REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE "KÖLN, 1977"

 

Leroy Jenkins, violin
Sirone, double bass, trombone
Jerome Cooper, drums, piano, balaphon


1. unknown title  11:36
2. unknown title  11:08
3. unknown title   9:03
4. unknown title  19:58


Recorded at Kino Lupe, Köln on September 2, 1977

Revolutionary Ensemble - Live in Genoa '05

This is a "special" post for two reasons : it's n°600 from the beginning
of I.S. and, most of all, this is the recording that documents the last live
performance of the legendary Revolutionary Ensemble.
Exactly six months after the Warsaw performance documented by the
Mutable Music's record "Beyond the Boundary of Time", the Three were
invited to Genoa for a single concert : here is the report of that historical
evening. In the folders you'll find also some photos taken at the concert.

Rec. live at "Teatro Gustavo Modena", Genoa, Italy,
on November 25, 2005 (mix recording)

Leroy Jenkins,violin
Norris Jones "Sirone",bass
Jerome Cooper,drums,keyboards,ballaphone,wood flute

1. Value Forfillment [Sirone] (11:20)
2. Configuration [Sirone] (06:54)
3. Pick [J.Cooper] (16:14)
4. Rumi Tales [L.Jenkins] (06:57)
5. Berlin Erfarhung [Sirone] (06:36)
6. Usami [L.Jenkins] (06:51)
7. Improvisation [Revolutionary Ensemble] (05:11)

Total Time 1:00:04

And then there was none ...

With the passing away of Jerome Cooper on 6 May this year, the Revolutionary Ensemble has taken their revolution to the spiritual realm. Leroy Jenkins died in 2007 and Sirone in 2009, both of whom have been featured on this blog before as well as the Ensemble in full. The Revolutionary Ensemble started up in the 1970s, mostly playing the loft and club circuit in New York, disbanded in 1977 and came together in the new millennium to make a couple of albums before it was all over.

With a basic lineup of violin, bass and percussion, the group developed a chamber-like sound, less rowdy perhaps than their free jazz compatriots at the time, yet, still distinctely anchored in free improvisation.

The three sets featured here were recorded at the Tin Palace, located on the Bowery, close to CBGBs, and one of the few places offering performance space for this type of music. It eventually folded in the late 70s, but there are fond memories attached to the place to judge from accounts found on the web.

Revolutionary Ensemble
January 14 1977
Tin Palace
NY, NY

master audience cassette > cdr (transferred by orchiddoctor)
cdr > eac(secure mode) > peak pro 5.2(adjust volume, trim wave files) > flac(level 6) (tracked/edited by carville, no noise reduction)

total time 2:24:58

1st set 54:29
1 19:12
2 14:43
3 7:08
4 13:25 (tape flip @ 5:01)

2nd set 59:09
1 14:25
2 30:30 (tape flip @ 27:10)
3 14:13

3rd set 31:19
1 7:32
2 11:09
3 12:35

This is another recording done by "orchiddoctor" and edited and uploaded by "carville", so thanks to them for keeping history alive. To quote orchiddoctor's notes:

"The Revolutionary Ensemble. What can I say? Rare performances (among the last) by an underappreciated group that just couldn't get work. These two nights were the only times I saw them. I did do a photo shoot of Jerome Cooper a year later at his practice space in the meat packing district, and I saw him with Roscoe Mitchell at the Wildflowers set; but I don't recall seeing any of these guys again. Certainly not as a unit. Just for flavor, during the quiet moments--especially Leroy's solos--you can hear the cash register at the Tin Palace going ca-ching. I miss that sound! The Palace is now a vacant, ugly mess, haunted by the ghosts of great musicians. R.I.P. Mr Jenkins and Sirone."

And Mr. Cooper.

The Revolutionary Ensemble "The People's Republic" (1975, Horizon SP-708)

To complement Sotise's post of "Manhattan Cycles", here's another one of the five Revolutionary Ensemble records. Note that the other Revolutionary Ensemble 1975 record originally issued on the group's own RE: label as "The Psyche" has been recently transfered to CD format by Mutable Music.

If interested, don't forget to take a look at the documentation post for a link to an audio interview with Leroy Jenkins & Marilyn Crispell also containing music. The post has also been updated with scans of William Parker, Trevor Watts & Peter Kowald interviews.

Short on time again so please excuse the lenght of my post !

Enjoy,
Pierre

the Revolutionary Ensemble- manhattan cycles 1972 (india navigation lp 1023) lame and flac

heres an old favourite , and a tasty follow up to recent Braxton postings.
I don’t think this has been reissued on cd , it was reissued on innercity in 1978,.
Sadly very few of their albums are available at present.

This is one long continuous piece recorded live in concert on December 31st 1972 (the record cover does not specify where.

This even features an early example of the turntable as instrument, billie holiday’s low moan being clearly audible , though seeming to emerge out of a fog..and becoming less and less audible as the piece progresses.
This was the first release on India navigation.. and it’s a beauty.


Hope you enjoy it.
Flacs will be added , later tonight or tomorrow if they are required.


Manhattan cycles – India nav lp 1023

1 piece manhattan cycles- composed by leo smith
side a) 23’
side b) 18’

leroy jenkins, sirone, jerome cooper

truncated lp cover scans included

enjoy!!