Jimmy Lyons Live Box Set

[Guest Chaney]

Hi Peter,

I rather like the packaging of this set, what with the CD sized (hinged) box and the five plain (but 'windowed') CD envelopes. It's packaged very much as if it were a five LP set. After the horror show that is multi-disk CD packaging of late, I find this somewhat minimalist approach refreshing. And none of those DAMNED 'jewel' cases!

Mosaic would have done well to package the Select sets in this manner, I feel.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This from DOWNTOWN Music Gallery:

JIMMY LYONS - The Box Set [5 CD set] (Ayler Disc 036/040) Immensely

important, historic and much anticipated box set featuring the

incredible alto saxist supreme Jimmy Lyons, Cecil Taylor's longtime

collaborator and considered to be the link between Bird's bebop and

the sixties free/jazz scene.  The personnel features Karen Borca on

bassoon, Raphe Malik on trumpet, William Parker & Hayes Burnett on

basses, Paul Murphy & Sidney Smart on drums and the late Jimmy Lyons

on alto sax throughout.  The five discs consist of live dates from

1972-1983 and were recorded at Studio Rivbea, Soundscape, Tufts

University and in Geneva, Switzerland.  Included is a solo set and an

interview with Mr. Lyons.  Until recently, his five discs on Black

Saint were in distribution limbo, but we just got them back in at $15

each and his great quartet date on BYG/Actuel has yet be reissued on

cd.  In stock today and we are just as psyched as you!

IMPORTED 5 CD Box Set with an impressive booklet for $95

(price increase to $100 as of Oct. 1st)

[AmirBagachelles]

Please anybody give me a heads up on whereabouts of a copy of Jump Up. thanks

[J.A.W.]

Please anybody give me a heads up on whereabouts of a copy of Jump Up.  thanks

It's available from HMV Japan, but beware! Their shipping rates are sky high. Why don't you ask Hiroshi Tanno: hiroshi@earlyrecords.com if he can order it for you from HMV - his price will be a bit higher than HMV's, but his shipping rates are much lower.

Edited September 19, 2003 by J.A.W.

[Guest Chaney]

This set is W NDERFUL!

Too technical?

[AmirBagachelles]

I agree. Sound is mostly top notch, esp. the RivBea discs, Tufts concert lacks presence but is clear enough. High price is unfortunate, all but guarantees this set will be under-appreciated.

[Guest Chaney]

For anyone interested, I was able to obtain...

Joel Futterman's "Inner Conversations" (1990) Ear-Rational Records 1019

Futterman (piano), Jimmy Lyons (alto sax), Richard Davis (bass) and Robert Adkins (drums)

... from WAYSIDE MUSIC.

Disk is around 75 minutes in length with approximately one-half being solo Futterman and the remainder featuring the whole band.

Nice note on my invoice from "ez":

Hi Anthony,  Thanks!  Nice stuff!  "Conversations" is a classic, but i'm prejudiced - I'm a huge Jimmy Lyons fan!

[brownie]

Received the Lyons box last week. Have been through the first 3CDs. Amazed - as always - at the quality and inspiration of Lyons' music.

An advise to any serious jazz fan, get this while it's still available!

This is creative music at its very best.

[AmirBagachelles]

Futterman's Moments, w/ a 33min track w/ Jimmy Lyons (and 3 trio tracks) is indeed around. I found it at Tower last week, expensive. I notice towerrecords.com has all three Futterman/Lyons listed, for a few bucks less than I paid. Also, the recording quality of Moments seems especially fine.

[Guest Chaney]

The Jazz Loft is currently selling this set at the price of $82.99.

Buy TWO!

Jimmy Lyons: The Box Set

[JSngry]

I hope one will do.

[JSngry]

A good friend let me hear this set, and I just jumped all over The Jazz Loft's deal. Great stuff, and I feel even GREATER about doing the right thing and buying a "real" copy. Lyons is one of my heroes, even if he was an alto player...

