Not to be missed musical experience
Ian Muldoon | Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia | 10/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My critical comment is - go for it. The rest is mainly "gush" and if that's not for you, stop right here. Since 1979 I've had a great affection for this beautiful music, and my love for it came back with a rush on hearing Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre on tenor, Chris White on Electric Bass and Jumma Santos on drums on the opening track on Disc One, a piece by Mr McIntyre called JAYS. But the wonder of these 3CD's which contain the original 5LP's is that the music is completely at one with the evolution of the search for freedom which Afro-Americans had sought throughout the 20th century. It was recorded just post Vietnam, another white man's folly, with Mr Ford in the White House. Up until the 1970's the great artists of that century's most important musical development were celebrated as entertainers (Louis Armstrong) or patronised as upmarket nightclub performers who adopted the titles of European royalty (Duke Ellington). But with Sam and Bea Rivers, among others, the best of the new players (artists) broke free of the commercial imperatives set by record companies, broke free of the musical boundaries set by Tin Pan Alley and the European tempered scale, broke free of musical fashion of the day - fusion, rock, whatever - and played what they felt and thought freely. There was no turning back. Many had shown the way, in their way, including Louis, and Duke, but it was an audacious move to release 5LP's of improvised music featuring no single well known artist instead allowing the young artists themselves to determine the content, and course, and duration of the music. This democratic decision by the producers Sam and Bea Rivers and Alan Douglas of Douglas Records resulted in one of the best live recordings ever, capturing the excitement of the moment with technical fidelity. Mr Rivers is a musical and social hero of mine and his work on this release - RAINBOWS- rivals that on my favourite single CD of his STREAMS which is another live recording. Note also that Mr Rivers, forever modest, leads on only one track of the 22 that are on these 3CD's. Some of the greatest musicians in the music are featured - Ken McIntyre, Sunny Murray, David Ware, David Murray, Dave Burrell, Julius Hemphill, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Jimmy Lyons - but less well known excellent musicians include Phillip Wilson (drums) Lyle Atkinson(bass) Karen Borca (Bassoon) Khan Jamal (vibes) as well as the social historian, essayist and critic, Stanley Crouch (drums). The greatness of this music is centred on the fact that it was the direct and heartfelt expression of musicians who were proudly taking a lead in their field in their time in the greatest battle that can be fought - the one to be free. These 3CDs are an essential historical document as well as a beautiful musical and spiritual experience. Not to be missed. PS. Dig Sonelius' Smith's solo on THE NEED IS TO SMILE (CD1, Track 6) or Byard Lancaster's wry solo on OVER THE RAINBOW (CD1, Track 3) or Ken McIntyre's beautiful flute solo on NAOMI (CD1 Track 7) but I have to say EVERY track has its moments."
Indespensible Snapshot of a Creative Time!
Christopher Forbes | Brooklyn,, NY | 11/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are moments in artistic history where time, place and people all combine to create something unique and almost legendary. You could think of Florence or Venice in Rennaissance painting, the Bloomsbury group in England, the Second Viennese school in 30th century music, the list could go on. This CD documents one such time, though one that has not gotten the coverage outside of jazz circles that it deserves....The 22 tracks on this recording, recorded by some of the biggest names in avant-garde music as well as some who have remained obscure, document this period of intense creative ferment as nothing else does. This recording, originally released on the Douglas label as a 5 album set, was recorded over a weekend festival in Sam Rivers loft, Studio Rivbea. Many great names are here, Anthony Braxton, Rivers, Jimmy Lyons, Air, Randy Weston, Marion Brown. And many people on this album have disappeared on record...Michael Jackson (no, not that one) gives a terrific performance, yet he remains almost unknown today. Not all of the music on this collection is equally inspired. Some of it wanders, some is less than compelling. But what works is electric. Highlights include the terribly underrecorded Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre doing his composition Jays...avant-garde meets Sly Stone, one of the first really successful applications of Ornette's Prime Time concept. (It's important to remember that, though Prime Time's first album was released in 1977, Ornette had recorded the material several years earlier and had been performing at his own loft frequently.) Sam Rivers is characteristically searing on Rainbows, a marvelous trio performance. Sunny Murray's ensemble, The Untouchable Factor, features the miraculous Byard Lancaster on alto, performing on two cuts, including a haunting version of Over the Rainbow. Sun Ra trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah leads a groups with another underated performer, Charles Brackeen on Blue Phase. Julius Hemphill's funky ensemble features Prime Time guitarist Bern Nix in an extension of the harmelodic concept that would eventually morph into the 80s no-wave style. Roscoe Mitchell shines in a trio setting with two drummers. And Hmmiet Bluiett leads a septet featuring Ola Daru on an almost New Orleansian slow blues...you can feel the ghost of Sidney Bechet in Bluiett's clarinet.The music is marvelously diverse. For those who think of the Avant-garde as uniformly chaotic, this disc challenges that notion. Randy Weston plays a marvelous boppy tribute to his father. Dave Burrell is also suitably traditional. Some of the guitar based groups show the influence of jazz-rock, but with a rawness that the more mainstream groups never achieved. (Abdullah's Blue Phase particularly impresses as something you wish Freddy Hubbard had tried, rather than his warmed over funk.) And for fans of New York Energy playing, there's Andrew Cyrille's group which is as frenetic as any set by Cecil Taylor. This time in jazz unfotunately didn't last. ...And, with the advent of the Marsalis Mafia, most of these players retreated from general public view. This is really a shame, since much of this music is really commercially viable...unlike late Coltrane or the "free" music of the 60's, 70s avant-garde is much more varied, modal, and structured. The "skronk" factor is less strong, or at least less chaotic, and yet the creativity is intense. So this disc is essenstial to anyone willing to re-evaluate this period in music. There are unexpected delights all over the disc. And as a time capsule, it's unique...comparable to the early bop bootleg recordings or the Coltrane Vangard sessions. It captures more than just the music...it captures the entire ambiance of the time. Would that we could recapture some of that creativity in this era of warmed over Art Blakey licks!"
Great Sampler For The Price
The Mascara Snake | Deepintheheartof Appalachia | 03/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This set is a great document of the loft scene of the early 70's as well as a good introduction/sample of a lot of the great, but somewhat lesser known players of this music. There are a lot of these guys out there, and most have a lot of recordings, so it could get kind of expensive to go out and buy a ton of Cd's by a bunch of these artists to see what they are/were doing. But, with this set you can spend a little over 20 bucks, and be able to check out what guys like Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Leo Smith, Marion Brown, Randy Weston, Oliver Lake, Byard Lancaster (the list goes on, and on, and on) etc. sound like. All in all, I think it's a great way for someone who is familliar with the major creative forces of this music (Cecil Taylor, Ornette, Sun Ra, Coltrane etc.) to dig in a little deeper and get a good taste of some of the lesser heard (but just as relavent)players without draining your wallet. One more thing I should mention is, if you see the names and think (like I did) that this is just gonna be hours and hours of a crazy, nonstop, OUT THERE blowing fest, you'll be surprised! There is actually a lot of really beautiful, interesting, organic music contained herein (especially on disc 2) as well as a good helping of the more full throttle energy music that you were expecting. It shows you that these musicians knew how to make the most of the instruments, of their bandmates/ensembles, as well as the music the've been given. HIGHLY RECOMENDED FOR THE MONEY!"
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1