STEVE LACY – Dreams (LP-1975 / Saravah – SH 10058)

Label: Saravah – SH 10058

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

Style: Free Jazz

Recorded at Saravah Studios Paris, May 12-15-1975

Artwork [Cover Art] – Claude Bellegarde

Engineer – Christian Jence

Photography By [Photos] – Bunny Brissett

Producer – Pierre Barouh

Technician [Assistant] – Larry Martin

A1 - The Uh Uh Uh .............................................................. 7:20

A2 - Dreams ......................................................................... 3:05

A3 - The Oil ......................................................................... 9:10

B1 - The Wane ................................................................... 10:00

B2 - Crops ............................................................................ 7:00

Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone, composed

Steve Potts – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone

Derek Bailey – guitar

Jean-Jacques Avenel – bass

Kent Carter – bass

Irene Aebi – voice, cello

Kenneth Tyler – drums, percussion

featuring:

guitar – Boulou Ferré (tracks: A2, B2), Jack Treese (tracks: A2, B2)

Dreams is easily Lacy's greatest moment from the 70s, and the one that sounds, simultaneously, most and least like him.

Recorded at Saravah's studios in Paris in May 1975, Dreams is the fourth of five albums cut for the label by Steve Lacy between 1969 (Roba) and 1977 (The Owl) -- the intervening pair being 1971's Lapis and 1974's Scraps -- and features the soprano saxophonist in the company of his favorite playing partners, altoist Steve Potts, bassists Kent Carter and Jean-Jacques Avenel, guitarist Derek Bailey, drummer Ken Tyler, and not forgetting the composer's partner, Irene Aebi on cello and vocals on the dreamy, almost Debussyesque setting of Brion Gysin's permutational poem "Dreams." For the occasion, the group is joined by Saravah regulars guitarists Boulou Ferre and Jack Treese, who also contributes some spindly banjo to the closing "Crops." It's quintessential Lacy, all relentless harmonic cycles with saxophones locked together a whole- or half-tone apart, but extraordinarily varied in scope nevertheless, running the gamut from the twisted psychedelic funk of "The Uh Uh Uh" to the rolling free folk of "Crops," via the tense, claustrophobic weave of "The Oil." On this, the tough nut of the set, Bailey's pinched Webernian splutters are the perfect foil for the rigorous saxophone dirge, and his volleys of harmonics complement Treese's fingerpicking to perfection in "Crops." And anyone who still doubts Lacy's consummate mastery of his instrument needs only to check out the ease with which he negotiates the ferociously difficult theme in "The Wane."

As the story unfolds one small piece at a time over this LP, the vision of the man comes clearly into view and his true genius is revealed. Lacy saw jazz in the 70s as a way to make sense of the entire world -- a world in transition and fragmentation. His musical view was all-inclusive (Bailey's rock and funk moves on the Dreams album) and sought order using a musical language that would open the doors to dialogue: first with musicians and then with other artists everywhere. The amazing thing is that -- at least in the avant-garde music world -- he succeeded: because everyone there cites him as an influence...........

Enjoy!

If you find it, buy this album!

STEVE LACY SEVEN – Prospectus (2LP-1983)

Label: Hat Hut Records – ART 2001

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: Switzerland – Released: 1983

Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Recorded on 1st (A1, B, C, D2) & 2nd (A2, A3, D1) November 1983 at IRCAM Espace De Projection, Paris.

Credit for Percussion on Side C actually says 'Cyrille Few and his friend'.

Artwork and Complete Design by ART&JAZZ Studio, by VITKO

(Original hat Hut cover included also)

Producer – Pia & Werner X. Uehlinger

Recorded By – Peter Pfister

Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone, composed

Steve Potts – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone

Irene Aebi – cello, violin, voice

Bobby Few – piano

George Lewis – trombone

Jean-Jacques Avenel – bass

Oliver Johnson – drums, percussion

Sherry Margolin (tracks: C, D2) – percussion

Early 80's Larger Steve Lacy group, featuring longtime cohorts Jean-Jaques Avenel on bass and Bobby Few on piano, along with George Lewis, Steve Potts, Irene Aebi and Oliver Johnson. As always, Lacy's brilliant melodicism and remarkable songcraft provide a platform for a colletive of impressive soloists and deft group interplay.

This session from 1983 is the original rare double LP (Hat Hut Rec.-ART2001) and is called the "Prospectus."