[relyles]

The Jazz Loft is currently selling this set at the price of $82.99.

Buy TWO!

Jimmy Lyons: The Box Set

I ordered one copy Friday night. I am eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

[relyles]

I finally had the chance to sit down today and listen to all give discs in this box today. Truly a historic release and I am very happy I got it. First I have heard of Lyons as a leader and it is a revelation. The stuff with Malik and Borca is great.

[king ubu]

MY BOX HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!

Very cool! No chance to listen yet (and very little time currently), but it SURE LOOKS GOOD TO ME!

Gotta give Mr Stom props!

And huge thanks to Chaney for hyping me to this one in time!

ubu

[Guest Chaney]

You're very welcome and you're in for a great treat!

I was listening to and marveling at disk four just yesterday. Lyons with Karen Borca and Paul Murphy. RED HOT music! (I love the probing sound of Borca's instrument and playing.)

I've been told that there's a considerable amount of material still sitting on the shelf but it's most likely not economically feasible for Ayler Records to release another set of this size and scope. Hopefully a (probably small) record company will step forward and we'll gain access to more of this wonderful music.

Maybe Mosaic? B)

[Guest Chaney]

Lyons' Pride

www.dustedmagazine.com/features/157

By: Derek Taylor

When Paul Desmond started recording as a leader in late 1954, he and his employer Dave Brubeck ironed out an agreement. The gist of the unwritten pact stated that the alto saxophonist would not involve piano, Brubeck’s instrument, in any of his solo ventures. Jimmy Lyons and Cecil Taylor seem to have struck a similar bargain. None of Lyons’ solo recordings incorporate piano and the same holds true for six-plus hours of music issued on this sumptuous five-disc Box Set by Ayler Records. Proof of his talent and creativity, Lyon’s melodic and harmonic facility makes the absence hardly noticeable. His compositions actually work better without a chordal anchor to ground them, and there are plenty of examples in this set that bear this claim out.

The first disc captures a September 1972 gig at the Sam Rivers-run Studio Rivbea. Sound is surprisingly clean, with clear separation between the instruments and Hayes Burnett’s bass especially well preserved by the sonics. The responsive repartee between Lyons and trumpeter Raphé Malik can’t help but recall the synergy shared by the more widely touted team of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. The horns bounce note clusters back and forth, engaging in a series of sprinting chases that also highlight stylistic differences between the two. Malik alternates staccato bursts with longer lyrical arcs, while Lyons, sounding limber and expressive, races through lithesome lattices of notes.

Drummer Sydney Smart favors volume over finesse and his trip-hammer sticks propel the band at high speeds. He quickly has the audience shouting and cheering with delight and pulls out the stops for blustery bookending solo on the first leap through Lyon’s signature “Jump Up”. “Gossip” fades in with the quartet already in the throes of a velocious exchange. Once again Smart’s drums sound off at stentorian levels and Burnett has to pummel his strings vigorously in order to be heard above the crashing cymbal tide. Lyons’ phrasing is a bit brambly in spots as he surfs the frothing rhythmic breakers summoned by his colleagues, but Malik’s steady brass is a model of attentive and carefully meted energy from start to finish.

“Ballad One” packs in more emotion than its generic title might imply. Gliding through a loosely harmonized head, the horns eventually defer to Burnett who builds a deep thrumming statement from the bottom reaches of his fingerboard. Sans the militant zeal of Smart, the bassist finally has space to move. Lyons’ own extemporization sounds somewhat tentative. Malik makes up the difference again with a lattice of poignant brassy lines. Their colloquy later in the piece comes across as more cohesive and Lyons seems more at ease. “Mr 1-2-5 Street”, another up-tempo piece with an accelerated angular theme, quickly diverts into individual solos by the horns. Burnett and Smart propel the piece at a rapid-fire pace, goading Malik toward some truly ferocious blowing.

