Dave Burrell - La Vie De Bohême (1969) [re-rip]

La Vie de Bohême. Opéra de Giacomo Puccini, arrangements de Dave Burrell

A great free improvisation reinterpretation of Puccini's opera arranged and played by Dave Burrell. This musician played with some of the great artists of the '60s free jazz scene including Pharoah Saunders, Sonny Sharrock and Elvin Jones and the album was released on the legendary French jazz label BYG Records. If you have some interest in Free Jazz, it is worth the trip.

This album is Dave Burrell's free jazz take on Puccini's opera "La Bohème". Regardless of its French title it is not French. However, the LP was recorded in France and half the musicians are indeed French. For this album Burrell plays piano and occasionally harp, Rick Colbeck doubles on trumpet and piano harp, Jackie McLean-alum Grachan Moncur III blows his bittersweet trombone and rattles the chimes, Kenneth Terroade plays tenor sax and flute, Beb Guérin is on bass, Claude Delcloo tears it up on drums, and Burrell's mother Eleanor provides some rather abstract vocals. It's a suite in four acts; the ungainly ensemble takes up the occasional classical theme, enriching it now and then with jazzy themes and then launches into improvisation shifting into other avant-garde styled music with Burrell performing some insane lightning runs up and down the keyboard. The overall affect is quite dramatic, with quirky and melancholic overtones that create an atmosphere full of uplifting joy and harmony. The album maintains a common focus on collective improvisation with some soloing. Overall it is a well constructed and conceived arrangement of enthralling music which can be enjoyed with repetitive appraisals.

BYG/ACTUEL Records, 529.330, 1970

Recorded 21^st December, 1969 at Studio Saravah, Paris

Musicians:

Dave Burrell - Piano, Harp

Kenneth Terroade - Tenor Saxophone, Flute

Grachan Moncur III - Trombone, Chimes

Ric Colbeck - Trumpet, Piano Harp

Beb Guérin - Bass

Claude Delcloo - Drums

Eleanor Burrell - Voice

Tracks:

A1. First Act (20:03)

A2. Second Act [1st Part] (6:16)

B1. Second Act [2nd Part] (10:56)

B2. Third Act (4:51)

B3. Fourth Act (7:16)

Rip Info:

The music was taken from a well-loved old pressing. Some muffled surface noise is still apparent, especially in quieter sections. Tracks A2 and B1 have been carefully joined into Second Act, hence new Tracklist:

1. First Act (20:03)

2. Second Act (16:59)

3. Third Act (4:51)

4. Fourth Act (7:16)

Credits:

Producer - Jean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young

Arranger - Dave Burrell

Liner Notes - Dave Burrell & Jean-Max Michel

Arthur Jones - Scorpio (1969) [vinyl]

Arthur Jones was a particular kind of free jazz cat - think Alan Shorter, Ric Colbeck, Jacques Coursil, Don Ayler - one whose almost chimerically brief moment of blazing creativity flashed across the firmament before streaking off into the night sky, leaving only faint traces and contrails. Jones came out of Cleveland, was schooled in rock bands before being introduced to the New Thing, version 1.0, via Dolphy and Coleman.

In the later 1960s he played with, among others, Frank Wright, Sunny Murray, and Coursil, who escorted Jones to Paris in 1969 to take in the whole BYG scene coalescing there in the wake of the Pan-African festival in Algiers - not to mention the open revolt. It was in Paris in the summer of 1969 that Jones recorded this date as a leader, one of his very few, while also appearing around that time on discs with Archie Shepp, Burton Greene, Clifford Thornton, Dave Burrell, etc. According to the invaluable liner notes to the Jazzactuel box set, written by Thurston Moore and Byron Coley, Jones died in New York in 1998.

Jones' sound is warm, almost sweet, with hints of Johnny Hodges and Cannonball Adderley around the edges. That said, the soaring opening of "B.T." reminds us of nothing other than Coltrane’s "Afro Blue" from Live at Birdland. They both take flight in the same manner, heading straight for the clouds with a determined whoop. The trilling notes in the theme also recall "Afro Blue," if that theme had been boiled down to a few resonant tremors - a sister tune to that performance. There’s not much higher praise we can offer.

Jones' insistent and incantatory tone throughout this track is spine-tingling, really; the rhythm section breakdown just there to throw his playing into relief, so we can catch our collective breath and better appreciate his second run at the melody. This is so melodic and easy to follow, structured without ever being simple or over-considered. It’s emotional without losing its complexity, or sense of form. A total fucking bravura performance. Damn.

"C.R.M." is storming in a different mode, with Jones throwing out cycles of notes, doing frantic figure eights. Where you could feel his steadily beat upward in "B.T.," Here he’s chasing himself in a circle, creating a whirlwind, a gravitational pull - a cloud of sparrows massing from tree to tree.

There are also lovely ballads on the album - one of which, "Brother B," can be heard on the Jazzactuel collection. These showcase Jones’ range, his tenderness, his romantic side; but these qualities can be heard here as well, in the midst of some of the barn-burners. Needless to say, we find Scorpio to be a lost gem, an overlooked album that features a super-strong alto voice that was ultimately heard far too little. ~ Destination Out.

BYG/Actuel Records, 529.350, 1971

America Records, 30 AM 6112, 1971

P-Vine, PLP-6501, 1989

Recorded August, 1969 in Paris, France

Musicians:

Arthur Jones - Alto Saxophone

Beb Guerin - Bass

Claude Delcloo - Drums

Tracks:

A1. C.R.M. {Arthur Jones} (10:09)

A2. B.T. {Arthur Jones} (8:00)

B1. Sad Eyes {Arthur Jones} (13:05)

B2. Brother B. {Arthur Jones} (7:19)

Credits:

Producer - Jean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young

Executive-Producer, Photography - Jacques Bisceglia

Engineer - Daniel Vallencien

Sleeve Notes - Jean-Michel Max