PRS + EVAN PARKER - LIVE!!! (1989)

SIMON PICARD  tenor saxophone
PAUL ROGERS  bass
JOHN STEVENS  drums
EVAN PARKER  tenor saxophone

1. 39:05

Live at The Duke of Wellington, London
14th October 1989

John Stevens, Elton Dean, Marc Charig, Nick Evans, Barry Guy - Half Moon, London. 1979

JOHN STEVENS  drums
ELTON DEAN  alto sax, saxello?
MARK CHARIG  trumpet
NICK EVANS  trombone
BARRY GUY  bass

1. 27:47
2. 23:43
3. 36:07

TT 87:17

Live at the Half Moon, London
18th November 1979

Another dusty old tape by way of the Boze. 
Barry Guy is great on these sessions - playing slow when all else is bubbling.

John Stevens/Elton Dean/Nick Evans/Barry Guy - London 1979

JOHN STEVENS  drums
ELTON DEAN  alto sax, saxello?
NICK EVANS  trombone
BARRY GUY  bass

1. 32:24
2. 12:46
3. 28:43

Live at the Plough, Stockwell, London
28th September 1979

With thanks to the original taper and to Bozo for the copy.

Keith Tippett & Larry Stabbins, Ric Colbeck Qt, Exeter Free Jazz Duo - radio broadcasts

01 Keith Tippett and Larry Stabbins - Clay  15:58
02 Charles Fox intro to Ric Colbeck Qt - 2:58
03 Ric Colbeck Qt - Loose Joints - 11:04
04 Ric Colbeck Qt - Aphrodite - 13:44
05 Charles Fox intro to Exeter Free Jazz Duo - 1:34
06 Exeter Free Jazz Duo - Bird's Touch - 22:40

Keith Tippett  piano
Larry Stabbins  tenor saxophone
b'cast 21.11.83
----------------------
Ric Colbeck  trumpet
Mike Osborne  alto saxophone
Roy Babbington  bass
John Stevens  drums
b'cast 11.06.79
----------------------
Exeter Free Jazz Duo
Lou Gare  tenor saxophone
Fred Burwood  drums
b'cast 30.11.81

BBC Radio 3 Jazz in Britain broadcasts

UPCOMING & RECENT RELEASES XVIII

May will be a good month for those who still buy records. Once again Nobusiness records will publish several exciting titles.

Obviously they have started a reissue program of archival recordings of Sam Rivers. The first volume will be a trio with Norman Connors & Cecil McBee, this trio previously has recorded the fantastic « Stream »
http://nobusinessrecords.com/emanation-sam-rivers.html

 

Another great reissue is this obscure session recorded by Sunny Murray in 1994 with two musicians that comes from the alternative rock. Previously published on lp in a very limited quantity (less than 30 copies), it will be reissued with more music.

http://nobusinessrecords.com/homework-sunny-murray.html

For those who appreciate Ton-Klami here is part of the band with only Midori Takada and the impressive Kang Tae Hwan only in duet

http://nobusinessrecords.com/midori-takada-kang-tae-hwan.html

Last but not least there is a reissue from a fantastic Detail session done in 1982. (Previously released on vinyl as Okhela) If you have missed the cd on FMR published almost one year ago, don’t miss this one.

http://nobusinessrecords.com/detail-frode-gjerstad-johnny-mbizo-dyani-john-stevens.html

 From the french label Dark Tree records here is finally the first reissue of unpublished concerts by Horace Tapscott. This show happened few month before Tapscott’s death. The Pan African Peoples Arkestra is joined by the chorus of The Great Voices of UGMAA

https://www.darktree-records.com/horace-tapscott-with-the-pan-afrikan-peoples-arkestra-and-the-great-voice-of-ugmaa-–-why-dont-you-listen-–-live-at-lacma-1998-–-dtrs11

Let me tell you also that Dave Douglas’s Green Leaf label has started few years ago a program of subscriptions and publish some music only available for the subscribers: take a look at the incredible line up of this 2017 release:

https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/metamorphosis
or this one
https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/new-sanctuary-trio

  

Sometimes you can find copies on the web but they are mostly directly distributed by subscription.

