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!

SLAPP HAPPY with HENRY COW – Desperate Straights (LP-1975)

Label: Virgin – V 2024

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

CD ReR Megacorp – ReR HCSH1 (UK) (2004)

Style: Avantgarde, Jazz Rock, Prog Rock

Recorded at The Manor & Nova Sound Studios, 1974.

Arranged By, Producer – Henry Cow, Simon Heyworth, Slapp Happy

A1 - Some Questions About Hats . . . (1:49)

A2 - The Owl . . . (2:14)

A3 - A Worm Is at Work . . . (1:52)

A4 - Bad Alchemy . . . (3:06)

A5 - Europa . . . (2:48)

A6 - Desperate Straights . . . (4:14)

A7 - Riding Tigers . . . (1:43)

B1 - Apes in Capes . . . (2:14)

B2 - Strayed . . . (1:53)

B3 - Giants . . . (1:57)

B4 - Excerpt from The Messiah . . . (1:48)

B5 - In the Sickbay . . . (2:08)

B6 - Caucasian Lullaby . . . (8:20)

Line-up / Musicians

- Peter Blegvad / guitar, voice

- Lindsay Cooper / oboe, bassoon

- Chris Cutler / drums

- Fred Frith / guitar, violin, xylophone

- John Greaves / bass guitar, piano

- Anthony Moore / piano

- Tim Hodgkinson / clarinet, organ, piano

- Dagmar Krause / voice, wurlitzer

Guest musicians:

- Mont Campbell / French horn

- Nick Evans / trombone

- Mongezi Fezza / trumpet

- Geoff Leigh / flute

- Pierre Moerlen / percussion

Shortly after recording 'Unrest', Henry Cow entered into a merger with label mates Slapp Happy. Slapp Happy comprised Dagmar, a German vocalist who would later win great acclaim for interpretations of Brecht (and sign my copy of this abum), Peter Blegvad, American born but raised and educated in England, played guitar and wrote most of the lyrics and would later contribute the unique strip cartoon Leviathan to the Independent, and Anthony Moore, English pianist who wrote most of the music and who would later work with the post Waters Pink Floyd. Together they produced a kind of skewed pop awash with literary and artistic references. They had recorded 2 albums with Faust, the second of which was re-recorded with session players for Virgin. 2 albums would come from this merger; Desperate Straights (Slapp Happy with Henry Cow) and In Praise Of Learning (Henry Cow with Slapp Happy).

Desperate Straights was the first of the joint ventures to be recorded, and the union of Henry Cow's avant rock with Slapp Happy's warped pop was both challenging and accessible. The majority of the songs were built around a piano/bass/drums accompaniment, with other instruments adding extra colour where needed. Tim Hodgkinson's clarinet is deployed as an instrumental foil to Dagmar's unique voice to superb effect, particularly on the opening song Some Questions About Hats. Elsewhwere, The Owl features Dagmar accompanied solely by horns and Europa has some superb percussion from Pierre Moerlen - all the arrangements are highly original and well thought out. Peter Blegvad takes the lead vocal on Strayed and does a neat pastiche of Lou Reed's drawl. Excerpt From The Messiah is a snippet of Handel as though played by a 70s glam metal band like Slade. There are 2 instrumentals, the title track which is a short, off kilter foxtrot, and the closing track, a lengthy piano/clarinet piece which features the 2 instruments playing scales very slowly. Caucasian Lullaby isn't bad at all, and would have been a superb addition to one of Eno's Obscure label releases, but it is somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the album.

This release is more representative of Slapp Happy than Henry Cow. All of Slapp Happy's albums are worth checking out - this album was released on CD as a twofer with their first album for Virgin, and is superb value if you can find it. If you've ever wondered what a cabaret band from mars would sound like, this album is definitly for you.

Review by Syzygy,

PROG REVIEWER, February 08, 2005



Buy this album!

SLAMFEST 1999 - Live At The Premises, London - (2CD-2000)

Label: Slam Productions – SLAMCD 405
Format: 2 × CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 2000
Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded live at the Premises, London, England, 10 and 11 July 1999.
Design, Producer – George Haslam
Recorded By, Edited By, Mastered By – Dill Katz

This first SLAM CD release for 2000 is a live recording of the two nights of music played at The Premises, London, July 1999 to celebrate the tenth year of SLAM CDs. The line up presents an impressive array of musicians prominent on the British improvising scene - most of which have appeared on previous SLAM releases. The recording is another example of the impressive abilities of soundman Dill Katz. The music by five different groups fills two CDs; the double CD package is offered at the same price as a SLAM single CD.

