Paul Bley - With Gary Peacock
ECM 1003
Compared to the first two ECM albums, this one contains very traditional jazz. Playing is good, but the very bad sound quality and mix make it difficult to be absorbed by the music.
Track 6, Gary, and track 8, Albert's Love Theme, written by Annette Peacock, are nice exceptions. It is introvert music, where silence seems to play an as important role as the music itself, a characteristic for which ECM is known so well. But there are nicer albums in the ECM collection, that will provide more musical enjoyment.
Score (out of 5):
Music: *
Sound Quality: *
Significance: *
Compared to the first two ECM albums, this one contains very traditional jazz. Playing is good, but the very bad sound quality and mix make it difficult to be absorbed by the music.
Track 6, Gary, and track 8, Albert's Love Theme, written by Annette Peacock, are nice exceptions. It is introvert music, where silence seems to play an as important role as the music itself, a characteristic for which ECM is known so well. But there are nicer albums in the ECM collection, that will provide more musical enjoyment.
Score (out of 5):
Music: *
Sound Quality: *
Significance: *
Just Music
ECM 1002 (LP only)
A better title would have been "Just Sounds". This album contains 2 tracks of very experimental pieces of music. Some instrument takes the lead, and other instruments try to follow. although the music is played with a lot of energy, authority and acrobatic tricks, overall it limits itself to cartoon-like tease and chase themes (Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner, Tweety). Makes me think of Interesting, nice to hear once, but I can't think of a reason to take this album from the shelf again.
Score (out of 5):
Music: *
Sound Quality: **
Significance: **
A better title would have been "Just Sounds". This album contains 2 tracks of very experimental pieces of music. Some instrument takes the lead, and other instruments try to follow. although the music is played with a lot of energy, authority and acrobatic tricks, overall it limits itself to cartoon-like tease and chase themes (Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner, Tweety). Makes me think of Interesting, nice to hear once, but I can't think of a reason to take this album from the shelf again.
Score (out of 5):
Music: *
Sound Quality: **
Significance: **
Mal Waldron - Free At Last
ECM 1001
Free at last hints at the pianist Mal Waldron to play his first Free-Style Jazz record, but it could also refer to the new record label ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) appearing on the market. This is the first released ECM CD (or should I say LP). For me, this record does not reflect the typical ECM sound I'm used to. The first track "Rat Now" is very energetic and busy, and the only minimalism and space seems to come from the minimalistic chord schemes. The first track has a pleasant groove, with a very nice bass solo. Track 5 has a nice introvert mood, which could originate from Miles Davis's Kind of Blue or Wynton Marsalis's The Magic Hour, with only the brass missing. Those are the highlights of the CD, as with the other tracks I'm loosing my attention quickly due to the simplicity of the themes. For instance, track 4 "Rock My Soul" has the danger to fall in the 11 minutes "on-and-on-and-on-and-on..." trap.
The sound quality is OK, but the mix is a bit weird. The overall atmosphere resembles the early 60s type of records. The instruments are projected in a strange way (instruments are captured inside the loudspeakers), where the drums and piano sound a bit backward, whereas the bass sounds very forward. Maybe there is a relation with the fact that the producer, Manfred Eicher, is a bass player himself. Nevertheless, the mix seems to support the music, so overall it is OK.
Overall enjoyable music, but only at a few points the album becomes memorable.
Recorded November 1969
Mal Waldron piano
Isla Eckinger bass
Clarence Becton drums
Score (out of 5):
Music: **
Sound Quality: **
Significance: *
Free at last hints at the pianist Mal Waldron to play his first Free-Style Jazz record, but it could also refer to the new record label ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) appearing on the market. This is the first released ECM CD (or should I say LP). For me, this record does not reflect the typical ECM sound I'm used to. The first track "Rat Now" is very energetic and busy, and the only minimalism and space seems to come from the minimalistic chord schemes. The first track has a pleasant groove, with a very nice bass solo. Track 5 has a nice introvert mood, which could originate from Miles Davis's Kind of Blue or Wynton Marsalis's The Magic Hour, with only the brass missing. Those are the highlights of the CD, as with the other tracks I'm loosing my attention quickly due to the simplicity of the themes. For instance, track 4 "Rock My Soul" has the danger to fall in the 11 minutes "on-and-on-and-on-and-on..." trap.
The sound quality is OK, but the mix is a bit weird. The overall atmosphere resembles the early 60s type of records. The instruments are projected in a strange way (instruments are captured inside the loudspeakers), where the drums and piano sound a bit backward, whereas the bass sounds very forward. Maybe there is a relation with the fact that the producer, Manfred Eicher, is a bass player himself. Nevertheless, the mix seems to support the music, so overall it is OK.
Overall enjoyable music, but only at a few points the album becomes memorable.
Recorded November 1969
Mal Waldron piano
Isla Eckinger bass
Clarence Becton drums
Score (out of 5):
Music: **
Sound Quality: **
Significance: *