Brit jazz archival treasure trove!

[RogerF]

This seems to good to be true - but apparently it's for real (or reel)...coincides with a new book by Duncan Heining on British jazz 1960-1975 (published by Equinox, October 2012)

Reel Recordings Presents

Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneeers:

British Jazz 1961 - 1975

1961. Mike Taylor Quintet

1964. Henry Lowther - Lyn Dobson Quintet

1965. John Stevens Seven

1966. Mike Osborne - John Surman Quartet

1968. Joe Harriott Quintet

1969. Amancio D’Silva & Don Rendell - Ian Carr Quintet

1971. Gary Windo’s Symbiosis

1972. Elton Dean’s Just Us

1974. Lol Coxhill - Steve Miller

1975. Graham Collier Music with Norma Winstone

When Duncan Heining, author of Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneers (Equinox Publishing, 2012) enthusiastically embraced Reel Recordings’ proposal to produce a collection of rare recordings as a musical companion for his book illuminating the classic period of British Jazz, 1960 - 1975, it was clear that the endeavor would uncover pure musical gold. The finding of these recordings was met with generosity by the musicians and their respective estates, and they, along with Reel Recordings, are donating all proceeds from the purchase of this CD to the Musicians Benevolent Fund, U.K. The musicians represented here rank highly among the many talented musicians from this especially creative period of British Jazz as it developed on stages and in studios across London. For some, their reputations precede them, while others have perhaps receded into anonymity. All, however, are unified through a common love for the colours and sounds of vanguardist jazz composition and performance. Today, in 2012, this compendium reveals recordings which will touch listeners, both those who remember the times and those who are just discovering its music, with its beauty, its excitement and its imagination. Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneers: British Jazz 1961 - 1975 is a veritable treasure trove of musical brilliance, made personal and distinctive by individual improvisers and accompanists of extraordinary ability and comes exclusively in a Compact Disc Edition that will delight jazz fans everywhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Musician Credits:

1. Mike Taylor Quintet “Phrygie”

Mike Taylor, piano; Dave Tomlin, tenor sax; Frank Powell, trumpet; Goudie Charles, bass; Randy Jones, drums

2. Henry Lowther - Lyn Dobson Quintet “Scarpo”

Henry Lowther, trumpet; Lyn Dobson, tenor sax; Tony Hymas, piano; Harry Miller, bass; Joe Henry, drums

3. John Stevens Seven “Number Three”

Alan Skidmore, tenor sax; Kenny Wheeler, flugelhorn; Chris Pyne, trombone; Mike Pyne, piano; Ron Mathewson, bass; John Stevens, drums

4. Mike Osborne - John Surman Quartet “An Idea”

Mike Osborne, alto sax; John Surman, baritone sax; Harry Miller, bass; Alan Jackson, drums

5. Joe Harriott Quintet “Shadow”

Joe Harriott, alto sax; Kenny Wheeler, flugelhorn; Pat Smythe, piano; Ron Mathewson, bass; Bill Eyden, drums

6. Amancio D’Silva & Don Rendell - Ian Carr Quintet “Joyce County”

Amancio D'Silva, guitar; Don Rendell, tenor sax, Ian Carr, flugelhorn; Michael Garrick, harpsichord; Dave Green, bass; Trevor Tompkins, drums

7. Gary Windo’s Symbiosis “Standfast”

Gary Windo, tenor sax; Mongezi Feza, pocket trumpet; Nick Evans, trombone; Steve Florence, guitar; Roy Babbington, bass guitar; Robert Wyatt, drums

8. Elton Dean’s Just Us “Beer Garden”

Elton Dean, electric piano; Mark Charig, cornet; Nick Evans, trombone; Jeff Green, guitar; Neville Whitehead, bass; Louis Moholo, drums

9. Lol Coxhill - Steve Miller “For Those Who Prefer It Mid-tempo”

Lol Coxhill, soprano sax; Steve Miller, piano; Archie Leggett, bass guitar; Laurie Allan, drums

10. Graham Collier Music with Norma Winstone “Singing For The Small Change”

Norma Winstone, voice; Art Themen, tenor sax, Harry Beckett, flugelhorn; Derek Wadsworth, trombone; Ed Speight, guitar;

Roger Dean, piano; Graham Collier, bass; John Marshall, drums

[clifford_thornton]

Whoa!