ARTISTS: Brian Abrahams, Roberto Bellatalla, Jeremy Brown, Lol Coxhill, Gary Curson, Elton Dean, Jim Dvorak, Nick Evans, George Haslam, Jim LeBaigue, Phil Minton, Liam Noble, Howard Riley, Paul Rutherford, Harrison Smith, Keith Tippett.

The artists who participate on this two-CD set, recorded live at the Premises, London July 10 and 11, 1999, read like a who's who of British modern jazz/improvising superstars. Here, legendary saxophonists Elton Dean and Lol Coxhill, trombonist Paul Rutherford, pianist Keith Tippett, vocalist Phil Minton, and others of note perform within various aggregations or subgroups on this rather multifarious affair. Basically, these performances should whet one's musical appetite, whether they are Tippett's sweeping arpeggios and fervent right-hand leads on the piece titled "Careful Driver," or Coxhill, Rutherford, and baritone saxophonist George Haslam's frisky interplay and converging statements on the 19-minute work "CHAR I." Other highlights include: a spirited duet, marked by counterbalancing themes between pianist Howard Riley and alto saxophonist Elton Dean, while "Tuna Up" features trumpeter Jim Dvorak and Phil Minton embarking upon an often humorous journey, thanks in part to Minton's frantic, scat-like vocalise and the twosome's altogether enticing exchanges. Ultimately, there's quite a bit to digest here, as the musicians toggle between modern jazz- style interplay and cunning improvisational tactics, atop richly thematic lyricism and blues- drenched choruses.

_  Review by GLENN ASTARITA



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ELTON DEAN – QED (2000)

Label: Blueprint (Voiceprint) – BP339CD
Format: CD, Album Country: UK - Released: 2000
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 recorded 20.01.00 at Eddie Mander's studio in Stoke Newington, London 
Tracks 3, 5, 6 recorded 17/18/21.01.00 at the Red Rose Club, as part of the 'Wireless' Festival
Artwork by – John Gardiner (Abstract Flight')
Design by – L-Space Design
Mastered by – Dave Bernez

QED features saxophonist Elton Dean in various contexts, from a duet with bassist Paul Rogers to trios, quartets, and a quintet with Jim Dvorak (trumpet), Nick Evans (trombone), Rogers, and Mark Sanders (drums). Other players include Alex Maguire (Hammond organ and piano), Tony Bianco (drums), Paul Dunmall (tenor sax), Simon Picard (tenor sax), and Robert Bellatalla (bass). The seven improvisations were recorded during one studio session and three live dates, all in January 2000. Even though collaborators and configurations change from one track to the next, this set forms a more cohesive (and interesting) whole than Moorsong, another Dean hodgepodge released around the same time on Cuneiform. These are all free improvisations with jazz roots. Highlights include the opening and closing numbers, two energy-filled trios with Maguire and Bianco on which Dean also plays electric piano (a wink to his Soft Machine days?). Bianco's Rashied Ali-inspired drumming and Maguire's funky Hammond playing turn these two tunes into exciting free-form fusion numbers. The horribly titled "Sax.com" is a nice sax quartet with Dean, Dunmall, Picard, and Jason Yarde. It makes a great contrast with "Sheepdogs," the aforementioned duet, where Dean reminds us how soulful his playing can be. The longest track is the quintet improv, "Deep Crease," the most textural of all. QED is a healthy dose of Elton Dean and a release his fans will not want to pass on.

_ by François COUTURE

Elton Dean’s recent associations with Hammond organ specialist Alex Maguire (as heard on HUX’s excellent release Psychic Warrior) have been gradually building over time. QED is one of the first recording dates with Maguire and drummer Tony Bianco that capture a return of sorts to the inspired signpost of Dean’s Soft Machine days. This trio gets two cuts on the recording: the first song, “ Hammond X ” is informed by the ghost of Tony Williams Lifetime as Dean spends time on Fender Rhodes against Maguire’s pensive but effective tones. The trio’s other piece ends the disc, “ New Roads ” which is perhaps a bit more into Brian Auger territory but the trio are playing at breakneck speed to end the recording on a substantial high note. Maguire is retained on piano for two freer excursions with Roberto Bellatalla and Mark Sanders handling the rhythm duties. Their first performance, “ Quartered, ” is a loosely structured piece with Maguire comping against Sander ’ s loose tempo and Bellatalla’s adept anchoring. The latter piece, “ Altored Saint, ” is a saner improvisation with Dean and Maguire introducing an intuitive dialog before the upright bass enters with a few careful brush strokes on the snare. On “ Sax.com ” Dean is joined by three fellow sax men (Paul Dunmall, Simon Picard and Jason Yarde) for a somber English take on San Francisco’s Rova sax quartet. Jim Dvorak and Nick Evans join Dean and Sanders on the longest improv, “ Deep Crease, ” which is the definitive performance on the disc. In summary Dean has rarely delivered anything but high quality collaborations between various configurations across the years.