A second version of “Jump Up” covers nearly twice the ground of its predecessor. Lyons sounds more focused, riding out the rushing swells of Smart’s drums with florid swathes of notes. Even so, Malik and the drummer end up the true lodestones of the piece, the former through an extended solo and the latter in a closing statement that shows off strong polyrhythmic propensity not as present in his earlier work. Compared to the original compositions, the clipped reading of “Round Midnight” that closes the concert seems more like set filler, but it’s still enjoyable to hear the quartet tackle such a shop-worn jazz standard.

Disc Two turns the calendar pages forward nearly three years to another Rivbea gig circa summer 1975. Burnett still holds down the bass chair, but the drum stool is now home to one Henry Letcher. Two sprawling pieces, “Family” and “Heritage”, comprise the set. Each is monolithic in size, but far from monosyllabic in scope. Communal connotations inherent to each track title are borne out in prolonged improvisations that make full use of the trio’s collective powers. Lyons sounds challenged by the dearth of a second horn foil and the set’s notes do make mention of the ways in which his compositions were commonly more suited to multiple frontline voices. He adapts well to the leaner configuration and ends up showing off facets of his on-the-fly ingenuity that stand up beautifully under scrutiny.

“Family” takes up over 40 minutes and expands from a sirocco of flurried alto scribbles. Burnett and Letcher stoke a vertical momentum, framing Lyons’ fleetly-quoting lines with a flexible array of rhythmic accents and commentary. The bassist is again slightly compromised by the recording mix, particularly during his arco passages, which lose some of their harmonic lucidity in proximity to Letcher’s more tumultuous traps play. Lyons own extended sortie rivals late-period Coltrane in terms of loquacity. It’s 25 glorious minutes before he takes the reed out of his mouth and defers to his partners. Burnett’s successive long-form exploration of his strings makes versatile use of pitch variations, high resonating harmonics and percussive repetition. Letcher chooses an equally variable tack, moving from quietly textured frugality through incremental increases in density and velocity.

“Heritage” occupies only slightly less time than its predecessor and sacrifices nothing in terms of skillful execution. After a terse prefatory exchange between Burnett and Letcher, Lyons arrives with a series of piquant melodic elaborations, playing fast and furious from the outset. Hitting stride early, he hunkers down for the long haul and jockeys through squealing note streams with impressive speed and alacrity. His partners show similar dedication and the mileage of the piece scrolls by with several solo and ensemble detours along the way. The sum is at once unrelenting and exhilarating as all three men barely pause for breath and maintain a stamina-taxing level of intensity for the majority of the piece. Bass and drum solos eventually give way to Lyons in a more reflective mood, revisiting the melody of “Jump Up”. Periodic tape dropouts mar the action, but the marathon run stands as a memorable achievement in spite of these minor blemishes.

The second Rivbea set concludes on Disc Three with a more concise reading of “Heritage”, less ambitious than its predecessor, but still brimming with bracketed energy to spare Most of disc’s running time is devoted to a solo Lyons performance taped at Soundscape in April of 1981. The solitary setting brings both his melodic acuity and the wide repository of patterned phrases that constituted his vocabulary into bold relief. Breaks based on shifts in thematic content divide up the concert into individual tracks, but Lyons quotes freely over the expanse of the entire recital. Digested in a single sitting the concert can feel like a daunting prospect. But the chance to hear Lyons’ alto alone and at length on record, something heretofore not possible, is something to savor just the same.

“Clutter” reels out as a chain of melodic links that incorporate kernels of Lyons’ own compositions along with paraphrases of standards like “It Might As Well Be Spring” and Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”. His tone is clear and confident and while the improvisations have an air of the academic about them, the sincerity audible in Lyons’ spontaneous inventions delivers a staggering emotive punch. “Mary Mary”, a line written for pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams, references cells from other pieces in Lyons’ repertoire. The next two tracks, “Never” and “Configuration C”, sound more like sketches and each transpires in quick succession. The lengthier “Repertoire Riffin’” engulfs nearly a quarter of an hour in its methodical dissection of a clutch of component riffs. “Impro Scream” finds the altoist trying on a variety of tonal hats through a quick bout of aggressive blowing that unleashes an uncharacteristic gush of multiphonics for added effect.

