Atmospheres (Featuring Clive Stevens & Friends) - 1974 - Atmospheres

Atmospheres (Featuring Clive Stevens & Friends)

1974

Atmospheres

01. Earth Spirit 5:30

02. Nova '72 5:52

03. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow 6:40

04. Astral Dreams 9:21

05. All Day Next Week 6:50

06. The Parameters of Saturn 5:47

Clive Stevens / tenor sax, sopr sax, flute, perc

Ralph Towner / electric piano, ring modulator

Steve Khan / 6 & 12 str guitars

John Abercrombie / electric guitar

Harry Wilkinson / perc

Rick Laird / bass

Billy Cobham / drums

Clive Steven's idea of a project had grandiose line-up and unfortunately, such a stellar membership has not done much for this album's reputation and memory, since hardly anyone remembers it and the album (and its follow-up) has yet to receive a Cd reissue. Not that the music on the album is revolutionary or groundbreaking ? this is close to an early jazz- rock ala Mwandishi, Nucleus and Bitches Brew, but we are in 74 ? but it is the type of album that consolidates the genre.

Obviously, one of the strong points of this album is the Laird-Cobham section, which is obviously used to playing together, thus giving the greater freedom for the others to improvise at lengths. Indeed, composition-wise, all of the tracks are written by Clive Stevens, but the least we can say is that this is a minimum service, since the improvs are taking voluntarily most of the space. Don't get me wrong, the album is of an excellent level, both in collective cohesion (excellent interplaying between all participants) and solo-wise, where they all shine like a thousand suns. As Clive Stevens' is the project leader, you'd expect him to grab a lot of aural space with his wing instrument, which is often the case, but he allows this two guitarists space (namely in Earth Spirit and Nova 72), and Abercrombie shines particularly in Yesterday Today & Tomorrow with his electric guitar. Towner's Rhodes playing is very much in like with Hancock or Zawinul, especially in All Day Next Week.

A jazz fusion classic from Atmospheres – a hip group led by reedman Clive Stevens, and which also features some usually-mellower players really taking off together! Stevens blows a great range of horns – electric and acoustic tenor, sopranos sax, and often a wah-wah pedal to inflect the notes coming out of his electric horn – a bit like John Klemmer in some of his early electric moments! This quality is emphasized nicely by the guitars of Steve Khan and John Abercrombie, and the electric piano and ring modulator of Ralph Towner – players who really know how to keep the right sort of space between the notes, which makes for a few funky moments – especially with core rhythms from Rick Laird on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, and Harry Wilkinson on percussion.