD also has a much jazzier edge than its two predecessors, and is also much darker and complex. While it does mark a step towards Jazz-Fusion, that's not to say this is The Soft Machine style free- Jazz; LIZARD is much more composed, and it is still very much in the Progressive Rock camp, with prominent guitars and stereotypical 'epic' progressive lyrics. One gets the feeling Robert Fripp and Sinfield carefully orchestrated this whole album, and it successfully builds a certain (creepy-demented) theme throughout.

LIZARD opens strongly with Cirkus, a frightening track featuring Crimson at their most insane. This track features excellent acoustic guitar from Fripp, as well as dramatic vocals by the underrated Haskell, and wonderfully arranged horns and keyboard flourishes. It alternates perfectly between soft vocal segments, and cacophonous jazz flavored instrumental bridges, creating a true circus atmosphere, with a sinister twist. This is a near perfect early-Crimson track, and shows just how scary these guys could be. The next piece lightens up a bit, featuring a wonderful jazz introduction from the brass section. Haskell's distinctive vocals give the song it's Crimson touch. Overall, it is quite good, but not nearly as interesting as the other tracks found here, and follows a more straight-jazz approach, with occasional Fripp Guitar breaks. Happy Family resumes the dark feel of Cirkus, with eerie distorted vocals, and more guitar and keyboards than on the previous tracks. It also has great flute touches. (note: It is rumored that this track was written by Sinfield about the Beatles' breakup, and many further contend that the figures found on the elaborate record sleeve under the 'I' are the Beatles...This is also one of the best cover's ever on a Crimson album, designed by Sinfield). Side One closes with Lady of the Dancing Water. This represents the obligatory, light acoustic piece on a King Crimson album, and is much in the vein of Cadence and Cascade and I Talk to the Wind. It is very enjoyable and light, providing a brief respite from the insanity surrounding it, but by this point, the formula was getting old for this sort of song. Side Two features the side- long epic, Lizard. The title track is a twenty-three minute suite, with four distinct movements. This piece is one of the most ambitious songs ever attempted by Fripp and Co. It opens with Prince Rupert Awakens. Surprisingly, Jon Anderson of Yes sings vocals on this piece, as Gordon Haskell never finished. This is an excellent touch. Anderson's light, ethereal vocals give the folksy-traditional prog song a definite boost. This song has beautiful melodies, and it is nice to hear Anderson sing semi-coherent lyrics, as oppose to his Yes work. The next two sections, Bolero and The Battle... are Jazz pieces, and feature impressive playing from all members. McCulloch's drums are especially good, giving The Battle... a warlike feel. The horn section is also excellent. These pieces are well done, but a bit drawn out and longwinded. Lizard closes with Big Top, a short reprise of Cirkus, giving the album a fitting close and a cyclical feel.

Many fans do not like this album, and it is not easy to define. LIZARD is King Crimson's darkest, and least accessible album. It is also their farthest removed from traditional rock. It is a progression over their last album, IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON (1970), and it is a shame that this potent lineup didn't last.

This is one of those albums that rewards repeated listens, a definite essential for fans of King Crimson or Jazzier Rock.

Note:

All the tracks on the album are connected, there is no break in between, so I decided not to spoil well blended whole. Now you only have two tracks, the first and second side of the vinyl.

Enjoy, my friends!

If you find it, buy this album!

MIKE OSBORNE: TRIO / QUINTET – Border Crossing (1974) + Marcel's Muse (1977) – CD-2004

Label: Ogun – OGCD 015
Format: CD, Compilation, Digipack; Country: UK - Released: 2004
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
"Border Crossing" recorded live at the Peanuts Club, held at the "Kings Arms", Bishopsgate, London, E.C.2 on 28 September 1974.
"Marcel's Muse" recorded in London on 31 May 1977
Executive-Producer – Hazel Miller
Mastered By – Martin Davidson
Mixed By, Edited By – Keith Beal (tracks: 1 to 4)
Producer – Keith Beal (tracks: 1 to 4), Ron Barron (tracks: 5 to 8)
Recorded By – Ron Eve (tracks: 5 to 18)

The saxophonist Mike Osborne is pungent, sweet-and-sour, occasionally anguished tone might twinge some teeth, and almost all the material here represents a spiky, free-jazz exploration of idiosyncratic originals.

