Unanswered Prayers

Centipede (Robert Fripp produced their LP) featured a lot of this crowd. Also “1969″ by Julie Driscoll.

That Amalgam record is excellent. Picked it up on the back of Tom Hull’s writing on it a few year’s back.

Like Dean above here, I don’t know too much about Brit. jazz. They are the usual suspects, mostly. Tony Oxley, of course, whose ‘Baptised Traveller’ I like a lot. Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Dave Holland (prefer his 70s and early 80s work), a couple of John McLaughlin’s records, and Graham Collier. Collier’s ‘directing 14 Jackson Pollocks’ ended up on my top 25 jazz records list of 2009.

May also mention Henry Cow/Fred Frith and the like. Not strictly jazz, but thought they deserved a shout.

I became aware of Graham Collier thanks to Chris M… so far i only have Hoarded Dreams, which i heartily recommend, and i will definitely be checking out more GC in the near future.

Other Brit goodness = I’m all about the Paul Dunmall at the moment. The Great Divide and the live recording of it, Bridging, are awesome.

Interesting– my copy of Prayer for Peace (on Transatlantic) is only a single release. You guys sure about the double helping? Whatever the case, I’m kinda sentimental about this one, it being my first from Trevor Watts et al. But I’d also rep for his later, more groove-based offerings, with Samanna possibly being the strongest. I believe this was the only time that Amalgam had two bassists in a studio setting, and this provides a sweet tension in the low end. Really, so-called fusion from 1977 should not be this delicious.

There are some excellent recommendations listed above. Paul Dunmall has an extensive discography, of which I know precious little, but it’s his loose electronic jams with Present Tense (captured on INFINITY CALLING, from 2004) that I tend to quote whenever discussing him.

Another excellent UK-based ensemble is (was?) Pinski Zoo, whose debut album from 1981 adapts the harmolodic concept to the piano and occasionally suggests James Chance guesting with Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. There’s also a collab with Adrian Sherwood but it’s arguably more interesting in description than execution.

I’m not convinced that UK jazz has flown that far beneath the radar at D:O. What about the avant jazz scene across the Channel? I’ve an ongoing concern that there’s some kinda parallel universe in France that I’m almost entirely missing…

Doug – We’ve only got the CD reissue and scored that bit of (mis)information about the Transatlantic release straight from the BBC. If you’ve got the original vinyl then you’re right. Thanks for the correction.

Never heard Samantha. That’s officially an Amalgam release or a Watts? If you have a burn of that you’d like to share or swap for something, drop us an email…. And are there other Amalgam releases you highly rate? The only other ones I’m familiar with are Wipe Out and Play Blackwell & Higgins.

Thanks for the recommends on Dunmall and Pinski Zoo. As for the French scene, you’re right. We’ve been peeking into that world with some friends who know those waters better than us serving as guides. We’re still finding our way but hope to have some offerings to share before too long…

Most of the key names from the era have been mentioned, but one I would add is Mike Westbrook ( albums such as ‘Marching Songs’, ‘Celebration’, ‘Release’, ‘Celebration’ and ‘Citadel / Room 315′.
Another free-ish album that’s worth seeking out is ‘Springboard’ which features a quartet of Ian Carr, Trevor Watts, Jeff Clyne and John Stevens ( Polydor, 1966 ).