Jazzis Web Shop News 03/2008

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It’s great to see the wonderful French small label Soleil Zeuhl back with not one but four new releases. Here is the third of those:

French sextet Setna, led by drummer Nicolas Candé, who also composes all the music, is one of the most interesting new ensembles on the local scene. After a couple of years of buzz and anticipation, their debut album is finally here and it was well worth waiting for. Fronted by a superb female singer Natacha Jouët, they deliver some great music here, which combines Prog, Jazz, Ambient and slight Zeuhl influences, creating a magic atmosphere. The music is basically a long suite, divided into parts, but meant to be a continuous piece of music. Two keyboards players (one playing moog and both playing the Fender Rhodes – one of my favorite instruments with a immediately distinguishable tone), soprano saxophonist and a bass player complete the lineup, but they also employ four guest musicians on some of the tracks. The closest musical association would be Soft Machine (at their best) with female vocals. This is definitely one of the best debut albums I’ve heard recently and one can only hope they will continue whatever was started here with future surprises. There is something here for every lover of good music so I’m not confining my recommendation to any specific genre, just grab it and enjoy! A great addition to the splendid Soleil Zeuhl catalog as well as any decent record collection.

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Here is the next new addition on the wonderful Sunbeam Records:

Scottish guitarist / singer / songwriter G. F. Fitz-Gerald recorded his only album with a bunch of excellent musicians, including some legendary figures like singer Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention), tabla virtuoso Sam Gopal, sax and flute player Geoff Leigh and many others. The album was a complete commercial failure at the time of its release, disappearing entirely from the market, only to be remembered by a very few people who ever heard it as a gem of great interest. Finally after so many years the album was finally reissued, for all of us to enjoy. Fitz-Gerald moved on in the meantime into experimental improvised music (see his album with Lol Coxhill) and never recorded in the studio again. The album lost nothing of its original charm and magic and after all these years it’s still an absolute gem. Resembling the efforts of groups like Comus and perhaps Third Ear Band, this is a completely zany, funny, crazy, wonderful mixture of Psychedelics, Jazz, early Improvised Music and Folk. As usual with such mixtures, it is absolutely beyond any specific genre and placing it under Progressive Rock is the best I can do. I really recommend to everybody to try and get hold of a copy of this – it very well might eventually become your favorite album – you never know. Brilliant stuff!

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Here is the next new addition on the wonderful Sunbeam Records:

Australian born saxophonist / flautist composer Ray Warleigh was one of the busiest musicians on the British Jazz scene in the late 1960s. He was not only playing at the regular Jazz venues around London, but was also a member of the backup group of singer Scott Walker, who was at the peak of his popularity at the time. Walker, although extremely successful as a Pop artists, had a keen musical ear and was trying to get away from the sugary Pop image by employing some of the best Jazz musicians at the time In his band, which was led by no other than the legendary Ronnie Scott. Walker used his influence with his label (Philips) to offer a recording opportunity to some of the young and extremely talented musicians in the band, which led to the recording of this debut album by Ray Warleigh. Warleigh would become famous later for playing on album by the top Rock start like Nick Drake, Elton John, U2, Paul McCartney and many more. The format chosen for this album was “Jazz & strings”, which suited Warleigh’s superbly clear and lyrical style perfectly. The chosen material (all standards) was beautifully arranged for a large string orchestra and a Jazz rhythm section, which included some of the best British Jazz players at the time, like Gordon Back on piano, Kenny Napper on bass and Terry Cox on drums. The resulting album is a stunning debut, beautifully executed by all the musicians involved, and showing Warleigh to be a world class player, who can improvise freely and yet always stay within the melodic line. Jazz & strings albums have a tendency to fall into the “land of saccharine” very easily, but fortunately this is well avoided here, producing a most enjoyable Jazz album full of integrity and showmanship. It’s great to have this forgotten gem back in circulation.