 

In his heyday from the late 1960s to the end of the 70s, alto saxophonist Mike Osborne was one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in Brit-jazz (and when you are talking about a school that included Elton Dean, Evan Parker, Dudu Pukwana, Alan Skidmore, etc., that is really saying something). This is two of his five albums as a leader for Ogun together and complete on one CD. "Although having retired from the music scene for well-documented health-related reasons over 20 years ago*, Osborne is still the greatest alto saxophonist ever to come out of Britain (that of course being separate and distinct from all the great alto players who came into Britain, such as Bertie King, Joe Harriott, Dudu Pukwana, Bernie Living, Ray Warleigh and Ntshuks Bonga) and this album of highlights from one of the trio ’ s many continuous performances at Stockwell ’ s Peanuts Club of the early-to-mid ‘ 70s is the unassailable proof of that assertion. He came out of Jackie McLean and Eric Dolphy via Ornette, but Osborne quickly found and established his own level of intensity, never better documented than here. As the three musicians move from tune to tune, the intensity of the music is stoked up to such a degree that side two of this album in particular is an emotionally exhausting adrenalin rush of music, easily up there with Ornette at the Golden Circle, Osborne, Miller and Moholo existing in absolute and blissful telepathy as they threaten to break all manner of sound and space barriers. This record, more than most in the Ogun catalogue, is urgently in need of reissue.
– (Text is from 2004)

*Note: Illness prevented him working from 1982. He died on 19 September 2007.

...Despite his illness and an increasing spiral of drinking and drug-taking, Ossie was able to hold things together for periods, largely due to the emotional, and financial, support of the ever-loyal Louise. Schizophrenia is perhaps the most destructive of any mental illness. Over time, the personality and the individual’s capacity to function deteriorates usually to the point where long-term care is required. That would prove the case with Mike Osborne. And yet, from 1975 even into the early-80s, Ossie produced some of his most remarkable work. Working with Hazel and Harry Miller and their Ogun record label resulted in Border Crossing with his trio with Harry and Louis and three years later in the quintet album, Marcel’s Muse, featuring Marc Charig on trumpet and the highly talented Jeff Green on guitar. There were also two albums with Stan Tracey, at the time in his most experimental phase. Both Tandem and Live at Bracknell are exceptional pieces of work and better yet are planned for reissue soon...
_ By Duncan Heining



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CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH – Travelling Somewhere (Live-1973) – 2001

Label: Cuneiform Records – Rune 152
Format: CD, Album; Country: US - Released: 2001
Style: Free Jazz, Big Band
Recorded January 19th, 1973 at Lila Eule, Bremen, Germany.
Coordinator [Research And Release Coordination] – Steven Feigenbaum
Design – Bill Ellsworth
Engineer – Dietram Köster
Liner Notes – Mike Fowler
Mastered By [Premastering], Edited By – Matt Murman
Photography By – Jak Kilby
Producer – Peter Schulze

Travelling Somewhere consists of a concert recorded by Radio Bremen (Germany) on January 19, 1973, one week before the Chris McGregor & the Brotherhood of Breath show in Switzerland that would be released on Ogun in 1974 as Live at Willisau.

Personnel : Harry Beckett: trumpet; Mark Charig: trumpet; Nick Evans: trombone; Mongezi Feza: trumpet; Malcolm Griffiths: trombone; Chris McGregor: piano; Harry Miller: bass; Louis Moholo: drums; Mike Osborne: alto sax; Evan Parker: tenor sax; Dudu Pukwana: alto sax; Gary Windo: tenor sax.


BBC Review:

Ex-pat South African pianist McGregor made an immeasurable contribution to British and European jazz in the 1960's and 70's with his Blue Notes, a group of black South African jazz musicians whom the white bandleader hand-picked after hearing them perform at the 1962 Johannesburg Jazz Festival.

Opportunities for a mixed race group in South African being limited, to say the least, McGregor and his crew left their troubled homeland in 1964, and did most of their performing and recording in voluntary exile during the next twenty-five years. Several years after arriving in London with the Blue Notes, McGregor also assembled the Brotherhood of Breath, an ambitious avant garde big band which incorporated various members of the Blue Notes, along with the best of Great Britain's young jazzbos. McGregor struggled to keep the Brotherhood of Breath alive, and it performed sporadically over the years, with a revolving cast of musicians.

