some british jazz questions...

[sidewinder]

'Chitinous Ensemble'

I've always wanted to hear that one, too. Cover and band look great, and I have a feeling it might be 'free'.

Yes, I think it is. I have a feeling that Evan Parker and/or Trevor Watts are on this one too.

[A Lark Ascending]

There's an image here:

Apparantly Paul Buckmaster of Third Ear Band fame (and one of Miles' records...On the Corner?) was involved.

[sidewinder]

Yes, 'On The Corner' it is.

[clifford_thornton]

Isn't there some Evan Parker record with ethnic instruments melded to his saxophone playing, some sort of psychedelic-free thing from the late '60s? I want to say it's on EMI, but can't remember.

What do y'all think of the People Band? One of my favorite British free LPs...

[sidewinder]

Would that be the SME's 'Karyogin' (I think that's what it's called). Never heard it though. The 'People Band' is also new to me (not that big on free I'm afraid..)

[fent99]

Karyobin: are the imaginary birds said to live in paradise?

http://www.shef.ac.uk/~ps/efi/labels/chrono/cpe20012.html

Was reissued on CD but originally on Island like Surman's Westering Home etc Interesting rather than essential with Derek Bailey and Kenny Wheeler. Not so much of the ethnic but very subtle free improv.

[sidewinder]

That's the one I was thinking of.

[clifford_thornton]

Nope, not SME... EP is the only 'name' on it I think. Whatever it is...

[sidewinder]

I just picked up a 2-fer of 'Solid Gold Cadillac' and 'Brain Damage' for £1!     

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And I thought I was doing well picking this one up for £3..

[Guest akanalog]

any chance kenny wheeler's "windmill tilter" or mike westbrook's "citadel/room 51" or whatever it is called get released? or nucleus' "alleycats" not doubled with a greatest hits album?

downtown music gallery finally got this batch in and i got down there. bruce was playing the lowther. i am listening to it now and though i am a little ears blown out from band practice last night it sounds very nice.

did the people band have george khan in it? i think i saw that CD around here. it is very free?

bruce at downtown sort of steered me from "black marigolds" saying it was very mellow with a fair amount of poetry and a lot of harpsichord (which i like actually-the harpsichord, not the poetry) is this accurate?

[sidewinder]

Don't be put off the 'Black Marigolds'. It does have poetry in it and a sprinkling of harpsichord but there's some very nice music in there. The track 'Ursula' is a standout.

The Lowther is also excellent. Obviously influenced by 'In A Silent Way' but with some very English folk influences in there too.

If we do get to see a Wheeler 'Windmill Tilter' it will probably be dubbed from LP. The original master tapes are missing in action, possibly destroyed, I believe.

Yes, I believe saxophonist George Khan was in that 'People' band. Haven't a clue what the music is like on that one. He's also on my £3 'Solid Gold Cadillac/Brain Damage'. This is a Westbrook 'take' on the rock music of the time and is both entertaining and quite funny.

'Citadel/Room 315' was out on an RCA Novus CD some (quite a few) years ago and I'm not aware of any plans for further reissue - obviously now due for a CD re-mastering. I've a vinyl copy of this one, very good session indeed and with some of Surman's best playing ever on it IMO. Hope to see Westbrook on the 17th June doing his current 'Art Wolff' touring show. Not sure about the Nucleus album - maybe someone else can help?

Edited June 11, 2005 by sidewinder

[A Lark Ascending]

'Citadel/Room 315' is one of my favourites of Westbrook. That 70s RCA period is very much in need of getting to CD. There's the beautiful 'Love/Dream Variations', almost a return to jazz after the rock experiments. 'Goose Sauce' which is outstanding - it always sounds to me like Solid Gold Cadillac transplanted to brass/reed band. Some superb George Khan on that one. 'Mama Chicago', one I'd dearly love a clean CD of as my vinyl is very crackly. The live Paris double with Alan Wakeman in superb form. One I don't know at all is 'For the Record' which I believe is the first of the brass band records.

I read somewhere that Dave Holland was working on getting Windmill Tilter reissued from a vinyl source.

[Guest akanalog]

yeah things from vinyl can sound fine if done right.

to be honest i think the westbrook solid gold cadillac stuff isn' very good. too much of a hodge podge. never seemed to go far enough in an interesting rock direction for me. too "cute".

first impressions of the duttons i have heard-

the john cameron-pretty standard. good compositions and playing though. thumbs up though nothing you haven't heard. i never heard of drummer tony carr before but i like his work here.

the surman "tales of the algonquin"-i usually don't like big band stuff. but this is nice. good writing. not rock-ish, but definitley some hooky compositions at points.

the skidmore-like the cameron. nothing new but well played and some decent writing.

the garrick "heart is a lotus"-a lot of norma winstone on this one. nice but not one of my favorites of the ones i have heard.

the chitinous ensemble-i like some of this a lot and some of it not as much. not "free" like people are saying, but there is some string ensemble-ish stuff which i don't care for. som of the other stuff is like a very tame "on the corner"

the lowther-my favorite. some beautiful music on this one and nice use of e-piano. go for this one first.

i have an older copy of the first surman-the island stuff is sort of dorky. the last long track is powerful and goes in a more legit direction but overall not incredible.

i need to listen to them more but these are just first impressions.

[clifford_thornton]

Yes, I believe saxophonist George Khan was in that 'People' band. Haven't a clue what the music is like on that one.

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The People Band is a mother... seriously 'out' but with a nice ebb and flow to it, elements of free jazz, aleatory music and an indescribable 'communal' vibe. One of my all-time and absolute favorite examples of free improvisation. Khan is in fine form, as are Terry Day and Mel Davis and the whole lot. The CD includes extra tracks and sounds significantly better than the LP (natch).

Khan (and Surman) are also on fire in pianist Peter Lemer's "Local Colour (ESP 1057, 1967), a fine quintet date from the earlier reaches of British free jazz.