The Steve Lacy Sextet sessions with the addition of George Lewis on trombone are truly startling for the reason that they show this band at the absolute peak of its creative and intuitive power. Recorded as a portrait of the "state of things" within the band at the time, it is really no more than that -- and perhaps that's why it looks so large. Lacy's compositional style had been evolving for some time toward larger groups and, by the time the sextet had hit its stride, he was offering his musicians works to play that were originally written for much larger ensembles. On "Stamps" and "Wickets," one hears the arrangement style of Charles Mingus in the foreground; the long, asymmetrical, repetitive foreground lines are shadowed by the rhythm section playing a deep blues that echoes the piano playing of Bobby Timmons. When the horns join in the blues reverie, it's time for pianist Bobby Few to step out and let Lewis hold down the fort. It's blues, blues, and all blues -- though they certainly are a different shade of blues. Next up is the crazy "Whammies," which Lacy claims is based on lines from Fats Navarro. And it is crazy and even unbearable, with all that intensity happening at one time and all those conflicting harmonies, adding up to one big musical mess! But as the album's shining diamonds -- "The Dumps" and "Clichés" -- come into view, it's easy to hear the near telepathic communication among this band's members. Lacy doesn't even have to lead; he only needs to name the tune. At this time in his career, Few was a pianist with no peers; coming from equal parts bop and vanguard jazz, he is the ballast for the group, and all roads lead from him to Lacy and from Lacy into the stratosphere. Lacy and Lewis have a tremendous rapport, particularly on "The Dumps," where they counter and then play each other's solos! As the record closes with the rollicking abstraction that is "Clichés," listeners can feel the closeness of this "chamber" ensemble, even with Lewis in the mix. Both the percussive and rounded edges of the piece offer aspects of listening in a mode seldom heard on jazz records anymore. This record is a bouquet of essences, amplifications, dissonances, and complex melodic invention. It was one of the Steve Lacy Sextet's closest steps to perfection. Highly recommended.

_ Review By THOM JUREK 

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STEVE LACY FIVE – The Way (1979) - 2CD-2004

Label: hatOLOGY – hatOLOGY 2-604

Format: 2 × CD, Album, Reissue, Limited Edition

Country: Switzerland - Released: 2004

Style: Free Improvisation, Free Jazz

Recorded live on 23 January 1979, at Stadttheater Basel, Switzerland

Design [Graphic Concept] – fuhrer vienna

Liner Notes – John Corbett

Mastered By – Peter Pfister

Photography By [Cover Photo] – Thomas Wunsch

Producer – Werner X. Uehlinger

This double-CD reissues the nine numbers from a former double LP, adding three previously unreleased tunes from the same Switzerland concert. The Steve Lacy Five is at its best on scalar-based instrumentals such as the near-classic "Blinks." The many strong solos by Lacy and the highly underrated altoist Potts makes this two-fer of interest for followers of advanced jazz. This was always a well-organized and highly original group.

1-01  Stamps . . . 5:46

1-02  Blinks . . . 10:45

1-03  Troubles . . . 9:59

1-04  Raps . . . 11:31

1-05  Dreams . . . 9:17

2-01  Existence . . . 8:40

2-02  The Way . . . 8:30

2-03  Bone . . . 8:50

2-04  Name . . . 12:57

2-05  The Breath . . . 12:00

2-06  Life On Its Way . . . 11:05

2-07  Swiss Duck . . . 5:53

STEVE LACY – Soprano Saxophone

STEVE POTTS – Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone

IRENE AEBI – Cello, Violin, Voice

KENT CARTER – Double Bass

OLIVER JOHNSON – Drums, Percussion

The great Steve Lacy, recently departed, made many records, but this one captures a great ensemble at the peak of its creative powers. It's a two-CD set from one concert in Basel in 1979, and it's hard to believe that so much great music was played in one sitting.

"Stamps has Lacy's signature angular, repeated (almost minimalist, à la Terry Riley or Steve Reich) phrases that function in the role of the traditional jazz head. Drummer Oliver Johnson plays through the repeated motives with waves of drums and cymbals that subsequently provide a bridge into improvisations that start over an A and D drone. They are both sensitive and bold, modern yet linked to an ancient inner human voice. The band falls back into the repeated motives naturally, ends, and after a very brief pause launches into "Blinks. Here Kent Carter's perfectly calibrated bass playing propels altoist Steve Potts through a gratifying solo. Then Lacy himself takes center stage and delivers a solo with sophisticated lines, growling effects, and minimalist motives building to a roar and then subsiding to a whisper, dovetailing perfectly into Irene Aebi's cello solo.

In "Troubles, we get the rare treat of hearing Steve Lacy's singing voice. Irene Aebi plays the role of the "straight voice against Lacy, who purposely alters each melodic phrase while they both sing the same words. Johnson and Carter provide a broad swing beat for intense, swirling improvisations. "Dreams sets up an impressionistic soundscape, complete with sensitive sound effects. Brion Gysin's words end the piece in a touching, concise way.

Disc two is where the suite "The Way begins. The music, inspired by the text to the "Tao Te Ching, is incredible. "Existence becomes a swinging, chromatically rising bass figure that never fails in energy or inspiration. Irene Aebi may have her detractors, but her vocal performances throughout the suite are really powerful. Indeed, the entire band is incredibly focused and we get to hear more nuance and depth from everyone in a way that we don't experience on the first CD. "Bone starts with a kind of cartoon conga-line rhythm. Again the collective improvisation is breathtaking, but always with the overview of the form in mind.

The final section of the suite, "Life On Its Way, starts with a very sensitive drum solo that segues into the two soprano saxophones playing "off stage and the violin evoking the Chinese erhu. "Life On it's Way draws the listener in as perhaps the most dramatic and narrative piece of the suite, and it ends with what seems like appropriate thoughtfulness. The audience reaction swells, almost as if people quickly realized the incredible journey the suite took them on, and the rhythmic clapping brings on "Swiss Duck, the encore.

The last vocal line from this version of "Bone is "...vitality clings to the marrow, leaving death behind. Lacy's music lives on, leaving death behind. The Way is an easy contender for best reissue of 2005.

_ By FRANCIS LO KEE, June 16, 2005 (AAJ)

If you find it, buy this album!