This CD documents an exceptional early live performance of the band, when they were at their creative peak. Perhaps because the United States has always been considered the ultimate repository of jazz talent, drummer Louis Moholo, alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana and trumpeter Mongezi Feza have never really received critical attention commensurate with their abilities, but they were arguably as good as many of their more famous American counterparts. Put them together in a band with the young Evan Parker, Mark Charig, Gary Windo, Mike Osborne, Harry Beckett and Malcolm Griffiths (among others) and give them the energetic direction and compositional abilities of McGregor, and you have something very special.

Later editions of the Brotherhood might have been more sleek and refined, particularly in their studio incarnations, but there's an exuberant energy and density to these 1973 performances, recorded for Radio Bremen in front of a live audience, which at times reaches an almost ecstatic intensity. It's almost as if the Sun Ra Arkestra had been reconstituted in a parallel African reality.

Several pieces, particularly Pukwana's "MRA" and McGregor's "Do It," have the infectious and distinctive township highlife sound, the product of the cross-pollination of jazz and African dance rhythms. A seemingly simple, riff-based piece like "MRA' allows group members considerable latitude, as they improvise against the dominant riffs and develop counter-rhythms and melodies seemingly at will. The ragged collective improvisation periodically dissolves into chaos, only to reinvent itself and rise triumphantly from its own wreckage.

McGregor's "Restless" opens with the leader stating the quirky, Monkish theme on piano, and then showcasing Harry Beckett's eloquent trumpet and later, Pukwana's fiery alto sax. McGregor's "Ismite is Might" has the whole band wailing a slow, sonorous gospel dirge, which soon segues into "Kongi's Theme," a march-like piece with a stomping, second-line New Orleans beat. McGregor's "Wood Fire" starts with another Monkish figure, but soon extends into a freeform harmolodic mingling of multiple melody lines and patterns, making it clear that McGregor had absorbed some important ideas from Ornette Coleman. The title piece, another of McGregor's compositions, is primarily Pukwana's vehicle, as the band establishes a traditional swing groove with Pukwana's alto skittering and screeching over the top. Imagine Jimmy Lyons holding down the first alto chair in the Count Basie band, and you'll have some idea of this track's peculiar charms.

Cuneiform is to be commended for rescuing these tapes from the Radio Bremen archives, as the band's performance here is not just an important historical document, but even thirty-some years after the fact, a representation of some of the most vital and life-affirming big band jazz ever played by anyone, anywhere.

_  By Bill Tilland, 2002
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/2bdp



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MARK CHARIG with KEITH TIPPETT and ANN WINTER – Pipedream (LP-1977)

Label: Ogun – OG 710
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: UK - Released: 1977
Style: Free Improvisation
Recorded on 14 and 15 January 1977 at Stephen's Church, Southmead, Bristol.
Artwork By [Front Cover Painting] – Mick Rooney
Re-Design (pages 2,3 and 4) by ART&JAZZ Studio, By – VITKO
Photography By – Yuka
Mixed and edited in Hastings by Keith Beal, Mark Charig
Producer – Keith Beal, Mark Charig

Description: Mark Charig has been one of the major exponents of the cornet on the British and European jazz scene. Additional to his jazz credentials, Charig s greatest public recognition was afforded through his participation with King Crimson on their Lizard and Islands albums, and then on their fi nal studio album Red . Charig was self-taught and started his musical career playing in various blues and soul outfi ts. One of his fi rst major gigs was a tour backing Stevie Wonder in 1966. Then at the 1968 Barry Summer school he met Keith Tippett, and fellow students Elton Dean and Nick Evans. The four musicians formed the core of the Keith Tippett Sextet, and were to be reunited in many of Tippett and Dean s groups and ensembles over the years. The Sextet gigged regularly until the autumn of 1970, when it was absorbed into the larger-scale Centipede, recording two acclaimed albums - You Are Here... I Am There and Dedicated To You, But You Weren t Listening , both released in 1970. Tippett, Dean, Charig and Evans all took part in the expanded Just Us, which evolved into Elton Dean s Ninesense, and Keith Tippett s Ark. Charig was also involved in the experimental septet line-up of Soft Machine in late 1969, and guested on the Fourth album. He was a mainstay of Chris McGregor s Brotherhood Of Breath from 1970-77, and has also played in the London Jazz Composers Orchestra since its inception. By the late Seventies, his work base had moved to the Continent, in particular Germany, where he collaborated with Fred Van Hove in MLA (with Radu Malfatti and Paul Rutherford) and ML DD 4 (with Gunter Sommer and Phil Wachsmann), and Alexander von Schlippenbach s Globe Unity Orchestra. In 1983, he also took part in French bass player Didier Levallet s Scoop ensemble.

