Record Reviews

MICHAEL GARRICK / SHAKE KEANE ~ RISING STARS TRUNK 041 (Barcode: 666017241425) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1964 Released: 2011 The tiny British TrunkFind albums by this artist Records label (owned by Jonny TrunkFind albums by this artist) is an endless source of discovery for a serious collector, specializing in unearthing ultra rare (or rarer) recordings and bringing them back to light. For specialist in British Jazz Trunk Records have some incredible offers, like the lost album by pianist / composer Michael GarrickFind albums by this artist, called "MoonscapeFind albums with this title". This album offers another Garrick gem, the impossible to find "A Case Of JazzFind albums with this title" EP, recorded at the same year and performed by the Garrick quartet with trumpeter Shake KeaneFind albums by this artist, bassist Coleridge GoodeFind albums by this artist and drummer Bobby OrrFind albums by this artist, which is a superb example of the early Garrick as well as the early British modern Jazz. In addition, another EP, which was never released commercially, includes four tracks by Keane, two recorded with a choir and two with an Orchestra, both highlighting his incredible tone and feel, unparalleled by any other British player since. Together these eight tracks are a wonderful document of the era and an indispensable part of any serious British Jazz collection!

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JOE HARRIOTT ~ MOVEMENT / HIGH SPIRITS VOCALION 8486 (Barcode: 765387848620) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 - 1964 Released: 2012 It´s always a great pleasure to see reissues of legendary albums, which have been unavailable for years, suddenly appear on the market out of the blue, making a dream come true for music lovers, who anxiously hoped for them to be finally available on CD, rather than mortgaging their homes in order to get an insanely expensive fifty years old vinyl. This is certainly true as far as these two albums by the British Jazz saxophonist Joe HarriottFind albums by this artist are concerned. Harriott, born in Jamaica, was one of several West Indian musicians, who arrived on the British scene, like trumpeter Shake KeaneFind albums by this artist, who became his close musical partner and plays on these two albums as well. By the early 1960s Harriott emerged as the most advanced pioneer of the new Jazz explorations, including Free Jazz, one of the first British musicians to embrace the concept of Free Form spontaneity in composition and performance. His absolutely incredible virtuosity as a player allowed him to achieve results unparalleled by any of his peers on the British scene at the time. His quintet included also pianist Pat SmytheFind albums by this artist, bassist Coleridge GoodeFind albums by this artist and drummer Bobby OrrFind albums by this artist, some of the finest British Jazz players at the time. Four members of this quintet (excluding Smythe of course) were also members of the various ensembles led by pianist / composer Michael GarrickFind albums by this artist at the same time. "MovementFind albums with this title", the first of the two albums included here, is a natural follow up to the two albums recorded earlier by Harriott: "Free FormFind albums with this title" and "AbstractFind albums with this title", which were full fledged Free Jazz releases. It includes nine original compositions, seven by Harriott and two by Garrick, which range stylistically between modern mainstream pieces and Free Form pieces, a rather unusual approach. The Free Form pieces are perhaps the most advanced Harriott´s excursions in that direction, but their overall impact of somewhat softened by the more conventional pieces present here. Nevertheless this is a brilliant piece of modern Jazz and an absolute milestone recording of the modern British Jazz legacy of that period. "High SpiritsFind albums with this title" is quite a surprise as it is completely "conventional", with the quintet playing modern Jazz arrangements of the themes composed for the musical show of the same name, which was being staged In UK and USA at the time. Here the listener gets the opportunity to hear Harriott, Keane and Smythe playing perfect solos, showing their respective talents. The overall performance is simply perfect in every possible meaning of the word, clearly showing that by that time European musicians could play Jazz as well as their American contemporaries, if not better. Considering the fact that Harriott´s recorded legacy is relatively limited, this new edition is simply a godsend. Beautifully remastered by Michael J. DuttonFind albums by this artist this reissue offers for the first time ever the stereo mixes of these two albums, never previously released, which is one more reason to grab them immediately without hesitation. Pure musical gold!

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JOE HARRIOTT ~ THE RAKE`S PROGRESS – AT THE BBC RHYTHM AND BLUES 084 (Barcode: 5060331752882) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1961 - 1966 Released: 2022 This is an archival album presenting three sessions recorded by the BBC with the Jamaica born legendary British saxophonist / composer Joe HarriottFind albums by this artist and his quintets in 1961, 1964 and 1966, altogether seventeen tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Harriott (for undisclosed reasons the order of the sessions on the CD is not chronological). The 1961 quintet includes trumpeter Les CondonFind albums by this artist, pianist Pat SmytheFind albums by this artist, bassist Coleridge GoodeFind albums by this artist and drummer Phil SeamenFind albums by this artist. The 1964 quintet includes trumpeter Shake KeaneFind albums by this artist, Smythe, Goode and drummer Bobby OrrFind albums by this artist. The 1966 quintet includes trumpeter Ian CarrFind albums by this artist, pianist Michael GarrickFind albums by this artist, Goode and drummer Alan GreenFind albums by this artist. The music faithfully represents the dramatic development of Harriott’s music in the early 1960s, moving between Bebop and Free Jazz, and eventually resulting in a completely individual form of Free Improvisation, which was distinctly different from the American Free Jazz, which was being created across the pond. The five albums Harriott recorded between 1960 and 1964: “Southern HorizonsFind albums with this title”, “Free FormFind albums with this title”, “AbstractFind albums with this title”, “MovementFind albums with this title” and “High SpiritFind albums with this title” (in particular the mid three) are absolutely fundamental classics, being one of the earliest modern British Jazz recordings, signaling the revolution which will shake and reshape the local Jazz scene in the years to come. Although the recording is in Mono, the sound quality is excellent and every note of the music is perfectly audible. The choice of material is rather conservative, probably considering the fact that the BBC broadcasts were not entirely directed to the small minority of Free Jazz listeners. Harriott’s albums were rather harshly criticized by the Jazz “establishment” at the time, as usual with forward thinking Artists, who were simply light-years ahead of the music critics at the time. Overall, every note of music recorded by Harriott is of course absolutely worth hearing, and since the material included on this album was, as far as I know, not released previously anywhere, it is worth its weight in gold. Warmly recommended to all British Jazz fans anywhere on this planet.