DETAIL PLUS "NESS" (IMPETUS, 1986)

Johnny Dyani, bass, stones
Frode Gjerstad, tenor saxophone
John Stevens, drums

On side C + D only:
Bobby Bradford, cornet
Harry Beckett, trumpet (Tracks 1 + 4)
Courtney Pine, tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet (Tracks 1 + 4)


Sides 1/2
1. Ness - part one 27:33
2. Ness - part two 24:21

Sides 3/4
1. ED 15:39
2. Post Rambling 08:59
3. Preambling 06:06
4. Harmo'nica 15:20

LP 1:
Recorded at the Hennie-Onstad Art Centre, Oslo on 2 March 1986.
LP 2:
Recorded at the Mannod Studio/Community Music, London on 1 July 1986.

IMPETUS IMP 28509  (vinyl rip)

Detail Plus - Way It Goes/Dance Of The Soul, 1986

side a: way it goes.dance of the soul I

side b: way it goes.dance of the soul II

Frode Gjerstad: tenor saxophone

Bobby Bradford: cornet

Johnny Dyani: double bass

John Stevens: drums

Recorded at Kite Studios, Cambridge, Wednesday 2nd July 1986

Impetus Records imp 18611 lp rip

DUDU PUKWANA / JOHN STEVENS ‎– RADEBE - THEY SHOOT TO KILL (P-VINE RECORDS, 1989)

A. Mbizo Radebe Part 1 (They Shoot To Kill)

B. Mbizo Radebe Part 2 (They Shoot To Kill)


Dudu Pukwana, alto and soprano saxophone, piano, vocals

John Stevens, drums, mini trumpet


Recorded at The Glass Trap, Southall, Middlesex, England, January 14 1987.

P-Vine Records ‎– PLP-6505

LP Rip

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE "THE SOURCE - FROM AND TOWARDS" (TANGENT, 1970)

Kenny Wheeler, trumpet
Bob Norden, trombone
Chris Pyne, trombone
Ray Warleigh, alto saxophone
Trevor Watts, alto & soprano saxophone
Brian Smith, tenor & soprano saxophone
Mike Pyne, piano
Marcio Mattos, bass (right channel)
Ron Mathewson, bass (left channel)
John Stevens, drums

Side A (24:44)

A1.     Part One: Expectancy    
A2.     Part Two: Birth    
A3.     Part Three: Thanksgiving    
A4.     Part Four: Time Goes On (Version A)

Side B (25:34)

B1.     Part Four: Time Goes On (Version B)    
B2.     Part Four: Time Goes On (Version C)    
B3.     Part Five: You Know

Recorded on 18th November 1970

TANGENT TNGS 107 (vinyl rip)

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE - BBC SESSION 1993

JOHN STEVENS  drums, pocket trumpet
ROGER SMITH  guitar
JOHN BUTCHER  tenor and soprano saxophones
NEIL METCALFE  flute

John Stevens in conversation with Brian Morton

1. Chat  7:37
2. Peripheral Vision  3:05
3. Chat  3:02
4. Interplays pt1  20:02
5. Interplays pt2 /outro  9:53

BBC Radio 3 'Impressions' 1993

I'm guessing some of this was used on the expanded version of  A New Distance on Emanem, which is essential listening. (I've got the original ACTA version)

John Stevens - Freebop - at Bracknell and at the BBC

While I'm in the business of reviving John Stevens posts, here are two more posted back in 2007, actually in the first year of this blog. They were posted here and here . The discussion back then went into a great deal of minutiae about what was recorded when and where, but it ended up in consensus. What is on the record was from the Bracknell festival in 1982 whereas the non-released session was done for the BBC later in the year, but also in front of a live audience. Maybe that created some confusion.

