Cecil Taylor "Sperichill on Calling"

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Cecil Taylor
Live in the Black Forest
LP
(Pausa Records, 1979)

Man, sometimes a bit of good, blasting free jazz is just what I need. Today's man of the . . . um . . . day, Cecil Taylor was outed as gay in 1982 by critic Stanley Crouch, who apparently asserted that Cecil couldn't play piano properly because he is gay. Uhhhh . . . whatever. Cecil is a genius and Stanley is just a critic. Nuf said.

The Players:

• Cecil Taylor - piano
• Raphé Malik - trumpet
• Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone
• Ramsey Ameen - violin
• Sirone - bass
• Ron Jackson - drums

Recorded June 3rd, 1978 in SWF-Radio JazzConcert in Kirchzarten/Black Forest/West Germany

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NOTA BENE: I've taken the liberty of excising the applause that follows the performance so I could keep the file size under 20MB (my MP3 host's size limit) while keeping the bit-rate as high as possible (112kbps).

Gold Sparkle Band "G.S."

Gold Sparkle Band Can't U C ↓ The Sea? cassette (Old Gold, 1994)

When these cats first started playing around town, all the local critics could muster to write about was their choice of attire, and that the Gold Sparkle in their name was a reference to drummer Andrew Barker's kit. I guess the concept of jazz being played by . . . gasp! . . . dudes who'd been in rock bands was too much for their little minds to grasp. You see, Barker had pounded the skins with Melts, featured here last August, and bassist Andrew Burnes had bassed with Barrel, whom I mentioned in my post for San Agustin, since they were his next destination after leaving the GSB. The other three guys in this lineup of the band had formerly been members of Menudo*. This nifty little cassette was their debut release. Three of the five songs were re-recorded for their first CD, Earthmover. Today's piece, however, is not one of them. *this is a lie

Idio Savant "Escape from the Trick Vans #6"

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Idio Savant
Shakers in a Tantrum Landscape
LP
(Artifacts , 1979)

Idio Savant were an improv quartet from Richmond, VA back in the 1970s. As far as I know, Shakers in a Tantrum Landscape was their only release. The members all went on to other bands, however, hence the before they were famous tag.

Line-up:

• John Pippin Barnett - drums and percussion
• Dan Finney - alto, tenor, baritone saxophones, duck-o-phone, fandango
• Martin McCavitt - synthosizer, organ, piano, etc.
• Paul Watson - trumpet, alto trumpet, flugelhorn, etc.

Pippin, Dan and Paul all went on to the Orthotonics, featured here in September of last year. They also all played with Half Japanese at one time or another (you can find them scattered throughout the albums Our Solar System and Sing No Evil). After the Orthos split, Pippin went on to be a member of both Curlew and Nimal. Danny joined former Orthotonic Rebby Sharp in the combo Rattlemouth, who've released a number of CDs.

Marty was, of course, the Marty half of The Tom and Marty Band, also featured here last September. Sometime later, he, Pippin and Paul started the group Famous Actors from Out of Town, whose lone release, an album-length cassette, will be featured here at some point.

Air "Suisse Air"

Air
Montreux Suisse Air
LP
(Arista/Novus, 1978)

As you may have guessed, this is not the French electronic duo Air, but, rather, an American free jazz trio from the 70's & 80's:

• Henry Threadgill (alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, hubkaphone)
  
• Fred Hopkins (bass)
  
• Steve McCall (drums, percussion)

I started listening to Air when I found out Henry Threadgill was a member. The first jazz artist that resonated with me was Threadgill. My college radio show used to follow the last jazz programming of the day (I was a rock DJ). Almost invariably, if I liked something and asked Steve (the DJ) what it was, his answer was Henry Threadgill.

The first Threadgill stuff I got was the albums he did with his combo The Henry Threadgill Sextett, and they were mighty fine. I think Montreux Suisse Air was the first Air album I bought, around twenty years ago. Or possibly not. It was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 22, 1978. I like it.