Jazzis Web Shop News 02/2008

ALBUM

Today’s addition is the next album by one of my all time favorite British musicians Michael Garrick:

Pianist / composer Michael Garrick has been an icon of British Jazz for the last five decades. His exquisite touch on the keyboards, deep lyricism and unparalleled inventiveness as a composer characterize his entire legacy over time, which has very little rivalry or precedence. This album presents Garrick leading a sextet (Garrick – piano and harpsichord, Ian Carr – trumpet, Art Themen – flute, clarinet and sax, Dave Green – bass, Trevor Tomkins – drums and the divine Norma Winstone – vocals) and on several tracks the ensemble is expanded to a nonet with the edition of Don Rendell – sax, Jim Philip – flute, clarinet and sax and Coleridge Goode on second bass. Norma’s vocal parts – both when singing lyrics and improvising, using her voice as an instrument – are absolutely stunning and completely innovative. Her presence brings the music to another dimension, adding colors and enhancing the overall effect tremendously. She would become a permanent member of Garrick’s group for a while and their recordings together are some of the best moments of the British Jazz of that period. As usual, Garrick wrote all the music and this time also the lyrics used here. His formal education was after all English Literature, and hence his sensitivity to language and poetry and his writing abilities are no surprise. Beautifully melodic and yet constantly challenging, this is a superb album, which sound today every bit as great as it did at the time it was recorded. A must!

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Here is the next album on the Vocalion label, owned by sound engineer Michael Dutton, which revives the British Jazz and Jazz-Rock scene of the late 1960s / early 1970s – the most glorious and creative period in the country’s cultural development. Today’s addition is the first album by one of my all time favorite British musicians Michael Garrick:

Pianist / composer Michael Garrick has been an icon of British Jazz for the last five decades. His exquisite touch on the keyboards, deep lyricism and unparalleled inventiveness as a composer characterize his entire legacy over time, which has very little rivalry or precedence. Garrick first came to prominence on the London Jazz scene in the early 1960s, when he took part in the series of “Poetry and Jazz” concerts organized by poet Jeremy Robson (for more details please read the “Poetry And Jazz In Concert” album description). The quintet, which recorded this album, was established as a result of these concerts, when the Michael Garrick Trio (Garrick – piano, Coleridge Goode – bass and Colin Barnes – drums) were joined by two exceptional players - saxophonist Joe Harriott and trumpeter Shake Keane – the first black musicians on the London Jazz scene. Both Harriott and Keane were virtuoso players and their contributions were instrumental in shaping the exceptionally high level of musicianship, which characterized the entire generation of Jazz players at the time. The music, all composed by Garrick, is also incredible – beautifully crafted and full of lyricism and intrinsic beauty. There are very few Jazz composers around who can write such clever and delightful tunes, often based on very simple basic ideas. This music just has a kind of natural flow, which makes everything fall into place in a most inherent way. This reissue adds to the original album an ultra-rare EP recorded by the quintet, called “Anthem”, where the composer combines Jazz with sacred / liturgical music. Using an organ and choir to create the connection between the two musical entities, the musicians create an amazing amalgam of the two. Considering the time this recording was done, Garrick certainly proves he is prepared to challenge any convention head on and come out a champion. Overall an outstanding album of rare beauty, an absolute must to any Jazz lover on this planet.

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Here is the next album on the Vocalion label, owned by sound engineer Michael Dutton, which revives the British Jazz and Jazz-Rock scene of the late 1960s / early 1970s – the most glorious and creative period in the country’s cultural development. Today’s addition is a great album featuring John Surman, Alan Skidmore and Tony Oxley:

Saxophonists John Surman and Alan Skidmore and drummer Tony Oxley are three of the most distinguished representatives of the burgeoning British Jazz scene in the late 1960s and 1970s. Each of them has a most impressive recorded legacy from that period and of course in the years to follow. This album, initially released in 1972, collects five stunning and previously unreleased outtakes, recorded at several sessions involving these three musicians, most of which originate from the sessions for Skidmore’s debut album. Each and every one of these tracks is absolutely superb, and considering the fact these are outtakes, this is ample evidence of the unbelievably high standard of the music at the time. The first track presents the unaccompanied saxophone trio comprising of Alan Skidmore (tenor), Mike Osborne (alto) and John Surman (baritone), which would later become known as S.O.S. and record albums under that name. On the next track the lineup is expanded to an octet with the addition of Harry Beckett (flugelhorn), Malcolm Griffith (trombone), John Taylor (piano), Harry Miller (bass) and Alan Jackson (drums). The third track is actually recorded in two parts, with a personnel change between the two parts: part one is a quartet (Surman, Taylor, Miller & Jackson), that features a rare appearance of Surman on piano, and part two a quintet (Skidmore, Wheeler, Taylor, Miller & Oxley) introducing Kenny Wheeler (trumpet) and Tony Oxley (drums). The remaining two tracks are recorded by the same quintet. Surman composed three of the pieces and his fellow saxophonist John Warren composed another one. The music is absolutely divine from start to finish in every respect – the compositions, the solos and the interplay are all breathtaking. My personal favorite is the incredible work by Oxley, by far one of the most innovative and inventive drummers in Jazz. Oxley’s approach at the time is somewhat similar to the incredible work done by the young Tony Williams, when he joined the Miles Davis quintet. Overall this is one the finest examples of British Jazz ever recorded and an absolutely essential document of the era.

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Here is the next album on the Vocalion label, owned by sound engineer Michael Dutton, which revives the British Jazz and Jazz-Rock scene of the late 1960s / early 1970s – the most glorious and creative period in the country’s cultural development. Today’s addition is an album by the legendary Mike Westbrook:

Pianist / bandleader / composer Mike Westbrook is a true icon of the British Jazz scene for over four decades. The immense body of work Westbrook produced over the years parallels the achievements of many Classical composers and in fact should be considered as contemporary Classical music, although he is mostly associated with the Jazz genre. In the late 1960s / 1970s Westbrook concentrated mostly on his work with Jazz Big Bands, which he led and composed the music for. He usually composed large orchestral suites, based on conceptual or literary content, again similar to the modus operandi of Classical composers. His legendary Big Bands / orchestras comprised of the creme de la creme of the British Jazz musicians active at the time and were one of the most fascinating grounds of musical experimentation. Later on Westbrook would work mainly in smaller ensembles, which include his wife the singer Kate Westbrook, producing a series of wonderful compositions often similar in spirit to the work of composer Kurt Weill and often involving interpretation of European poetry and other literary works. This album presents a song cycle dedicated to the poems by Caroline Menis, and features Britain’s greatest female Jazz vocalist Norma Winstone. The band consists of saxophonists Mike Osborne, John Warren and George Khan, trumpeter Dave Holdsworth, trombonists Malcolm Griffiths and Paul Rutherford and a rhythm section: Chris Spedding – guitar, Mike Westbrook – piano, Harry Miller – bass and Alan Jackson – drums, all stellar Jazz musicians. Of course Westbrook’s music is never trivial and requires some serious listening to be truly appreciated, but the intellectual effort is richly rewarded. This reissue includes a super-rare single released at the time to promote the album. Timeless stuff and a must to any true Jazz lover - most warmly recommended.

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This month is dedicated mostly to the releases on the Vocalion label, owned by sound engineer Michael Dutton, which revives the British Jazz and Jazz-Rock scene of the late 1960s / early 1970s – the most glorious and creative period in the country’s cultural development. Today’s addition is a bit “outside” of that range and brings an earlier album by saxophonist Don Rendell:

Saxophonist / composer Don Rendell is a prominent figure on the UK Jazz scene for over 5 decades. Since his earliest recordings in the mid-1950s and well into the 2000s, his unmistakable tone and total control of his instrument have been his trademark. Although mostly known for his role as a co-leader of the Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet, one of Britain’s most innovative and brilliant Jazz ensembles of the late 1960s, over the years he recorded hundreds of sessions as sideman and leader. This album brings back to life his second LP recorded in 1958 (the first, called “Meet Don Rendell” was a 10-inch LP recorded 3 years earlier). The bonus tracks include two EP recordings, one form 1955 and the other from 1959. At the time these sessions were recorded the UK Jazz scene was strongly influenced by American Jazz. Rendell was a member of the legendary Ted Heath and Stan Kenton orchestras and toured along with Gerry Mulligan and the Modern Jazz Quartet, which gave him ample opportunity to hear the Masters and learn from them. By the time he formed the sextet that recorded this album Rendell was a seasoned musician and knew exactly what he wants to do. The music includes four original compositions by the sextet members (two of which are Rendell’s) and six standards. The arrangements are very clever and often quite different from the usual approach at the time, being an early sign of the new way the British musicians were about to treat the US Jazz tradition. The performances are spotless and inspired and overall this is a most enjoyable piece of great music, somewhere between Swing, Cool and Hard Bop. Most warmly recommended.

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