Disc Four presents Lyons in the company of bassoonist Karen Borca and drummer Paul Murphy, colleagues who would follow him to the end of his career. Both were regulars on his final albums and each is fine form on the set taped at a concert in Geneva, Switzerland in May of 1984. Borca was also Lyons’ life partner and a principal source of support during the various tribulations the altoist would endure in attempting to actualize his musical goals. Her presence as second horn effectively counterweighs the absence of bass as formal harmonic anchor. For his part, Murphy demonstrates an Olympian brawn behind the drum kit, fueling each of the pieces with tumbling press rolls and driving beats. The trio’s songbook borrows in part from Lyons’ contemporaneous Black Saint records with a playful take on “Wee Sneezawee”, kicking the concert off at a rapid clip.

Lyons gallops out of the gate in a swiftly darting succession of lines. Borca’s heavier double reed answers by navigating the lower registers in coarsely wound legato braids. Adopting the weight and girth of a baritone saxophone, her horn retains the enviable agility of an alto in an instantly engaging display of skill. Murphy belts his skins with blurred sticks, conjuring up a rhythmic core around which the horns twine in tightly angling arcs. His short solo near the opening track’s close gives but a small indication of the amount of energy he has bridled within his tautly-flexed sinews. For the pathos-rich ballad “After You Left”, the trio trades wanton energy for slowly developing counterpoint and call-and-response. Murphy responds in kind, moving to brushes and engaging in sympathetic conversation with each of the horns individually and in tandem.

The bebop inflected “Theme” works off more close interplay between Lyons and Borca. The saxophonist is at his most lubricious, firing off ideas at speeds that require Murphy to keep up on the demanding rhythmic front. Keep pace he does, while once again showing himself as more than up to the task of propelling the trio in both metric and free contexts. “Shakin Back” resituates the trio back in humor-ripe surroundings. The horns shimmy and shake through a simple swinging theme while Murphy whittles out a syncopated string of beats behind them. Borca’s contradictory “Good News Blues” closes the concert on an upbeat note and finds the composer blowing the hell out of her bassoon. There’s even the intrusion of what sounds like festival security walkie-talkie banter on the monitors during Murphy’s closing solo. A short radio interview segment taped at WKCR-FM in the summer of 1978 rounds out the remainder of the disc. It’s an all too brief exchange, but a fascinating listen just the same. Lyons touches on his early musical education, his initial years with Cecil and the synonymous nature of composition and improvisation.

The set’s final disc documents the trio on disc four with the added muscle of William Parker’s bass. Recorded at a Tufts University gig in February of 1985, the music finds the band running through familiar tunes along with a few new ones. Curiously enough, the fidelity here is the least accommodating of the set, surprising since the recording is of the most recent vintage. Fortunately any audio foibles wither under the might of the music and the quartet succeeds in giving the students, faculty and general audience quite a show. Curiously enough, the first two tunes in the set list are the same as the Geneva gig from nearly a year earlier, even clocking in at close to analogous times.

Parker contributes a welcome bottom end to the band and his amplified pizzicato figures mesh athletically with Murphy’s fields of cymbal and snare electricity. Lyons’ usual quicksilver lines are a bit recessed in the mix and there are times when he has to vie with the rhythm section’s vociferousness to be heard. But the raw fidelity is a small price for the concentrated energy on hand. Borca is less compromised by the slightly stilted sound. Her snaking, stoutly planted phrases slide and shout atop the clamorous backgrounds built up by Murphy and Parker and once again she makes her double reed speak in demanding tongues.

