Label:
Improvising Artists Inc. – RJ-7414
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Japan / Released: 1977
Style:
Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded July
25th 1976 at Yamaha Music Festival, Nemu No Sato, Japan.
Artwork
[Jacket] – Carol Goss
Mixed
By [Mixing Engineer] – David Baker
Photography
By – Y. Yoneda
Producer
– Carol Goss, Paul Bley
Recorded
By [Recording Engineer] – Yoshihiko Kannari
Note:
Japan
Suite is a continuous piece of music, but on LP the order of the two parts was
reversed: "Japan Suite I" in fact is the second part, following
"Japan Suite II" which is first part.
I
have prepared a correct sequence of listening and tags tracks.
A
- Japan Suite I ............................................ 12:47
B
- Japan Suite II ........................................... 19:11
Paul
Bley – grand piano, electric grand piano, written
Gary
Peacock – bass
Barry
Altschul – drums, percussion
Recorded
Midnight July 25th 1976 at Yamaha Music Festival, Nemu No Sato, Japan.
Due
to a long delay which resulted in this concert starting very late, the Japanese
audience was in an obviously surly mood. Paul Bley (on piano and electric
keyboards), bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Barry Altschul reacted by playing
with as much intensity as possible, gradually winning over the crowd. This
33-minute continuous performance is certainly more fiery than many of the other
recordings by the trio and has its beautiful colorful moments.
JAPAN
SUITE is essentially one long piece that had divided to fit onto two sides of a
long-playing record.
While
not as richly recorded as many of his other works, it captures one of Paul
Bley's more telepathic trios. Bley, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Barry
Altschul have a shared history, in various combinations, and all trace roots
back to the same late-'50s influences.
Austere,
yet highly emotive, this piece is like viewing a continuous landscape through a
train window crossing the Japanese countryside. Not only is this a fine example
of Bley's open-ended trio music, it's also an important work within the genre
of free jazz.
Very
nice Japanese pressing!
Enjoy!
If
you find it, buy this album!