[A Lark Ascending]

Wow!

Thanks, Roger.

There's a pic on Amazon:

[interestingly the CD is out of stock at Amazon and costs £199 from the other supplier!)

And here's the book:

Edited October 7, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[clifford_thornton]

The CD is available directly from the label here.

[jlhoots]

The CD is available directly from the label here.

$20 is better than 199 pounds!!

[romualdo]

The CD is available directly from the label here.

$20 is better than 199 pounds!!

Reel has a special offer at present - buy two CDs & get a third for free (only catch is they choose the freebie ie "lucky dip") - bit of a problem if you already have a few of their releases

[clifford_thornton]

I'm sure you could, upon ordering, mail them and tell them what you have. Mike and his partner are really nice folks.

[king ubu]

Only catching up with this right now ... Reel has the disc for 20 Can$ until end of January (instead of 22) it seems.

The book can be obtained from amazon, too - is it worth getting, anyone had a thorough look at it or even read it in the meantime?

The disc looks terrific!

I'm a big fan of Reel Recordings and own the entire catalogue (hurry and grab the Elton Dean Ninesense set, it's still around on various amazon sites and from marketplace vendors!) and gave away a few of their releases as gifts to friends, too!

Reel has a special offer at present - buy two CDs & get a third for free (only catch is they choose the freebie ie "lucky dip") - bit of a problem if you already have a few of their releases

I did send Mike my orders and wishes for the freebies, and he was very kindly providing me with what I wanted, since I had ordered his entire catalogue ... I'm thinking of ordering two of the new discs and getting another give away in addition.

That offer has been running for at least a year or so, seems to be a constant thing.

Edited January 25, 2013 by king ubu

[alankin]

How is Reel Recording's Soft Machine release?

[jlhoots]

Wow!

Thanks, Roger.

There's a pic on Amazon:

[interestingly the CD is out of stock at Amazon and costs £199 from the other supplier!)

And here's the book:

Bought the CD from Amazon. Very nice. I don't have the book.

[king ubu]

How is Reel Recording's Soft Machine release?

I like it, but you'll need opinions from Soft specialists, I guess ... don't know how it compares to the wealth of other live releases around.

[clifford_thornton]

I think it shreds. I'm a Softs head to be sure. It's fairly "out".

[sidewinder]

The book can be obtained from amazon, too - is it worth getting, anyone had a thorough look at it or even read it in the meantime?

Based on Heining's article in the last episode of Jazzwise (which was almost a supplement to the book and a very interesting read - all about the 'Little Theatre Club', Evan Parker/John Stevens and AMM/Eddie Prevost) the book looks like a 'must have'. I'm holding off until Amazon gets the price back down.

Edited January 25, 2013 by sidewinder

[king ubu]

Thanks, just threw it in with some other stuff I was ordering from amazon.fr anyway!

Will get the disc from Mike/Reel, I guess.

Always like to support the source if there is that option!

[A Lark Ascending]

Just started reading the book. It's hard going!

Not all that well written - the author seems desperate to be scholarly and so constantly references other texts making whole paragraphs seem stitched together. He's utterly bewitched by his cultural studies reading so there's lots of name dropping of Adorno, Barthes etc. And he adopts the annoying (for me at least) 'royal We' approach to judgment making.

There's a great tale to be told here but the first chapter reads like an undergraduate special project from a student who has yet to internalise or fully understand his influences.

Some of the sentences opening paragraphs made me wince:

"As the clock turned from 1959 to 1960, the winds for jazz in Britain seemed set fair."

And that's paragraph 2.

I'm sure there's lots of fascinating information to follow, but I suspect that this is going to take some time to read. I just put it down after a paragraph rehashing received opinion beginning with the sentence "Can a musical form be both popular and remain an art form?' Sixth Form debating club stuff, I'm afraid.