Alongside tried and true numbers like “Shakin’ Back” and “Gossip”, the latter an incomplete take; the quartet also tries out a pair of new compositions. “Tortuga” takes shape in a customary theme-solos progression, opening with a gorgeous echo-laden a capella by Lyons and Borca. “Driads” is more intricate in design and undertaking. Parker wields his frenzied bow along with tugging fingers and his anchoring harmonic structures serve as orbital center for the spiraling circular forays of the horns. Murphy crafts a near continuous wash of metallic static that further augments the tension and Lyons sounds at his most ebullient in a soaring solo that attains supersensory heights. Collected in sum, this date delivers one of the most consistently galvanizing highlights of the entire box.

Lyons succumbed to lung cancer in May of 1986, a sad fate echoing that of the recently deceased Frank Lowe. In light of his extremely finite discography, the manna of the set is obviously the music, all of it previously unreleased. But the package and accoutrements are also worthy of praise. An accompanying 60-page booklet, littered with archival photos, includes in-depth essays on Lyons career and music by Ben Young and Ed Hazell. The box itself is a model of economical and esthetic beauty with the five discs housed in lightweight cardboard sleeves. There’s also added value in that each disc is crammed nearly to capacity with music. Jan Ström and his partners at Ayler Records have come up with a celebratory set worthy of Lyons’ memory and legacy. Limited to a modest pressing of 500 copies, it’s sure to sell out fast.

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The Wire, November 2003

By: Dan Warburton

Just as John Gilmore and Marshall Allen will forever be associated with Sun Ra, the name Jimmy Lyons is inextricably linked to the huge body of work produced by Cecil Taylor, in whose bands the alto saxophonist worked continuously from 1961 to his death aged 54 in May 1986. To quote trumpeter Raphe Malik: "Johnny Hodges or Paul Gonsalves [are] so closely identified with Ellington, they become part of the presentation of the music. Part of Cecil's presentation was Jimmy's sound."

Casting an eye over Jan Ström's exhaustive Jimmy Lyons Sessionography - available in CDROM format from Ayler as a supplement to this box set - reveals relatively few Lyons sessions outside of Taylor's units, and yet the saxophonist rehearsed and worked extensively with his own outfits from the early 1970s until his death. Even so, apart from a handful of dates for Black Saint with Andrew Cyrille, Lyons released only six albums under his own name in his lifetime: 1969's Other Afternoons (BYG Actuel), Push Pull (hatHUT 1978), Riffs (hatMUSICS 1980), Jump Up / What To Do About (hatHUT 1980), Weesneezawee (Black Saint 1983) and Give It Up (Black Saint 1985), which makes the long-awaited appearance of these five CDs of Lyons' solo and small group recordings all the more welcome.

One explanation as to why Lyons chose to release so little was his excessive self-criticism (in a 1978 Cadence interview he opined that there were "too many recordings, duplication of the same thing"); another lies in the mundane fact that his life and career remained free from the kind of tragic glamour the media often associate with jazz iconoclasts. He didn't die in mysterious circumstances (Dolphy, Ayler), didn't propose grandiose (meta)theoretical systems to underpin his work (Coleman, Braxton) and, according to Ben Young's voluminous and musicologically outstanding liner notes, was critical of "less experienced players who adopted [..] cathartic expression as a [..] substitute for bel canto tone production." Instead, his roots lay deep in the bebop tradition he grew up with in Harlem and the Bronx.

Born on December 1st 1931 (not 1933 as he often stated), by his early teens Lyons was sneaking into clubs with a painted-on moustache to catch Dizzy Gillespie's band, before studying with ex-Fletcher Henderson clarinettist Buster Bailey. Working a day job at the US Postal Service, cutting his teeth by night in jam sessions and making frequent trips down to the Village to see Charlie Parker, Lyons woodshed patiently and methodically throughout the 1950s, until a fateful encounter with Cecil Taylor sometime in mid 1960 changed his life for good. Had he had not encountered the pianist one wonders what the he might have achieved: his brother Arthur recalls a 1959 jam session when Jimmy's soloing on "Cherokee" blew Cannonball Adderley offstage and across the street, with Lou Donaldson calling after him: "You going across the street? You got the baddest one right here, blowin' your butt out!"

