Chris McGregors Brotherhood Of Breath1971 Neon UK LP NM
£
41
$
54
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Description
ARTIST: CHRIS McGREGOR’S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH
TITLE: CHRIS McGREGOR’S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH
LABEL + YEAR: RCA Neon, ZGBS 0489; 1971 UK
CONDITION VINYL: Near Mint
CONDITION SLEEVE: VG+ with a couple of very small scuffs to lower right back corner. Gatefold showing information & photos with Original poly-lined black Inner Bag.
Note** There are other marks on the cover at the lower front and rear pictures: these may look like scuffs but they are actually part of the photographic design
DESCRIPTION: Tracks: Side 1: MRA; Davashe's Dream; The Bride. Side 2: Andromeda; Night Poem; Union Special.
Musicians are:
Bass - Harry Miller
Clarinet - Ronnie Beer
Cornet - Marc Charig
Drums - Louis Moholo
Flute - Mike Osborne , Mongezi Feza
Percussion - Louis Moholo
Piano - Chris McGregor
Producer - Joe Boyd
Saxophone - Alan Skidmore , Dudu Pukwana , John Surman , Mike Osborne , Ronnie Beer
Trombone - Malcolm Griffiths , Nick Evans
Trumpet - Harry Beckett , Mongezi Feza
Xylophone - Chris McGregor
This is a superb album on the RARE Neon Label.
Chris McGregor was born the son of a Scottish missionary, brought up on church hymns, and Xhosa dances. He studied at the Cape Town College of Music and discovered the black jazz scene. His septet played in the 1962 National Jazz Festival and after founding the Blue Notes in 1963, he led a big band. Harassed by the authorities, they escaped the country through an invitation to the 1964 Antibes Jazz Festival. Fellow expatriate Abdullah Ibrahim helped them find work in Zurich, then at Ronnie Scott's in London, and at the Café Montmartre in Copenhagen. The Blue Notes mixed South African rhythms with free improvisation, an unprecedented fusion that created a completely original, unmistakable style (In Concert, Vol. 1 & 2, Ogun 1978). McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath enlarged the Blue Notes with free improvisers (Evan Parker, Trevor Watts, Paul Rutherford). They toured Europe to cheering audiences, but their studio records for RCA in the early '70s weren't adequately promoted. Their exciting and joyous live performances are captured on releases by independent labels Ogun and Cuneiform. Keeping a large unit together became impossible and when McGregor moved into the more comfortable climate of the south of France, the Brotherhood reunited only intermittently and he played with smaller groups or solo (heard on Piano Song, Vol. 1 & 2, Musica 1977, and In His Good Time, Ogun 1978). An Ellingtonian musician, his real instrument being the orchestra, McGregor had a thick, percussive, and yet melodic piano style. A continental big band was reunited in the '80s (Yes Please, In&Out 1981, and Country Cooking, Virgin 1988) and well-received, but failed to fully re-create the excitement of the original band. ~ Francesco Martinelli, All Music Guide
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