_ By JEFF MELTON, Published 2005-09-01



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HARRY MILLER'S ISIPINGO – Which Way Now (1975, Re-2006)

Label: Cuneiform Records – Rune 233
Format: CD, Album; Country: US - Released: 2006
Style: Free Jazz,  Free Improvisation, Contemporary Jazz
Recorded at Post-Aula, Bremen, Germany on November 20, 1975.
Coordinator [Release Coordination] – Steven Feigenbaum
Design [Cd Package] – Bill Ellsworth
Painting [Cover Painting] – Ellie Payne; Photography By – Jak Kilby
Producer [Concert] – Gisela Steppat, Volker Steppat
Recorded By – Dietram Köster, Jürgen Kuntze, Klaus Schumacher, Peter Schulze
Remastered By [Tube] – Michael King, Miki Dandy
Technician [Transfer From The Original Tapes] – Christoph Romanowski

Which Way Now features over 70 minutes of music from a beautifully recorded radio concert from November 20, 1975; it sounds as if you are in the room right with the band!
Since Isipingo only released one album during their lifetime, this release dramatically extends their legacy and like Cuneiform's important and historical work with the Brotherhood of Breath, brings this important, hugely enjoyable, nearly-forgotten music to a new audience.

The remarkably large and intersecting jazz and progressive rock community of late-'60s and early-'70s England is enough to give any discographer nightmares. But within that group a few key players came together more often than most, including a contingent which had escaped South Africa's apartheid. Harry Miller was one such artist, an in-demand bassist who appeared on albums by King Crimson, saxophonist Elton Dean's Ninesence and pianist Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath. Miller is underrepresented as a leader, so Which Way Now is a particularly welcome rescued archival live recording, highlighting Miller's considerable skills as composer and bandleader.

Recorded for Radio Bremen in 1975, Which Way Now features Miller's Isipingo sextet. It's a refreshingly vibrant acoustic jazz album, recorded at a time when most of his peers were pursuing the carrot of fusion. Combining traces of his African roots with a more open-ended improvisational aesthetic, it also strongly reflects the influence of jazz icon John Coltrane. Four extended pieces ranging from 15 to 21 minutes show Miller's ability to provide maximum freedom and avoid compromise. Pervasive rhythms that only occasionally dissolve into total freedom also keep them completely accessible.

The performance was recorded less than a month before another South African ex-pat, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, passed away in December, 1975 at only 30. A sharp-toned player who left a small but fine body of work, Feza is perhaps best known for his work on singer/songwriter Robert Wyatt's early records. Here he's at his best on the mid-tempo, modal "Eli's Song, where his own sense of construction combines with a certain abandon. He's matched by Mike Osborne, who may be an altoist, but is clearly informed by Coltrane's assertive stance.

The spirit of Coltrane may loom over this session, but the presence of pianist Keith Tippett takes it to a different place entirely. The best-known and certainly the most prolific player of the bunch, Tippett has always leaned towards more complete freedom. Here he isn't exactly reined in, but he remains within a sphere of smaller diameter, creating an outré space underneath the soloists that, oddly enough, meshes perfectly with Miller and South African drummer Louis Moholo's insistent pulse.

Trombonist Nick Evans' solo on the fiery title track interacts boldly with Tippett's sparse accompaniment, manifesting the kind of chemistry that's honed from years of working together. This shared chemistry amongst the entire sextet is, in fact, what makes Which Way Now so exciting from beginning to end. Whether acting as a tag-team rhythm section partner with Moholo and Tippett or delivering provocative solos, Miller clearly had the makings of a musical giant—which makes it all the more sad then that, like Feza, Miller's life was cut short prematurely in 1983 at the age of 42. Still, Which Way Now is a welcome reminder of just how vibrant the UK improvising scene was—and continues to be.

_ By JOHN KELMAN, Published: August 12, 2006



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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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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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