Disc 1 documents the New York debut of a quartet featuring trumpeter Malik, bassist Hayes Burnett and drummer Sydney Smart. Recorded at Sam and Bea Rivers' loft space in September 1972, it features five Lyons originals and, by way of encore, Monk's "Round Midnight". As a teenager, Lyons had been criticised by Monk at a jam session for "not knowing chord positions and names", but this 1972 reading of the chestnut would surely have gained the High Priest's approval.

Lyons returned to Rivbea in June 1975, without Malik but once more with Burnett on bass and Henry Letcher replacing Smart (Discs 2 & 3). Young rightly point out that Lyons' work illustrates his belief that "the subject matter of improvised solos should be directly and uniquely relevant to the song itself - the melody being developed," and, by extension, that "in the best-crafted performances, there will be no obvious seam between the composed elements [..] and those that are improvised." As Lyons puts it matter-of-factly in a brief (and hardly revelatory) 1978 interview with Taylor Storer included on Disc 4: "Improvising is about composition. I don't separate the two. I try to start out with a statement, build a sentence, build a paragraph." Such concern with compositional detail at both micro and macro level clearly originates in Taylor's work, which has always been more composed than many give him credit for (witness Alan Silva in Wire 228: "[Taylor's] Unit Structures took four months of rehearsal [..]. There's a score.").

Taylor excluded, Lyons' longest and most fruitful collaborators were bassoonist Karen Borca, his partner both on and off stage, and drummer Paul Murphy, who joined Lyons in 1978 and remained until the saxophonist's death. Disc 4 features the three of them in Geneva in May 1984. Nine months later they were joined at Tufts University in Massachusetts by bassist William Parker (Disc 5, which makes for several interesting comparisons with the preceding year's trio readings of the same material).

Disc 3 documents Lyons' solo set at New York's Soundscape in April 1981, and though some attacks are a little fluffy - he sounds to be having trouble with the reed and makes no attempt to disguise the fact, incorporating it brilliantly in "Mary Mary Intro" - it's an invaluable document of a master saxophonist in full flight. Young astutely points out that Lyons was a "quoter", freely incorporating phrases from his own and others' compositions, a practice that clearly derives from bop (one also used extensively by Eric Dolphy, another saxophonist who continued the line of research pioneered by Charlie Parker).

In terms of the sheer technical mastery required to bring off such advanced note play, the three extended 1975 Rivbea workouts rank with both Dolphy and Parker's finest recorded work. One can only wish there were more recordings of such literally breathtaking interplay between musicians - and between one man and his music - but in the light of the relative scarcity of Lyons recordings, the appearance of these five discs is one of the most important events not only of the past ten months, but arguably the past ten years.

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ejazznews.com

By: Paul Donnelly

I will always associate Jimmy Lyons with the work of Cecil Taylor, demanding and uncompromising as that can often be. But it is his role as leader, composer and soloist with his own trios and quartet that is showcased here. On 5 cds stretching from 1972 to 1985 Lyons and a variety of equally passionate musicians are caught 'live' and exploring freedom within written structures. The sound quality may be a little uneven in places but not enough to detract from the actual playing.

1972 finds the quartet in Sam Rivers' studio giving 'Jump Up' a thorough workout. This cut features the altoist locking horns with another of Taylor's associates, trumpeter, Raphe Malik. These two are ably supported by Hayes Burnett, bass, and Sydney Smart on drums delivering music that has an urgency and drive which the years between have done nothing to lessen. A potent reminder that great music is often timeless.