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Today’s new addition is something I’ve been waiting for to appear for quite a while. Finally the wonderful Sunbeam Records released it on CD and it’s a real pleasure to be able finally to offer it to others:

Pianist / composer Mike Taylor was the most enigmatic figure on the British Jazz scene in the 1960s. His genius was almost completely unknown to most and just a handful of close friends / musicians had the opportunity to work with him and hear his music. His eccentric personality, which bordered on the mentally unstable and his tragic death at a ridiculous young age cut his career short, leaving a legacy of just two albums, of which this is the first. Anybody listening to this album will surely realize that this is one of the most daring and earliest modern British Jazz recordings and it parallels (in time and complexity) to the most advanced Avant Garde Jazz experiments happening across the Atlantic. Taylor’s unprecedented and unconventional approach to music was so ahead of its time that it’s truly mind-boggling. The quartet playing on this recording includes Taylor on piano, Dave Tomlin on soprano saxophone, Tony Reeves on bass and Jon Hiseman on drums (the last two were of course to form the band Colosseum a few years later). The sound of the quartet is somewhat similar to John Coltrane’s legendary quartet, but Taylor plays quite differently than McCoy Tyner of course. The music includes three Jazz standards (on what used to be Side A) and three original compositions by Taylor (on Side B). The treatment of the standards is an absolute hair-raising experience, with Taylor de-composing / de-structuring the original harmony and re-assembling the pieces together in a completely new way. His original compositions are awesome as well, exposing a new musical universe. The entire album is a knockout from start to finish and listening to it over 40 years after it was recorded should still produce Goosebumps on every sensitive listener’s skin. BTW people unaware of Jon Hiseman’s early Jazz days should check out his recording with another great British pianist Howard Riley on Howard’s debut album “Discussions”. Taylor was about to record only one more album, called simply “Trio”, with Jon Hiseman and Jack Bruce on bass (Bruce was very much involved with the British Jazz scene before his adventure with Cream – see Jack’s debut album “Things We Like”), who was a friend of Taylor, as were the other members of the Graham Bond Organization. Also it’s really strange that Taylor’s fate was in many ways similar to that of Bond’s, both ending their lives in a suicide / accident, following a long period of mental instability. This album is a central piece of the puzzle forming the birth of modern British Jazz and no serious follower of that scene can afford not to have this album in his collection. Beyond essential!

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Here is the next addition on the fabulous Vocalion label:

Keyboardist / composer / arranger Nick Ingman was one of the most important arrangers on the UK music market in the 1970s. As part of the Production Company run by ex-EMI stuff producers George Martin and Norrie Paramor, he arranged albums for some of Britain’s most famous Pop and Rock stars. In parallel he released albums with his own compositions, which had a strong Jazz influence. Ingman studied with bassist / composer Graham Collier, who deeply influenced his approach to music, as well as at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. This is the last of the seven solo albums Ingman recorded and is the most Jazz influenced of them all. It’s a masterpiece of arrangement, which employs a large Big Band / Orchestra and a group of first rate session musicians and Jazz soloist. Ingman composed six of the eleven tracks on this album. Beautifully recorded and performed, this is a prime example of instrumental music, which is extremely difficult to categorize. The closest I can come up with is orchestral Jazz-Rock Fusion. Great stuff!

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Back to the fabulous Vocalion releases, hoping to finish the lot without further interruptions:

Canadian born saxophonist / composer John Warren and British Jazz giant John Surman were “soul brothers” in many respects: both played primarily the baritone saxophone, both composed fabulous modern Jazz and both played together on many of the period’s pivotal albums. This joint effort was the culmination of their work together, which remains as one of the greatest European Jazz albums of all times. Warren composed all the music, which includes four shorter pieces and the extended five-part suite, which gives the album its title, all performed by a Big Band, comprising of the creme de la creme of British Jazz musicians at the time. It includes trumpeters Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett, sax players: Mike Osborne, Stan Sultzmann, Alan Skidmore, John Surman and John Warren, pianist John Taylor, bass players: Harry Miller and Barre Phillips and drummers: Alan Jackson and Stu Martin (and other less known players). The compositions, arrangements, orchestration and performances are all stellar from start to finish and the overall quality of the music is completely outstanding and miles ahead of any competition. It is interesting to compare this album with any Big Band recording made at the same time in America and see that the Brits left their American counterparts aeons behind by that time. I have been harshly criticized many times (by Americans of course) for saying that although Americans invented Jazz, Europeans perfected it. Anybody listening to this album and still not admitting this to be true must be completely deaf. To me this is a perfect album, one of very few that deserves to be called “perfect” in every respect. Beyond essential!