[sidewinder]

Oh dear ! I've been itching to read this book but the last thing I want is an academic text. I'll be watching any more progress reports on the read with interest before I pull the trigger at Amazon.

[A Lark Ascending]

When he's telling the 'story' of developments he's fine. He loosens up and writes naturally.

But it's as if every few paragraphs he remembers he's writing a history 'in it's social context'. Everything stiffens.

I suspect I'm spoiled by having read people like Sandbrook in this period. The latter is far less knowledgeable about popular music than I'd imagine Heining is, yet pulls off his chapters on that aspect of the era with far more verve; and then follows it with an equally enthralling chapter on the crisis in the Treasury.

Heining's historical and social context (lots of figures and percentages) read very second hand.

But I'll persevere - its an era that interests me (especially towards the end) and I'm sure that when he's just telling the tale there will be lots to learn. I'm already curious about the Tracey/Bilk album and the version of Hair.

Edited February 2, 2013 by A Lark Ascending

[sidewinder]

and the version of Hair.

Ah - Sandy Brown meets John McLaughlin and Kenny Wheeler. The Fontana LP cover picture of Sandy freezing his butt off with the sporan was taken in the cold, dank environs of Dobells' I believe. No wonder he's looking so peeved off on it !

[king ubu]

Thanks for the report. My book arrived a few days back but went straight to the shelf as I have no time (and half a dozen other jazz books I feel like reading first, waiting in the shelf, too). Sounds good enough to me, don't think the academic part will bother me too much.

Got to get the CD now, as well!

[A Lark Ascending]

The problem is not that it's academic - it's not hard to read. It just seems a bit faux-academic. He seems confused as to whether he's writing a general account based on his enthusiasms or whether he's writing a scholarly analysis. I don't think he's equipped for the latter; and the approach he adopts is a bit old-Fashioned. 70s/80s cultural studies.

He's no Alyn Shipton or Ted Gioia.

Edited February 2, 2013 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

Well, now I know that when listening to Lyttleton or Westbrook, who are 'petite bourgeois', I need to consider their 'contradictory class position.'

Funny that that never entered my head when enjoying Bad Penny Blues or Metropolis.

[BillF]

Well, now I know that when listening to Lyttleton or Westbrook, who are 'petite bourgeois', I need to consider their 'contradictory class position.'

Funny that that never entered my head when enjoying Bad Penny Blues or Metropolis.

How can an ex-guardsman like Lyttelton be called "petite"?

[A Lark Ascending]

Oh, he wrestles with the class differences of the jazz men but is desperate to box them into nice categories.

The chapter I'm currently on tries to generalise on differences between those educated pre-Butler, those who went to grammar school and those who went to university. Joe Harriott's early 60's group causes him some difficulties.

Like Marxist history generally, his analysis suffers from trying to project his own assumptions onto something much more fluid and interesting. I think he knows this but seems unwilling to jettison his ideological baggage.

I don't like to be hypercritical of someone's hard work but this one really is clunky. Keeps reminding me of some of the sixth form essays I have to mark.

Just listening to the CD - now that is interesting.

[JETman]

Oh, he wrestles with the class differences of the jazz men but is desperate to box them into nice categories.

The chapter I'm currently on tries to generalise on differences between those educated pre-Butler, those who went to grammar school and those who went to university. Joe Harriott's early 60's group causes him some difficulties.

Like Marxist history generally, his analysis suffers from trying to project his own assumptions onto something much more fluid and interesting. I think he knows this but seems unwilling to jettison his ideological baggage.

I don't like to be hypercritical of someone's hard work but this one really is clunky. Keeps reminding me of some of the sixth form essays I have to mark.

Just listening to the CD - now that is interesting.

Does the cd consist only of previously unreleased recordings? If so, I wonder why Reel didn't do what they usually do --- release chunks of unreleased stuff artist by artist.

[sambrasa]

Does the cd consist only of previously unreleased recordings? If so, I wonder why Reel didn't do what they usually do --- release chunks of unreleased stuff artist by artist.

Some of it is but some things seem also to be from existing releases. I guess they released this to be a companion piece to a book of the same title (which I have not seen) that discusses British jazz scene.