Review:

An album that I hesitated to add in my recent overview of new vocal avant jazz albums, but that I kept for a later occasion for several reasons : it requires special attention, and it is not new. The trio is Mark Charig on cornet and tenor horn, Keith Tippett on organ, zither, piano, voice and bells, and Ann Winter on voice and bells...
...
The album is absolutely exceptional. The six tracks are improvisations, performed in St. Stephen's Church in Bristol on some cold January days in 1977. The resonance of the church provides the ideal context for this music, that is solemn, full of drama, especially when the organ is the harmonic instrument, as on the opening track and on "Pavanne". On the other tracks, when Winter sings, Tippett plays the zither, giving the music an oriental zen-like openness. Ann Winter's singing is absolutely phenomenal. Sure, she improvises, without words, but the way she integrates with the music is stunning. On the second track "Ghostly Chances", I had to re-listen several times to discern her sustained high tones from Charig's trumpet. The fourth piece, "Ode To The Ghost Of An Improvised Past", is my favorite, with Tippett joining Winter's singing: notes are sparse, but space is everywhere, soothing and destabilising at the same time, leading to an inviting sense of disorientation.

Charig is great, filling the church with his warm and clear tones, full of wonderment and surprise, giving it the spiritual context of the church setting, which not only offers the acoustics, but also the atmosphere. The same holds true for Tippett's organ, which he keeps away from the powerful bombast you may fear from the instrument. On the title track, "Pipedream", he manages to subdue the instrument to a long sonoric backdrop for Charig's bluesy soloing...
...
Apparently, the original LP sounded terrible, and was recorded with a tape recorder, and edited "with scissors and sticky tape'", as Charig describes in the liner notes. We can only be happy that technology managed to rescue the music.

This is by any measure a powerful piece of music. It's more than thirty years old, yet today it sounds like part of today's musical environment. It's a testimony to the vision of these three musicians that even after three decades this album still sounds so relevant and powerful.

_ By Stef (FreeJazz)
http://www.freejazzblog.org/2010/05/mark-charig-with-keith-tippett-and-ann.html



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KEITH TIPPETT'S ARK – Frames: Music For An Imaginary Film (2LP-1978)

Label: Ogun – OGD 003 / 004
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: UK - Released: 1978
Style: Free Jazz, Fusion, Big Band, Jazz-Rock
Recorded 22, 23 & 24 May 1978 at Wessex Studios, London N5.
Design [Sleeve], Photography By – Dick Whitbread
Engineer – Gary Edwards
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeremy Spencer-Green
Executive-Producer – Keith Beal
Producer – Hugh Hopper
This music was commissioned by Ogun Publishing Co. and was first performed at The Roundhouse, London on 21 May 1978.
(Vinyl Rip)

Keith Tippett's Ark - Frames: Music For An Imaginary Film

Keith Tippett - Piano, Harmonium
Stan Tracey - Piano
Elton Dean - Alto Sax, Saxello
Trevor Watts - Tenor & Soprano Saxes, Alto Flute
Larry Stabbins - Tenor & Soprano Saxes, Flute
Mark Charig - Trumpet, Small Trumpet, Tenor Horn, Kenyan Thumb Piano
Henry Lowther - Trumpet
Dave Amis - Trombone
Nick Evans - Trombone
Maggie Nicols - Voice
Julie Tippett - Voice
Steve Levine - Violin
Rod Skeaping - Violin
Phil Waschmann - Electric Violin, Violin
Geoffry Wharton - Violin
Alexandra Robinson - Cello
Tim Kramer - Cello
Peter Kowald - Bass, Tuba
Harry Miller - Bass
Louis Moholo - Drums
Frank Perry - Percussion

Julie Tippett,  Keith Tippett, Maggie Nicols

Tracklist:

Side A
1 Frames Part One  (20:07)
Side B
2 Frames Part Two  (19:06)
Side C
3 Frames Part Three  (23:52)
Side D
4 Frames Part Four  (20:37)


Several years after his great success with the huge ensemble Centipede and its Septober Energy release, pianist Keith Tippett returned to the large-group format with his newly formed Ark. This band, a mere 22 strong, was less rock-influenced and arguably more "mature" musically, that is, quite capable of handling the diverse demands placed on it, which covered ground from richly arranged written portions to incisive free improvisation. One of the motifs tying this work (which is a single composition spread over four sides of the original LP) is the dual presence of vocalists Maggie Nicols and Julie Tippetts (the latter possessing one of the truly beautiful voices in avant-garde jazz), their twinned vocal lines serving as fine structures around which to erect woollier passages. Also as before, Tippett deploys small groups within the larger ensemble, for example a percussion duet that's soon joined by violin and soprano saxophone. These little "nuggets" within the orchestra provide a healthy degree of differentiation as well as connecting nodes between more fully massed sections. As such, "Frames" is essentially suite-like, with anthemic melodies like the one that begins side three abutting jagged, free lines that dissolve into group interplay standing alongside pulsing minimalist patterns. It's not really so much about the soloists, although there is much fine individual playing to be found, notably the leader's piano (and that of Stan Tracey), the alto work of Trevor Watts, and the bass playing of the late, great Harry Miller. Listeners who have enjoyed Barry Guy's London Jazz Composers Orchestra or Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath will find themselves right at home here. Recommended.

_ By BRIAN OLEWNICK



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KEITH TIPPETT SEPTET – A Loose Kite In A Gentle Wind Floating With Only My Will For An Anchor (1986)

For friends, Andy and ceedee - (Vinyl Rip)

Label: Ogun – OGD 007/008
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Gatefold; Country: UK - Released: 1986
(Reissued CD: 2009) 
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded live at the Barnfield Theatre Exeter, on 25th October 1984.
Concert organizers: Nod Knowles and Martin Phillips
Design, Layout – Hazel Miller, Keith Tippett
Re-Design by ART&JAZZ Studio
Edited By – Keith Beal, Keith Tippett
Photography By – Fabio Nosotti, Geoff Collins, Jak Kilby, Julie Tippetts
Producer – Eric Wetherell, Keith Beal, Keith Tippett

Keith Tippet's Septet with Larry Stabbins, Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Tony Levin, Paul Rogers and Mark Charig, was put together in 1984 to play a new suite inspired by the writing of Maya Angelou. This obscure gem is the only document of the project, from a live performance in Exeter in 1984, here issued by Ogun to bring this remarkable project to light.

BBC Review:
One of the best jazz reissues of the year. - ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/z363 )

Keith Tippett's brilliance as both composer and pianist has long been established through a dazzling back catalogue of long-form epics such as Septober Energy and Frames as well as more intimate and impressionistic outfits such as Ovary Lodge and Mujician.

Over the last forty years his dogged determination to continue creating exciting and ingenious musical settings have been captured in an occasional series of records whose availability has always been subject to the often indifferent whims of the marketplace.

Originally issued in 1986 as a double album, A Loose Kite... finally makes its CD debut and allows us to relive a truly superb septet getting their collective teeth into Tippett's intricate charts and sweeping arrangements.

Drawing conceptual inspiration from writer Maya Angelou, his effusive settings provide his players with both the space and the springboard from which to launch a series of invigorating broadsides.

Mark Charig's fiery brand of piquant lyricism on the cornet blasts and bellows with a tireless invention, whilst trombonist Nick Evans' constantly pushes the music like some belligerent bouncer intent picking a fight.

Larry Stabbins and Elton Dean sax playing is propelled into a series of splenetic duels across the length and breadth of this four-part suite, with Tippett and rhythm section of Paul Rogers (bass) and Tony Levin (drums) providing the contextual glue that holds it all together.

The album portrays the yin and yang of Tippett's sure-handed discipline and his artistic restlessness. His love of a good tune allied to his capacity to mix it up with edgy, free-form expressiveness makes this one of the best jazz reissues of the year.

_by Sid Smith (2009-06-10)

Always cool and always brilliant, my favorite, Larry Stabbins



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