Record Reviews

STEVE LACY ~ THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE CAM JAZZ 1033 (Barcode: 8052405141385) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 1976 - 1993 Released: 2014 This superb Box Set collects recordings by the American saxophonist / composer Steve LacyFind albums by this artist on the Black SaintFind albums on this label and Soul NoteFind albums on this label labels. It is the second such collection, this time dedicated to quartet, quintet, sextet and octet recordings, following the previous Box Set with solo, duo and trio recordings. It includes nine albums (one a 2CD set): "TricklesFind albums with this title" with trombonist Roswell RuddFind albums by this artist, bassist Kent CarterFind albums by this artist and drummer Beaver HarrisFind albums by this artist, "RevenueFind albums with this title" with saxophonist Steve PottsFind albums by this artist, French bassist Jean-Jacques AvenelFind albums by this artist and drummer John BetschFind albums by this artist, "TroubleFind albums with this title" with Potts, Swiss vocalist / violinist Irene AebiFind albums by this artist, Carter and drummer Oliver JohnsonFind albums by this artist, "RegenerationFind albums with this title" with Rudd, Dutch pianist Misha MingelbergFind albums by this artist, Carter and Dutch drummer Han BenninkFind albums by this artist, "Change Of SeasonFind albums with this title" (*) with trombonist George LewisFind albums by this artist, Mangelberg, Dutch bassist Arjen GorterFind albums by this artist and Bennink, "Dutch MastersFind albums with this title" (*) with Lewis, Mangelberg, Dutch cellist Ernst ReysegerFind albums by this artist and Bennink, "The CondorFind albums with this title" with Potts, Aebi, pianist Bobby FewFind albums by this artist, Avenel and Johnson, "The CryFind albums with this title" (2CD) with Aebi, saxophonist Tina WraseFind albums by this artist, harpsichord player Petia KaufmanFind albums by this artist, accordionist Cathrin PfeiferFind albums by this artist, Avenel and percussionist Daniel GioiaFind albums by this artist and finally "VespersFind albums with this title" with Potts, Aebi, saxophonist Ricky FordFind albums by this artist, French horn player Tom VarnerFind albums by this artist, Few, Avenel and Betsch. Most of the music is by Lacy, except the albums dedicated to the music of other great composers like Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist and Herbie NicholsFind albums by this artist. Lacy is considered as one of the most influential and prominent American Jazz personalities and a great master of the soprano saxophone. He started his career as a Dixieland player but quickly moved into Bebop and later on Avant-Garde idioms. He was also one of the first American Jazz musicians who discovered European Jazz and understood its importance. He visited Europe in the 1960s and moved to live in Paris in 1970, where he spent his entire life, returning to the US only a couple of years before his death. He left a most impressive recorded legacy of well over a hundred albums. The music is absolutely timeless, and offers a perfect glance at Lacy´s diversity as a composer and player. It is also a unique document of European Jazz, as most of his albums involved European musicians playing side by side with their Americans partners. For serious Jazz connoisseurs this Box Set is a pure delight and an absolute must! The albums marked with (*) were also included in other Box Sets of this series. Side Note The Italian independent record label Black SaintFind albums on this label was founded by the music critic / author / producer Giacomo PellicciottiFind albums by this artist in 1975. It was taken over by the producer Giovanni BonandriniFind albums by this artist in 1978 and a year later (1979) a sister label, called Soul NoteFind albums on this label, was established. The twin labels were run by Giovanni and later his son Flavio BonandriniFind albums by this artist, until they were sold in 2008 to the Italian KEPACH Music Group, which already owned the CAM JazzFind albums on this label label, and which also bought another Italian independent record label Dischi Della QuerciaFind albums on this label. The mission of the Black Saint / Soul Note labels was to record and document the Free Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde scene, mostly from the US but also from Europe, which continued between mid 1970s and late 1990s and produced a staggering collection of almost 550 albums recorded by world's most important Jazz innovators active at the time, providing an opportunity to American (mostly Afro-American) musicians, who would have never managed to make these recordings at home, ridden by racism, alienation and closed-mindedness. Without these two labels most of this fantastic human creativity would have been never documented. However, the Black Saint / Soul Note Box Sets produced under the CAM JazzFind albums on this label moniker are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases has been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard to the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires us to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. These Box Sets have no booklet which presents researched historical background and exact discographical information of the albums included, and most importantly an overview of the music and its meaning and contribution to the Jazz Art form. Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, the information is in most cases too small to be readable at all. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap!

Updated: 15/05/2020Posted: 15/05/2020

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