Harry Miller_Different Times Different Places Volume 2

[RogerF]

This OGUN release is now available directly via Hazel Miller or from the usual sources (Amazon is listing it). It's another tranche of previously unissued recordings mastered by the late Mike King from the Miller family archives. There are some interesting features here, notably Bernie Holland on guitar on track 1, Keith Tippett on the next three tracks and a reed section of Alan Wakeman (tracks 1-4) and Trevor Watts (tracks 1-7). Louis Moholo-Moholo plays drums on all tracks. Also it's in stereo for those that care about that sort of thing (I do). If you want to order directly from Hazel her email address is ogunrecords@googlemail.com but her postal address has changed since she's moved down to Hastings. 

 

 

[A Lark Ascending]

Thanks, Roger. I'll be chasing that one down. 

[RogerF]

This should have been in the "New Releases" section, it's not a reissue! - apologies. 

[clifford_thornton]

will try to grab it when either Dusty Groove or Squidco stock it.

[ep1str0phy]

I've been spending less and less time with archival and historical releases these days, and this record is most certainly one for niche interests (i.e., for those interested in South African/Euro free jazz and/or the extended Ogun roster of musicians, there are like a dozen or so records that I'd recommend before this one).

That being said, this is a good one--more satisfying than volume one and maybe even better than a lot of the "canon" material that has been available since the 70's and 80s. The sound quality is superb and a lot of the content here is unique to this set--unusual personnel, as many as three unique compositions (I need cross check the three tunes from '78), and sessions that I haven't seen pop up elsewhere.

There's one tune from '77 that has been in circulation for a while (the band with Miller, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Trevor Watts, Alan Wakeman, and Bernie Holland), but the others seem more or less new--three tunes from '78 with Miller, Moholo-Moholo, Watts and Wakeman again, and Keith Tippett and three tunes from '82 with Miller, Moholo-Moholo, Watts again, Alan Tomlinson, and Dave Holdsworth.

For obscure Euro free improv nerds, the '78 session is special because it was recorded pretty close to both Moholo's Spirits Rejoice and Miller's In Conference, and the rhythm section is the same (i.e., Miller/Moholo/Tippett). This is in some regards my favorite rhythm section of all time in any medium (especially on the '78 dates), and the playing here is of a pretty high caliber.

Everyone is in terrific shape, but Moholo-Moholo was an absolute beast at this vintage--this perfect blend of pocket jazz drumming, blustery free jazz, and impossible funkiness. There's a special kind of beauty to Moholo's cymbal work in the late 70's (a particular timbre to his crash or ride, I haven't seen too many pictures documenting it) that is absolutely unique in the canon; when I interviewed him years ago, he spoke about the lack of cymbal work on typical urban mbaqanga recordings, and a lot of his playing in the 70's is almost obsessively cymbal centric. The only thing in the canon akin to this level of textural fanaticism is later Sunny Murray, but Moholo in the 70's had a degree of versatility and unstoppable technical power that just shades many of his American counterparts. This is a thing that is often ignored in conversations about the divide between "high" post-bop/early free jazz drumming and full blown European free improvisation--only a handful of drummers had both the chops and the psychology to bridge the two, and Moholo was one of them--a technically adept straight ahead drummer with an ear for timbral exploration. 

As sort of a Blue Notes stan for many years, I admit that I've been disappointed by a lot of the archival releases from this stable subsequent the explosion of Cuneiform stuff several years back. The Reel Recordings stuff is kind of all over the place and much of the sound quality is lacking. The "new" Oguns--especially the Moholo combos with board member Alexander Hawkins--have been pretty good, but a lot of the old stuff has been kind of redundant (the first volume in this series was like the umpteenth set of the same Isipingo compositions). 

Not this one--based on its pedigree and the rarity of the material, I might even call it a "sub-classic," better than a lot of the other new music released this year (alongside a slew of "contemporary" stuff--A Tribe Called Quest's We Got It From Here..., Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition, Kendrick Lamar's Untitled Unmastered, etc.). For the five people who are interested, this is about as good as it gets for music of this kind. 

Edited December 2, 2016 by ep1str0phy

[A Lark Ascending]

Very enjoyable record. 

[OliverM]

Just listened to this one during the week-end, and also highly recommend it. Preference also goes for the three tracks of the 1978 session but everything is highly enjoyable. Tippett is really special here (for Moholo-Moholo, it was already noted). Very well presented album, very good sound, and pretty cover art!