Back at Rivbea Studio in 1975, 'Heritage II' features an abundance of wiry alto playing, again delivered in an urgent, direct manner. Short, punchy phrases and longer shapely constructions tumble from the horn while bass and drums provide exactly what's needed, confirming my frequently stated belief that this type of trio is one of the peaks of perfection in jazz.

But to hear Lyons solo, as on 'Mary Mary Intro' from 1981, is another source of joy. The sound is fuller somehow on this recording and feels as though he's playing right there at your shoulder. Notes rush by in flurries, taut and elliptical, or come in staccato bursts, ceaselessly inventive. His tone is assertive, keening and slightly querulous, somehow both fierce and fragile.

Things just keep getting better. Another trio recording, 'We Sneezawee', from 1984, pitches his relentless energies with Karen Borca's bassoon. I know, it's not the first instrument to come to mind in a jazz context but its often lugubrious voice is transformed here into a grittier, grainy counterpart to the alto. The two constantly duel, occasionally taking some solo space, and it is an unalloyed pleasure to hear bassoon pitched against Paul Murphy's drums. Borca's name is not one I've heard before but if she's committed to disc anything as remotely as thrilling as this I'd like to hear it, please.

Actually, 'Shakin' Back', recorded in 1985 features her too as part of a quartet along with William Parker's bass which by turns is trenchant and light-fingered. And yes, that bassoon is once again a show stealer, spiralling and reaching across its range to produce some truly arresting sounds to revitalise perceptions of what the instrument can actually do given such inspirational company.

What I've detailed here is only a portion of the whole set since mine is a reduced promotional compilation, but I can honestly say that hearing the complete recordings is essential if this sample is anything to go by.

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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FORUM (NZ)

By: Geoffrey Totton

This is a review sampler from a boxed set released by Ayler Records www.ayler.com

I will be honest - I have not heard of Jimmy Lyons but I am familiar with his influences.

The first track is from 1972 with Raphe Malik (trumpet), Hayes Burnett (bass), and Sydney Smart (drums). At first, Jimmy and Raphe sound like Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry but it soon becomes obvious their approach is very different with the drums sharing solo space. Raphe Malik draws ideas from Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis..while Jimmy Lyons draws from Charlie Parker. They build on these ideas and create something new.

The next track is a trio date from 1976 with Hayes Burnett ( bass) and Henry Letcher (drums). Jimmy is something else - touching on ideas drawn from Sonny Rollins - twisting and turning in lime green colour.

In the next track (a 1981 solo performance) Jimmy touches on ideas from afro beat and Stan Getz for his improvisations.

The 1984 trio performance features Karen Borca on bassoon. After listening I have the feeling Karen walks and performs in both worlds (of classical music-very likely some modern progressive classical music and of course jazz) Her solos are very intense and seem to boil in the air. The only other jazz player I know of who plays bassoon. and is in both classical and jazz, is our own Colin Hemmingsen in New Zealand. Holy Monkey it is Jimmy's boxed set but here Karen is stealing the show!!!!!!!

Karen is also on the 1985 quartet date with Paul Murphy (drums) and William Parker (bass). This includes a very intense drum and bass solo while Jimmy builds on the ideas of Sonny Rollins.

In summing up, it is interesting to hear how Jimmy's free jazz style is a development on what other jazz musicians have done.

[DrJ]

Well, you've sold me. Just need to place the order.

[relyles]

Thanks for posting those reviews.

IMO this is definately one of the best new releases of 2003. After hearing this I obtained a CDR of Jump Up from a friend to hold me over until I can locate a reasonably priced copy of the official release. Wow! Between the box set and Jump Up I am amazed that I did not pay closer attention to Lyons before.

[Clunky]

The only Lyon I have is "Burnt Offering" , how does that compare to this intriging set.