Freebop played as a sextet on both occasions with a core group of four, and two separate guests for each session. The Bracknell group was as follows:

Gordon Beck - p
Pete King - as
Jon Corbett - trp
Paul Rutherford - tmb
Jeff Clyne - b
John Stevens - d

Side One:

1. Blue Line
2. Rhythm Is
3. Take Care

Side Two:

1. Okko
2. Kook

The BBC session:

Paul Rutherford (tb),
Trevor Watts (as),
Pete King (as),
John Etheridge (g),
Jeff Clyne (b),
John Stevens (d).

Rec. live by BBC Radio,
prob. London, UK
October 19th, 1982;

transmitted : BBC R1, ‘Sounds of Jazz’ (‘Jazz Club’ slot),
Sun November 7th, 1982.

1. Blue Line (Stevens)  11.00
2. announcer 00.55
3. Take care (Stevens)   05.010
4. announcer 00.41
5. Rhythm is (Stevens) 10.32

The group was conceived as a tribute to Phil Seamen, veteran drummer on the UK scene in the 50s and 60s and a source of inspiration for Stevens. With different line-ups, the vibe was bond to differ as well. Gordon Beck is much to the fore on the Bracknell recordings, but Pete King is highly present on both. I kind of think of this as a showcase for King, not as appreciated as he should be back in the day. '

As the name indicates, this was a meeting place for musicians coming from the bop mainstream and from the improv end of the spectrum, but it all gels beautifully here.

The Freebop record was posted as an mp3 back in 2007 and that link is unbelievably still active. For this post, I've gone to the master wav file, so this is now posted in lossless flac. I'm hoping to post more Stevens in the near future, particularly his Away fusion group which made a few records in the 70s, on prog/mainstream labels and some early 80s stuff as well.

John Stevens - Chemistry

Here is a repost of a post back in 2009, due to a request in our comments section.

Led by John Stevens, this is a different mix from his chamber-like SME or his foray into jazz-rock fusion with Away (similarly to Trevor Watts' Amalgam). The accent here is on chemistry, finding a group of players who have not interacted much before, doing it on the spur and creating that live feeling and keeping in the rough edges; anything to avoid that smoothness. Although John had played with the others individually and in smaller groups before, the group as such was new to this adventure.

The line-up:

Kenny Wheeler - trumpet/flugelhorn
Ray Warleigh - alto sax
Trevor Watts - alto sax
Jeff Clyne - bass
John Stevens - drums

01_Bass Is
02_Coleman
03_The Bird

The legacy of Coleman is quite evident in these pieces, certainly in the lightness and rhythmic fluidity of Watts' playing, another Colemanian trait and one Watts was going to refine in the years to come. Warleigh inserts a grittier, earthier counterpart to Watts' flights of fancy. Wheeler juts in with some tight, jagged spurts on both the second and third tracks. Clyne leads in the first piece slowly and deliberately with the group gradually joining in and with Stevens holding down an airy, light and very elegant groove. While the first piece is tentative, the two following pieces are machine-gun charged. Both open with short, sharp statements played at a breakneck pace with Watts heading off into the first solo on the second piece and Warleigh on the third. Both Clyde and Stevens get to do short, succinct solos, only broken up by restatements of the theme. However, at the mid-point of the third and last piece, the urgency of the piece suddenly breaks off into an introspective, elegiac mood which might recall the chamber intimacy of the SME, though never getting as taut and abstract. With John Stevens, always expect the unexpected!

All in all, ultra-fine playing from all concerned, indicating that the chemistry was indeed there on the day or more precisely, during three hours of studio recordings in November 1975. This was made at the Riverside Studio, presumably in London, but released on the Berlin-based Vinyl label in 1977 and never rereleased on cd, as far as is known. Steve Lake provided detailed sleeve notes on the back cover of the record, which has been reproduced here and appended to the tracks.

