sidewinder Posted June 15, 2005 Report Posted June 15, 2005 Thanks for your thoughts on this one. I'll snag it next time I see it. Quote
Guest akanalog Posted June 16, 2005 Report Posted June 16, 2005 ok the lowther is great. the cameron is pretty nice. avoiding one garrick-black marigolds. the other one which i thought would be better is a bit feigh. is that a word? if it is i think it means the right thing. garrick's use of norma windstone is just wimpy compared to his contemporaries-at least on this album. i like "troppo" a lot more. and there seem to be some either sort of genre parodies on the lotus garrick or just some stuff that doesn't fit-at least to me. it gets a little bluesy. the lack of bluesy stuff is a reason i like british jazz in the first place. the skidmore is ok but other people were doing the same stuff earlier and better probably. nothing new but well played. i think for this sort of thing i would prefer a drummer with an american sensibility rather than oxley. the surman is very good. better than "how many clouds". good compositions. the chitinous is ok. could have been a lot better. a little thin-many of the songs sound unfinished to me. the westbrook would have been the best of the bunch if it had been released. that is a sweet album. the other surman which i already own is also ok but a little silly with all the island stuff. overall i guess i was disappointed in these reissues. nothing too revelatory though the lowther is really super. very beautiful stuff. if i was picking up 3 of these i would go for the lowther the cameron and the surman. i think the lowther is in my top 3 british jazz albums (of what i have heard) along with nucleus' "labyrinth" and westbrook's "love songs". "labyrinth" is, to me, the best british jazz album i have heard. i recommend that to anyone and everyone who does not mind some plugged in instrumentation. Quote
sidewinder Posted June 16, 2005 Report Posted June 16, 2005 (edited) The Lowther is indeed a very fine album. Original LP copies of this one have been treasured by Brit jazz fans for many years and it has become something of a cult album. I like the way it brings in a load of influences, including English folk music and some of the vibe of Miles' very early electric material. The Surman 'Algonquin' is another beauty - great colaboration with the Canadian arranger John Warren and one of Surman's very best IMO. I don't think he ever surpassed this one. There was also a follow up collaboration with John Warren put out fairly recently on ECM. Another option with the Westbrook 'Love Songs' is the Japanese CD issue, which Dusty Groove were selling recently. Don't know if it's still available. Not sure what the situation is with regard to the Vocalion reissue. I'm off to see Westbrook's band tomorrow night and if I get a chance to ask the obvious question (unlikely but you never know) I will do so. Edited June 16, 2005 by sidewinder Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted June 16, 2005 Report Posted June 16, 2005 (edited) I really like the five of these Vocalions I have - the Cameron, Lowther, Skidmore and two Garricks. I think one thing that attracts me is that the sound is so evocative of that late-60s/early 70s time frame. At times it reminds me of some of the TV theme music of that time...I can visualise grainy b+w footage of northern mill towns! I'm convinced I've heard the second track on the Cameron as a song somewhere! I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn it was a minor vocal hit for someone like Cilla Black! Elsewhere I can hear the connections with the rock music I was listening to at that time (completely oblivious of the jazz). McNair's flute has me thinking of the Jimmy Hastings contributions to the classic Caravan records; and there's a similarity to a lot of the airy-er stuff on the Island label at the time. "Black Marigolds" is odd but I find it likeable. A pity they chose a "Dah-ling Larry" type to recite but I suppose that was the time. The producers of the 'Jazz Britannia' series commented that the British music of this era was 'not the main story' but a wonderful, self-contained parallel. I think I'd agree with that - it's no match for what Miles or Carla Bley or Andrew Hill were doing. But taken on its own terms it's a marvellous little world to get to know. [strangely enough I can never really warm to Nucleus. Whereas Soft Machine were a rock group learning to be jazzers and loosening up as a result, I always feel Nucleus sound like a bunch of jazzers wanting to rock and simply glueing a fairly basic rock beat under what they used to do. I saw them c.1974 and found the rock beat heavy going; despite listening to a number of the Nucleus reissues several times I've yet to get comfortable with, what to me, sounds like a pretty rigid rock beat). Edited June 16, 2005 by Bev Stapleton Quote
sidewinder Posted June 18, 2005 Report Posted June 18, 2005 (edited) Along with fellow board member jazzscriveyn, I did get a chance to have a brief chat with Mike Westbrook at his concert last night and 'pop the question'. Confirmed that Love Songs 'would be released' by Vocalion but no comment made regarding the release timing. Mike also confirmed that they were working to get a reissue of 'London Bridge Is Broken Down' and he sounded a bit more enthusiastic about that one. Postscript - According to AAJ, as of yesterday the 'Love Songs' is now reissued and available at London HMV. Edited June 18, 2005 by sidewinder Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted June 18, 2005 Report Posted June 18, 2005 I have 'London Bridge' from its original release. Very, very dense. It's not one I've returned to often; but I expect that might have more to do with my stamina over a very long piece rather than the quality of the music. Quote
sidewinder Posted June 18, 2005 Report Posted June 18, 2005 I have 'London Bridge' from its original release. Very, very dense. It's not one I've returned to often; but I expect that might have more to do with my stamina over a very long piece rather than the quality of the music. ← A good friend of mine listened to it once, threw it out in disgust and has refused to listen to MW's music ever since ! Can't believe its that bad.. Quote