Updated: 29/09/2022Posted: 29/09/2022

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JOE HARRIOTT ~ THREE CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 499 (Barcode: 5036408174529) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1959 - 1962 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the first three albums by British (born in Jamaica) saxophonist / composer Joe HarriottFind albums by this artist, one of the pivotal figures of modern British Jazz. These albums were recorded with the absolute crème de la crème of the aspiring new wave of British Jazz musicians, who were transforming the Jazz idiom at the time. They include trumpeters Hank ShawFind albums by this artist and Shake KeaneFind albums by this artist, pianists Harry SouthFind albums by this artist and Pat SmytheFind albums by this artist, bassist Coleridge GoodeFind albums by this artist and drummers Bobby OrrFind albums by this artist and Phil SeamenFind albums by this artist. Percussionist Frank HolderFind albums by this artist guest on several tracks. The sequence of these three albums, recorded over a period of about three years, is perhaps the most important example of the birth of the revolutionary modern British Jazz in the early 1960s, which was about to spread shortly also to the rest of the Continent. The first album "Southern HorizonsFind albums with this title" (recorded between May 1959 and April 1960) is seemingly a straightforward Bebop date, but a more advanced listener will find some highly unusual twists and turns, somewhat related to the work of Ornette ColemanFind albums by this artist, which already take this album beyond Bebop and into a more adventurous area Harriott was already developing in his head. The second album "Free FormFind albums with this title" (recorded in November 1960), which despite its title is not about the commonly conceived Free Jazz idiom, takes a dramatic leap forward, even beyond what Coleman was doing at the time, creating the European equivalent of Free Form, which was much more subtle and sophisticated in many respects and based on amalgamation of chord structures, tonality, rhythmic diversity and contemporary European Classical influences with the Jazz tradition. The result is presented on this album in full bloom, and constitutes perhaps the "Big Bang" of European Jazz. The third album "AbstractFind albums with this title" (recorded between November 1961 and May 1962) is a full blown Free Form masterpiece, which to this day is one of the strongest examples of primal modern British Jazz, which has almost nothing to do with American Jazz tradition and breaks all possible barriers and limitations, opening a new prospect for things to come. In spite of his genius, or perhaps because of it, Harriott would die in 1973 as a lonely, forgotten and destitute man, ravaged by illness, after almost four years of inactivity. His music and his pivotal contribution to British Jazz was sadly almost completely ignored for decades and even today he is known only to a selected group of admirers. Any serious Jazz connoisseur, who is not familiar with these albums, should rectify this unforgivable neglect ASAP, as there would not be British / European Jazz as we know it without Joe Harriott´s contribution. Absolutely essential! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 26/03/2016

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

SHAKE KEANE ~ THAT`S THE NOISE VOCALION 8408 (Barcode: 765387840822) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1967 Released: 2005 Trumpeter / composer Shake KeaneFind albums by this artist was born in St Vincent (West Indies) and emigrated to Britain in the early 1950s. His superb tone and total control of his instrument was immediately recognized and the local music scene immediately absorbed him, providing plenty of opportunities for him to play in a variety of styles. By the end of the 1950s Keane almost completely to playing Jazz and became one of the spearheading figures of the British modern / free Jazz. He was a member of the pioneering group led by saxophonist Joe HarriottFind albums by this artist, with whom he recorded some of the most pivotal early European free Jazz. He was also a member, together with Harriott, in the groups led by pianist Michael GarrickFind albums by this artist. Keane’s prime interest was actually in poetry and literature, which gave him his nickname, as short for Shakespeare. Playing with Garrick, he participated in the Jazz & Poetry scene, which of course was only appropriate for his field of interest. Keane left Britain in the late 1960s, first to Germany and later returning to his native island, where he became a government minister of culture. He continued his literary work and published works of prose and poetry. A few years before his death in 1997 he returned to his musical activities and even recorded new albums. Strangely enough, in the midst of his activity in the Avant-Garde Jazz field, Keane recorded a few solo albums, which present another side of his musical personality. These albums could be considered as belonging to the “lighter” side of Jazz, where Keane mostly played adaptations of Pop songs of the period. This album is one of these, and although at the time it was criticized as being a “sell-out”, in retrospect it is a real gem. Keane does use a set of Pop songs (BeatlesFind albums by this artist, Rolling StonesFind albums by this artist, DonovanFind albums by this artist and others) as the basis, but the clever and unusual arrangements and his phenomenal improvisational skills turn these songs inside out and the overall effect is truly spectacular. A couple of his original compositions are also included and one more by his partner Joe Harriott. He leads a splendid sextet with Bob EffordFind albums by this artist – sax, Olaf VasFind albums by this artist – flute, Pat SmytheFind albums by this artist – piano, Coleridge GoodeFind albums by this artist – bass and Bobby OrrFind albums by this artist – drums (Stan TraceyFind albums by this artist plays piano on three tracks), which plays elegantly and effortlessly. I had a real ball listening to this uplifting music. Easy Jazz? Perhaps, but who cares, when it sounds as good as this.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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