RUTHERFORD -:- BRÖTZMANN -:- PARKER "THREE RECORDINGS - AUDIENCE, 1976/80/81"

Re-discovered these three audience recordings last week on one of my external hd.
Enjoyed them quiet a bit -


ISKRA 1904  "BERLIN 1976"
Paul Rutherford, trombone
Derek Bailey, guitar
Tristan Honsinger, cello
Peter Kowald, bass

1 >improv<  14:08

Recorded at the "Workshop Freie Musik", Akademie der Künste, Berlin on 24.3. - 28.3.1976.

--

PETER BRÖTZMANN SEXTET  "BRACKNELL 1980"
Mark Charig, trumpet
Paul Rutherford, trombone
Peter Brötzmann, tenor & bass saxophone, clarinet
Peter Kowald, bass
Barry Guy, bass
John Stevens, drums, cornet

1,. >unknown title<    37:35

Recorded at an unknown venue in Bracknell, UK on July 5, 1980.

--

EVAN PARKER SEXTET  "LONDON 23-08-81"
George Lewis, trombone
Evan Parker, tenor & soprano saxophone
Alex Schlippenbach, piano
Maarten Altena, bass
Paul Lovens, percussion
Paul Lytton, percussion

1. >improv<  27:46

Recorded at an unknow venue in London on August 23, 1981.

Spontaneous Music Ensemble - Karyobin

There was a request for this one from Roberto T. a while back in our comments section at the top. I knew I had it on the Ipod, so it must be retrievable from the archives. Perseverance shall be rewarded, they say, so here it is.

This is a classic, needless to say. British improv; understated, chamber-like, light-footed, intimate, attentive, cohesive, whatever adjectives may apply. And a fine thing, all in all.

Guitar [Electric] - Derek Bailey
Saxophone [Soprano] - Evan Parker
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Kenny Wheeler
Bass - Dave Holland
Drums - John Stevens

Recorded at Olympic Sound Studios 18/2/68.

Producer - Eddie Kramer
Recorded By - Eddie Kramer

Artwork By [Painting Of Karyobin] - Robert Macauley

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE "SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? (TANGENT, 1971)"

Kenny Wheeler, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Trevor Watts, soprano saxophone
Derek Bailey, guitar
Dave Holland, bass, cello
John Stevens, drums

A. So, What Do You Think? (part 1) 24:39
B. So, What Do You Think? (part 2) 21:57

Recorded in London on January 27, 1971.

TANGENT TGS 118


(vinyl rip)
.

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE "UNRELEASED STUDIO RECORDINGS 1966 - 1968"

Soundwise these recordings are a bit muffled but the music's really excellent IMHO.
Maybe someone has a better version!?

The Double Trio track was recorded about two month before Brötzmann's 'Machine Gun' - makes for an interesting comparison.

Maybe one day it will see a proper release....

1. Juicy (from the unreleased Cul-de-Sac soundtrack) (K. Komeda/2:10/completed track)
Kenny Wheeler, trumpet
Paul Rutherford, trombone
Trevor Watts, alto saxophone, breathing
Jeff Clyne, bass
John Stevens, drums, percussion

Recorded by Eddie Kramer, probably at Olympic Sound Studios, London, April 1966.
The Ensemble was apparently commissioned via Eddie Kramer to record compositions by Krzysztof Komeda for the soundtrack of Roman Polanski’s 1966 film Cul-de-Sac, an offbeat black-comedy set on the island of Lindisfarne.


2. Springboard (and radio announcement) (Stevens/3:56)
Kenny Wheeler, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Paul Rutherford, trombone
Evan Parker, soprano & tenor saxophone
Trevor Watts, alto saxophone, flute, oboe
Derek Bailey, guitar
Barry Guy, bass
John Stevens, drums

Recorded live by BBC Radio at the Paris cinema, London, Mon March 20, 1967;
tr: BBC Radio Light Programme The Jazz Scene (Jazz Club slot), March 26, 1967.


3. Willow Trio - Part 2 (extract 7:59)
Evan Parker, soprano saxophone
Barre Phillips, bass
John Stevens, percussion

Recorded by Eddie Kramer at Olympic Sound Studios, London, October 6, 1967. Willow Trio sessions.


