More about reissues, this time from the UK:
From "Jazz UK Online", accessible
here. The following is from issue 50, accessible through the archives.
JAZZ VOICES FROM THE VAULTS
A major record label and a high-profile radio DJ getting together to reissue 40 year-old British jazz music? This is the unlikely background to Gilles Peterson’s Impressed collection, with tracks from Don Rendell, Ian Carr, Joe Harriott, Mike Garrick and many others. Why did it happen? DUNCAN HEINING investigated.
THIS BEAUTIFUL MUSIC’ says Universal Records’ UK jazz boss Nathan Graves, ‘deserves to be heard, not for extortionate prices, and not just by the core jazz fans, but people like me and younger. People that are open-minded to hearing lots of different styles of jazz. It’s as fresh hearing it now, as it must’ve been hearing it then.’
Graves is talking about a phenomenon that rarely merits headlines – the release of a compilation CD. But Impressed is far from being just another compilation. Thanks to DJ Gilles Peterson and Universal, fans can now hear some of the best British music of the 1960s, with pieces from Joe Harriott, Harry Beckett, Mike Garrick and the late-lamented Rendell-Carr Quintet. There’s a lot riding on Impressed. If it’s successful, some of these rare records could soon be back in the racks.
Asked how it began, Gilles Peterson says: ‘It was just me doing tapes for myself and friends. I’d picked up some of these ‘60s British jazz records and made a tape. I thought I should send it to Nathan Graves at Universal because they own a lot of this stuff. He’s a really lovely guy. He liked it and said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’.’ The choice of the tracks to include, came down to the first master tapes they found. Gilles Peterson points to the hard work of Tony Higgins (his manager, and the author of the set’s excellent insert notes) in locating these legendary performances. ‘It took ages,’ Peterson says. ‘I put this together three years ago and it’s taken that long. Until Tony got on the case it was all on hold.’
Only one track, the Joe Harriott/Amancio D’Silva Quartet’s ‘Jaipur’, was mastered off vinyl. The rest, including the Rendell-Carr version of Mike Garrick’s era-defining ‘Dusk Fire’, were found in Hanover in
pristine condition. Given his involvement with jazz-dance and the ‘80s Acid Jazz phenomenon, had the DJ been tempted to remix the tracks? He shrugs off the question. ‘Remixing? No. I’d rather try and get the bands back together.’
Readers may be surprised by Gilles Peterson’s involvement in the project, given his history. But for Nathan Graves, the DJ’s stature outside of the core jazz audience was a key factor. ‘It was having someone like Gilles with his media profile that made me think we’ve definitely got to do this,’ Graves says. Gilles Peterson simply says: ‘It’s all jazz.’
Peterson’s personal jazz journey led him through funk bands like Light of the World and Incognito to Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, then to Coltrane and Miles and onto the European and British scenes. ‘I’ve always had two areas to think about when I’m putting music together. I think about it as a club DJ, so things like Tubby Hayes’ ’Down in the Village’ or Ronnie Ross’s ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ (both featured) have been dance classics for some time. But then as a radio DJ I’m able to go deeper and play things like ‘Dusk Fire’ or those beautiful Mike Garrick melodies. I can play hip-hop next to Mike’s ‘Black Marigolds’.’ As Gilles Peterson says, it’s about creating a context for the music.
Tony Higgins described what his detective work had unearthed, and what’s still missing. ‘I contacted the chief librarian in Hanover and lo’ and behold, all five of the Rendell-Carr tapes were there. Sadly, we couldn’t find all of the recordings Denis Preston had done for Lansdowne though. For instance we don’t know where the Joe Harriott ‘Hum Dono’ tapes are.’ He also says guitarist Amancio D’Silva’s albums – Integration and Reflection – have yet to surface but to his relief the Neil Ardley New Jazz Orchestra records Western Union, Déjeuner Sur L’herbe and the Greek Variations session featuring both Don Rendell and Ian Carr, have turned up. The difficulty is that these labels changed hands so often and consequently the masters were moved around. But Tony Higgins isn’t giving up. ‘I’m hoping that someone
somewhere has these tapes. I’m making a hit list of 40 key albums of that time to pin them down in the hope they can be released.’
When I rang trumpeter, author and jazz academic Ian Carr to ask for his thoughts, he told me a story about the Rendell-Carr Quintet. ‘That was a great group. It was very poetic music that brought a lot of people into jazz. I met this guy who wrote for Avant magazine and he said, “I’ve always meant to tell you that a friend and I thought we should get into jazz and we went to see the Rendell-Carr Quintet and the spotlight shone on you and you began to play your solo – and that was the very moment I fell in love with jazz.”’ I can definitely confirm Carr’s right about this. That story had come from me. Mike Garrick, featured on the CD with his trio and on the Rendell-Carr Quintet tracks, described the making of ‘Dusk Fire’, the lovely tune he wrote for Rendell. It’s the piece I most vividly recall from that concert all those years ago. ‘Don loved it and it brought out his finest qualities as a jazz musician. Every performance of ‘Dusk Fire’ was special and I didn’t feel that to the same extent with any other piece, though ‘Black Marigolds’ (also featured) took off as well. But the emotional level that Don attained on that track was at its peak. It brought
this feeling out of the whole group. It was Don who wanted a big intense introduction to the piece. He would want it absolutely boiling and then he’d come in on top of it. Absolutely beautiful.’
Universal’s Nathan Graves says that the advance response from critics and retail outlets has been positive enough to warrant a follow-up CD. He also wants to reissue the original albums but this depends on sales of Impressed. ‘It’s by no means a done deal but I’d like to do that with Tony Higgins who’s put a proposal to me. We’ll work towards this year on doing batches of the originals.’ There’s also talk of reunion concerts but the most exciting thing is there really seems to be a ready-made audience out there.
With original Rendell-Carr and Mike Garrick records selling for hundreds of pounds – not only in
Japan! – these are more than just collectors’ items. But just what is it, apart from their scarcity, that makes
them special? Everyone I talked to agrees this was a wonderful period. When I suggest they represent a missing piece of history, Tony Higgins wholeheartedly agreed.
‘Definitely. Not only is it great music and playing, they are historical and social artefacts. They represent a bridge between one school of music and another. It’s about time these guys’ work was acknowledged.’ Nathan Graves talks of ‘the incredible amount of music locked up in the archives’ that shouldn’t be. This could be the first time that jazz fans in Britain, Europe and Japan might actually have the means to open those vaults and set this music free. Buy Impressed now, and turn that key!
Linear Mode