[Guest Chaney]

"Burnt Offering" I find to be wonderful and (note the non-use of the word 'but'), in its way, a more challenging listen than (can't decide which word to use here-->) much of the material contained within the box if only because of the presence of Andrew Cyrille who (to his advantage) is seemingly a more headstrong player than drum basher Sydney Smart (on CD1 of the box) or Henry Letcher (CD2 and a bit of CD3) or the propulsive Paul Murphy (CD4 & 5). NOT to belittle the contributions of Letcher and Murphy. As wonderful as they are, they're just not Cyrille. (Note Derek Taylor's very accurate description of each drummer's manner of playing. "Murphy crafts a near continuous wash of metallic static that further augments the tension..." LOVE that line!)

If you like the pared down sound of the "Burnt Offering" duo, you'd very much appreciate the trio work contained on CD4 - Lyons, Borca and Murphy. Borca is HUGE!

Honestly, this treasure-trove contains such variety that there's something for any listener with even slightly adventurous musical taste.

And if you're a fan of Lyons, this is a no-brainer.

[Late]

Just got done listening to Wee Sneezawee. Mmm-hmm.

I'm in for it now. What's a credit card to do? This box will eventually end up in my (mail)box.

A few more comments on the sound, in addition to Mr. Taylor's notes? Would you say that this is a it's-the-music-dummy-not-the-sound box, or rather a actually-the-sound's-not-so-bad box?

Edited November 17, 2003 by Late

[Late]

Somewhat related question: Did this one

ever come out on disc? (I have a feeling it didn't.) I have the one track "Premonitions" from the BYG box, and would like to hear the whole set!

[Guest Chaney]

Hey Late,

Here’s a page from the liners entitled WARTS AND ALL:

All of the music in this collection was taped in performance, and is subject to the usual fluctuations and happenstances of live recordings.  Most of the concerts were preserved with simple documentation as the primary motive.  Though much effort has succeeded in optimizing sound from the best possible sources, even the recording work of superior technicians here must be heard with some blemishes.

The beginning of the first and last pieces on the reel that held the Rivbea Quartet concert were truncated.  So the first selection, “Gossip”, has been moved into the second position on Disc1; the incomplete “Round Midnight” appears in sequence as played.

A few seconds are missing due to a change of reels in the recording of Disc. 2, tracks 1 and 2.  The music on Discs 3 and 5 was recorded to cassette and interrupted in the same way, hence subtle omissions from Track 5 (Disc 3) and the absence of a conclusion to the tufts “Gossip”.

The solo concert was recorded on Soundscapes top-shelf equipment.  Unfortunately, the pristine original tape was destroyed in a random accident several years afterwards, and the only surviving copy, an imperfect cassette, had to be used for the audio here.  “Clutter” is heard in monophonic sound, and the rest is in stereo.

On Disc 4, in addition to significant challenges of stereo balance and proportion, an electromagnetic interference (from a 2-way radio) is audible during Murphy’s drum solo in “Good News Blues”.  The Tufts concert had other issues.  Because Lyons frequently positioned himself far away from microphones on stage, his projection struggles against coloration from the intervening distance and feedback between monitors and microphones.  Trying to achieve the clearest sound for the saxophone – combined again with microphone placement – has altered the timbre and natural sound of the bassoon.

Disc 5 thankfully uses the original concert tape; the first phrase of “After You Left” is missing here, as on every known copy of the music.

As is usually the case, what you'll hear will be system dependent.

CD5, on my revealing system, offers the greatest sonic challenges. Before I posted this though, I though I'd have another listen. As my California Audio Labs CD player is in the shop, I had a listen with a SONY portable CD player - the D-555. Through the SONY, CD5 is quite acceptable. (Even using the CAL, I'll not gripe.)

Re "Other Afternoons": I don't believe that one ever made it to CD.

What's a credit card to do indeed.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Ben Young will be presenting five hours of Jimmy Lyons not this Sunday but the following one (11/30/03) from 2-7 PM EST on WKCR-FM in NYC (or online at wkcr.org).

Mike

[Guest Chaney]

Terrific news! Thanks Mike!