John Stevens on the Vertigo label

[RogerF]

Thanks to this thread I have been listening to some of these Away albums. Although these might not be the best albums ever recorded they certainly are extremely good. The opening track from Mazin Ennit (Away) for example is quite different from most other 'jazz rock' the nearest comparison might be Tone Dialling by Ornette. But all three should most definitely be reissued - I am looking forward to listening to all these carefully. In fact I would go so far as to say they are essential John Stevens and a small corner of the British jazz scene. Very listenable and very memorable. Makes me wonder what might have happened if Stevens had pursued a more 'conventional' musical route although these albums are far from conventional they do add an interesting juxtaposition to the SME fare. I really hope BGO manage to reissue these.They could probably even squeeze all three onto two CDs a la the recent Graham Colliers.