4. Double Trio - Part 1 (32:05)
Evan Parker, soprano saxophone
Trevor Watts, alto saxophone
Dave Holland, bass
Peter Kowald, bass
Rashied Ali, drums, percussion
John Stevens, drums, percussion

Recorded by Eddie Kramer at Olympic Sound Studios, London, March 10, 1968. Unreleased studio session.
 Island (unissued)

FREEBOP: LIVE TRACKS

BOBBY BRADFORD, cornet
TED EMMETT, trumpet
RON HERMAN, bass
PETE KING, alto sax
DAVE MARCHANT, guitar
NIGEL MOYSE, guitar
EDDIE PARKER, flute
EVAN PARKER, tenor sax
COURTNEY PINE, tenor and soprano sax
NICK STEPHENS, bass
ANNIE WHITEHEAD, trombone
JOHN STEVENS, drums

1. HARMO'NICA  15:21
2. FLOAT INDIGO  15:46
3. NUTS  3:39

Bracknell Jazz festival  5th July 1986

Impetus IMP 18610  LP

STEVENS. GUY. RUTHERFORD. Green Man, 1980

People get ready...

JOHN STEVENS, drums, mini-trumpet
BARRY GUY, bass
PAUL RUTHERFORD, trombone

1. 23:47
2. 39:54
3. 18:31

Green Man, London.  4th May 1980

Thanks and encouragement to El Pozo

STEVENS. RILEY. GUY. Pied Bull, 1981

On your knees to the boze for this one.

JOHN STEVENS, drums, mini-trumpet
HOWARD RILEY, piano
BARRY GUY, bass

1. 33:55
2. 49:44

Pied Bull, London.  23rd July 1981

JEFF CLYNE - IAN CARR - TREVOR WATTS - JOHN STEVENS "SPRINGBOARD" (POLYDOR, 1966)

This was previously posted by kinabalu in December 2009. 
As the links are long gone I thought it would be time for a re-up.
In fact it was this post (thank you kinabalu!) which made me aware about this excellent and still not re-issued LP. 
New rip in flac with (small) cover pictures.

And here's the original text from Kinabalu:

Well, whaddyaknow! I made a request for this in the last post and here it is, served on a golden platter by reader "corvimax" who dipped into the big pool of the P2Ps to retrieve the goodies for our joint enjoyment here on the blog.

Having listened to it several times, it remains a huge mystery why this album has not been deemed worthy of reissue after 40 years, still fetching bundles of money on the collector's market.

This was recorded in 1966, but only released in 1969 on Polydor.

The basic facts:

Jeff Clyne, Ian Carr, Trevor Watts, John Stevens - Springboard

1. Love Was Born [TW]
2. C4 [JS]
3. Ballad [JC]
4. Helen's Clown [TW]
5. Ou Sont Les Neiges D'Antan [IC]
6. Crazy Jane [IC]
7. Springboard [JS]

Ian Carr - trumpet, flugehorn
Trevor Watts - alto sax
Jeff Clyne - bass
John Stevens - drums

Recorded at Regent Sound Studio, London.

(Aug 1966, Polydor 545007)

This is a brilliant album, probably "free" by the standards of the time, but not really free in the sense of the later compact minimalism of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. It also predates the later fusion of Nucleus, of which Carr and Clyne were founder members, but there are elements of the later Amalgam obviously, with three of the members present here. Perhaps one can hear shades of the early Ornette Coleman and Joe Harriott combos who were pioneers in defining the new thing in the late 50s. It's unorthodox, but still very melodious, chemically free of the mid- to late-60s blow-outs associated with the ESP label. Whatever labels to attach, this is fresh to these ears, more than 40 years after the fact.

After listening to this album, I would advise our followers to listen to the John Stevens - Chemistry - album which we have posted here before. Interesting linkages and continuities from this to the later Chemistry from the mid-70s.

As always, enjoy! More to come! And another thanks to "cortimax" for digging this out of the virtual ether.