Record Reviews

GRAHAM COLLIER ~ BRITISH CONVERSATIONS MY ONLY DESIRE 004 (Barcode: 5052442020400) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1975 Released: 2021 This is an archival album, which presents a previously unreleased suite by British Jazz bassist / composer / bandleader Graham CollierFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of modern British Jazz. This is a live recording of the suite from 1975 with the Swedish Radio Jazz GroupFind albums by this artist featuring Collier as conductor and British trumpeter Harry BeckettFind albums by this artist and guitarist Ed SpeightFind albums by this artist, both regular members of his groups, as guest soloist. The album presents five tracks, all composed and arranged by Collier. The recording quality is excellent. The fifteen members strong Swedish Radio Jazz Group included some of the finest Swedish / European musicians active at the time, including saxophonists Arne DomnerusFind albums by this artist and Lennart AbergFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Bertil LovgrenFind albums by this artist, pianist Bengt HallbergFind albums by this artist and others. The music follows the modus operandi of Collier’s compositional concepts, which produced several Jazz suites over time. The music is based on highly melodic themes, with characteristic Collier’s love of the Blues and modern harmony, which in this case are beautifully and highly imaginatively arranged for a Big Band, rather than the more common arrangements for his small groups. There is plenty of superb soloing, both by the two Brits and the local Swedes. Especially interesting are the guitar solos, which emphasize the great talent of Speight, who is often otherwise overlooked, despite being certainly one of the most unique British guitar players. I remember talking to Graham about this recording at the time and in time completely forgot about it. Seeing it released was a most pleasant surprise, like finding a lost treasure. The album includes informative liner notes by Duncan HeiningFind albums by this artist, which offers a historical perspective of Collier’s work. Kudos to Jon GriffithsFind albums by this artist, the owner of My Only DesireFind albums on this label Records, for releasing this fabulous piece of music, which was dormant for so many years. This is a second album, which documents the collaboration between British Jazz musicians with the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, following the fabulous Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist’s “Love And Understanding: Citadel / Room 315 Sweden `74Find albums with this title” album released a year earlier. Hopefully more of such gems will follow. All British Jazz fans are grateful, of course! Overall, this is a wonderful piece of British Jazz history, which deserves to be heard today, as it lost absolutely nothing of its power of expression and aesthetic values, fulfilling a missing link that many Collier fans can now consider as resolved. An absolute must have!

Updated: 10/03/2023Posted: 13/05/2022

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TERJE RYPDAL ~ ODYSSEY – IN STUDIO & IN CONCERT ECM 2136/38 (Barcode: 602527945668) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1975 - 1976 Released: 2012 This magnificent Box Set includes, for the first time, the complete content of the seminal album "OdysseyFind albums with this title" recorded by Norwegian guitarist / composer Terje RypdalFind albums by this artist and his quintet and released originally as a double LP (ECM 1067/68). In addition to Rypdal the quintet also included trombonist Torbjorn SundeFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Brynjulf BlixFind albums by this artist, electric bassist Sveinung HovensjoFind albums by this artist and drummer Svein ChristiansenFind albums by this artist. This Box Set also includes a third CD entitled "Unfinished Highballs", with the previously unreleased live recordings by the same group (less the trombonist) accompanied by the Swedish Radio Jazz GroupFind albums by this artist, which incorporated some of the best Swedish Jazz players at the time. "Odyssey" comprises of eight pieces, all composed by Rypdal, the longest of those being over 23 minutes long. "Unfinished Highballs" presents seven additional compositions by Rypdal, which do not appear on "Odyssey". The music of "Odyssey", strongly influenced by the great modern Classical composer György LigetiFind albums by this artist, who composed some of the music included in the soundtrack of the celebrated "2001: A Space Odyssey" movie (hence the connection), combines also many influences from other genres, like Jazz (Miles DavisFind albums by this artist) and Rock (Jimmy HendrixFind albums by this artist). Although it certainly defies known genres, and perhaps defines a genre of its own, in retrospect it is certainly one of the earliest major efforts to create Ambient music, which moves somewhere between contemporary Classical on one hand and Jazz-Rock on another. It is certainly one of the rare cases where the word "unique" in truly and completely justified. In retrospect this music is way ahead of its time, as perhaps only now some music listeners are mature enough and experienced enough (myself included) to appreciate the prophetic nature of this music. Ambient music "happened" only decades later and then most of it was nowhere near the magnificence of this music included herein. Rypdal´s screaming guitar backed by organ and trombone and propelled by the electric rhythm section are a universe of sound, which remains unchallenged. The famous sound of Rypdal´s guitar is best defined by this album, as it can be heard in many different settings, from painting atmospheric soundscapes to soloing furiously on top of a Rocky rhythmic pattern. The legendary "Rolling Stone" piece, which closes the album (and was omitted from the first single CD reissue), is perhaps one of the most remarkable Jazz-Rock anthems ever recorded. The release of "Unfinished Highballs" is a true cherry topping, as it presents a completely new perspective of Rypdal´s music. Although Rypdal was no stranger to the Big Band setting (see for example his recordings with George RussellFind albums by this artist) this time we can hear his music being performed by a Big Band, which is quite another story. The power of a Big Band takes the music to a new territory, which is more Jazzy that the music of "Odyssey", but retains the Rypdal spirit. Rypdal will return to the Big Band only 33 years later, with the recording of "Crime Scene". This is an absolute must for any faithful follower of European Jazz and Jazz-Rock and Jazz-Classical Fusions. This is a milestone recording, which remains as fresh as on the day it was recorded, with most of it still quite futuristic. An absolute gem!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

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MIKE WESTBROOK ~ LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING: CITADEL / ROOM 315 SWEDEN `74 MY ONLY DESIRE 003 (Barcode: 5052442016687) ~ UK ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 1974 Released: 2020 This is an archival album, which finally brings back to life the original live recording of the “Citadel / Room 315Find albums with this title” suite by British pianist / composer / bandleader Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist, recorded with the Swedish Radio Jazz GroupFind albums by this artist featuring Westbrook on electric piano and British saxophonist John SurmanFind albums by this artist as the guest soloist. A studio version of the suite was recorded a year later by an all British lineup and released on RCAFind albums on this label. The album presents eleven tracks, all composed and arranged by Westbrook. The recording quality is absolutely marvelous. The sixteen members strong Swedish Radio Jazz Group included some of the finest Swedish / European musicians active at the time, including saxophonists Arne DomnerusFind albums by this artist and Lennart AbergFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Bertil LovgrenFind albums by this artist, pianist Bengt HallbergFind albums by this artist and others. A comparison with the British recording version, which of course is well known to all Westbrook followers, shows several distinct differences, especially as far as the overall sound, which here is somewhat more “traditional” and closer to the American Big Band tradition, which is not surprising considering the years-long Swedish Jazz tradition, very closely linked to the American tradition and the fact that many prominent American Jazz musicians lived in Sweden at the time. The British version, recorded by the young generation of musicians, who revolutionized the local Jazz scene completely and managed to create a distinct new Jazz dialect, is somewhat more daring and “subversive”, in the best possible way of course. Kudos to My Only DesireFind albums on this label Records for releasing this fabulous piece of music, which was dormant for so many years. All British Jazz fans are grateful, of course! Overall, this is a wonderful piece of British Jazz history, which deserves to be heard today, as it lost absolutely nothing of its power of expression and aesthetic values, fulfilling a missing link that many Westbrook fans can now consider as resolved. An absolute must have!

Updated: 02/02/2023Posted: 12/03/2022

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