sidewinder Posted June 18, 2005 Report Posted June 18, 2005 For fans of early 60s Brit jazz hard bop, this one is strongly recommended: Graham Bond (on alto) is on fire and Don Rendell puts in his usual exemplary performance. Cooking rythmn section too. Session is an unusual one - recorded for the US Jazzland label in London. I heard that Bond was making so much vibration tapping his feet during the recording that the engineers had to get him to take his shoes off. Available in the US through the Bards.. Quote
Guest Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 For fans of early 60s Brit jazz hard bop, this one is strongly recommended: Graham Bond (on alto) is on fire and Don Rendell puts in his usual exemplary performance. Cooking rythmn section too. Session is an unusual one - recorded for the US Jazzland label in London. I heard that Bond was making so much vibration tapping his feet during the recording that the engineers had to get him to take his shoes off. Available in the US through the Bards.. ← Roarin' was reissued on CD a few months ago in the UK and is one of my all time favourite albums. and its title describes its content absolutely. It got a 4 star rating in this month's Mojo magazine. Quote
Degiorgio Posted July 21, 2005 Report Posted July 21, 2005 the chitinous is ok. could have been a lot better. a little thin-many of the songs sound unfinished to me. actually - this is the one DUTTON re-release that I'm playing more than the others right now... it's a bit odd, but a real grower IMO. I'm a huge fan of Paul Buckmaster's string arrangements for Bowie, Elton John, The Stones, etc although he first came to my attention on Rodney Franklin's 'Felix Leo' track... beautiful strings on that. I'm finding Chitinous to be somewhat of a mixup of In A Silent Way-Bitches Brew-On the Corner with scary strings layered on top! Was a bit disappointed by Garrick's The Heart Is A Lotus... I loved Troppo... great set of re-issues... KD Quote
Guest akanalog Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 me too. i find lotus to be a lot worse than troppo. troppo is a super album. the chitinous-too much massed string stuff with no rhymic underpinning. like half the album is just slow strings building up to nothing much. Quote
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 the chitinous-too much massed string stuff with no rhymic underpinning. like half the album is just slow strings building up to nothing much. it reminds me of Ligeti's work used in Kubricks 2001... I find it very interesting in this setting... (I must say I love serious strings in jazz - like the Andrew Hill & McCoy Tyner with string ensembles on Blue Note and Eberhard Weber's The Colors of Chloe... Joe Zawinul's 'Rise & Fall of the 3rd Stream' is another great example). KD Quote
Guest akanalog Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 i really like the colors of chloe and the rise and the fall of the third stream also. andrew hill's work with strings too, for that matter. however, the chitinous isn't doing it for me in the same way. Quote
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 rise and the fall of the third stream also yeah - isn't that a great album?! Kind of an oddity in Zawinul's catalogue too... quite a neglected album I think - often overlooked in favour of 'Zawinul' I guess... shame its only on CD in a nasty 2-fer with Money In the Pocket... Quote
sidewinder Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 Like that Zawinul a lot. I have the vinyl released by that subsidiary of Atlantic (forget for the moment what it was called but the Jarretts were released on this one too). Still haven't seen a copy of 'Chitinous' in the shops but when I do I'll snap it up. Never realised Buckmaster did the Bowie string arrangements. Which albums in particular? 'Heart is a Lotus' is growing on me slowly. Of the recent batch of Duttons the real standout for me is the Skidmore (at least of those I haven't heard before). Lovely album. Quote
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 Never realised Buckmaster did the Bowie string arrangements. Which albums in particular? ← he did Space Oddity for Bowie - Check: http://music.com/person/paul_buckmaster/1/ one of my fave Buckmaster arrangements is Elton John: Come Down In Time (Tumbleweed Connection) KD Quote
sidewinder Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 Thanks for that ! I was wondering if it was 'Space Oddity'. Very nice string arrangements on that album. Wonder if he also did the synth work? Yes, the vinyl is on Vortex, that is the label I was thinking of. Throughly recommend that Alan Skidmore 'Once Upon A Time'. It sort of reminds me of the two Kenny Cox Blue Notes in terms of style so if you like these at all you will be impressed I think. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 I saw Chitinous (and all the others) in Jumbo Records in Leeds a couple of weeks back! The Lowther is my favourite. I actually think he's got a compositional voice as distinctive as Kenny Wheeler - I can hear similarities between the tunes on Child Song and his mid 90s disc, I.D. A pity he hasn't had more time to record as a solo artist. I really like Lotus. Quote
Guest akanalog Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 KD-i have the rise and fall of the third stream as an individual CD, not on a two-fer. i think it is on collectables... Quote
Degiorgio Posted July 22, 2005 Report Posted July 22, 2005 KD-i have the rise and fall of the third stream as an individual CD, not on a two-fer. i think it is on collectables... ← cool - i will look for that... Kirk Quote
alankin Posted August 31, 2005 Report Posted August 31, 2005 (edited) Looks like the Dutton Vocalion titles are being imported into the States by Harmonia Mundi. The first six titles are available for pre-order at CD Universe for $14.70 for Oct 11th release. Edited August 31, 2005 by alankin Quote
clifford_thornton Posted August 31, 2005 Report Posted August 31, 2005 I saw Chitinous (and all the others) in Jumbo Records in Leeds a couple of weeks back! ← If you're talking LPs, you can send them to this address... Quote
sidewinder Posted August 31, 2005 Report Posted August 31, 2005 If you are talking LPs of this I only ever saw one and it was around £300 and far from mint ( ). I think I'll go for the CD ! Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted August 31, 2005 Report Posted August 31, 2005 I saw Chitinous (and all the others) in Jumbo Records in Leeds a couple of weeks back! ← If you're talking LPs, you can send them to this address... ← Sorry. 'Twas a CD. Quote
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