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Another break in the Vocalion releases to add a new Polish Jazz album by my friend Zbigniew Wegehaupt:

Polish bassist / composer Zbigniew Wegehaupt is a late bloomer. Although his phenomenal bass performances have earned him the title of the best and most reliable player on the local scene and a job as sideman in the consistently best ensembles over the years – a status many players would be proud and honored to hold – his career as a leader took a quantum jump only about four years ago with the release of his second solo recording, the eponymous “Zbigniew Wegehaupt Quartet”. His debut album “Sake” was recorded in 1983 – 21 years earlier. Since his ability as a player is already well established, Wegehaupt now concentrates on his composing duties. Since the last album unearthed some of his work, which was sitting in the drawer for a while, this new album is all about presenting his new compositions. It’s a real pleasure for me to admit that he stands up to the challenge with grace and glory. The album includes a set of great tunes, quite different from each other, but all prime examples of contemporary Jazz at its best. They are interesting on both the melodic and the rhythmic planes, with clever structures, which leave space for solos but emphasize the ensemble unity. The quartet, which performs the music, is a perfect vehicle for this music: Wegehaupt on bass, Jerzy Malek on trumpet, Marcin Masecki on piano and the new member, Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz. Each of these players excels in his area: Malek has a beautiful tone and deep lyricism, Masecki is a phenomenal pianist with outstanding technique (both play on the previous album as well) and Ravitz is completely unique with his complex polyrhythmic approach, which extends way beyond keeping time. Although Wegehaupt is my friend, I’m confident that my assessment of this album is fairly objective and therefore I can easily – and with a clear conscience – recommend it to every Jazz lover around. Give it a try and see that great music is still being made today. Tota(l) satisfaction guaranteed!

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Here is the next addition from the new batch of Vocalion additions, which are just phenomenal:

The title of the debut album by saxophonist / composer Alan Skidmore is indeed appropriate for the occasion, as this is a recording of such beauty and excellence, that is happens extremely rarely. Alan, son of veteran British Jazz figure Jimmy Skidmore, earned his own reputation by storming the modern British Jazz in the late 1960s. He participated in numerous pivotal recordings as sideman, and his debut turned out to be just it – the absolutely perfect example of what was happening at the time. If I had to select just one album, which represents the British scene at that time, this would be it. Skidmore on tenor sax leads a perfect quintet with Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, John Taylor on piano, Harry Miller on bass and Tony Oxley on drums (yes they were John Surman’s rhythm section as well). Of the six exquisite compositions present, two are by John Surman, and the rest by Tony Oxley, John Warren, John Taylor and Alan Skidmore, each contributing one composition. Whatever I’ll say here does not come even close to listening to this music, so do yourself a favor and grab a copy – this is something I’ve been listening to for almost 40 years and it still grabs me each and every time, so it must be really special. Essential stuff!

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A short break in the new batch of Vocalion additions to introduce a couple of albums on the splendid Hux label and especially this new release, which brings to life an album hoped would be released for years:

Saxophonist / flautist / composer Harold McNair has been one of the greatest (and sadly unsung) heroes of the British Jazz scene. A brilliant instrumentalist he was one of the busiest studio musicians and took part in countless recording sessions, including those by famous Rock acts. He was a permanent member of Donovan’s group and recorded many albums with him. Of course he was also active on the Jazz scene, both as a leader and sideman. He recorded several albums, of which this is the last released while he was still alive, shortly before his life was tragically cut short by lung cancer at a ridiculously young age. His last eponymous album was released posthumously. This beautiful album was recorded with Harold’s musician friends and admirers, all great stars and Jazz heroes themselves: Keith Tippett and Alan Branscombe on piano, Colin Green on guitar, Rick Grech and Danny Thompson on bass and Terry Cox and Tony Carr on drums. Harold plays saxes and flute – my preferred instrument in his hands. The music has a slight Caribbean feel, and includes one original composition by Harold. It’s difficult for me to shed the nostalgic attachment to this album, as Harold has been one of my favorite musicians for a very time, but I think the albums stands the test of time beautifully and should be enjoyed by most Jazz loving people around the globe. Bliss!

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