John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Horace Tapscott - 1969 - West Coast Hot

John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Horace Tapscott 

1969

West Coast Hot

01. John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet Call To The Festival 9:30

02. John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet The Second Set 8:42

03. John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet Woman 7:10

04. John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet Abstractions For Three Lovers 6:39

05. Horace Tapscott Quintet The Giant Is Awakened 17:23

06. Horace Tapscott Quintet For Fats 2:15

07. Horace Tapscott Quintet The Dark Tree 7:01

08. Horace Tapscott Quintet Niger's Theme 11:55

Alto Saxophone – Arthur Blythe (tracks: 5 to 8)

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – John Carter (tracks: 1 to 4)

Bass – David Bryant (tracks: 5 to 8), Tom Williamson (tracks: 1 to 4), Walter Savage, Jr. (tracks: 5 o 8)

Drums – Buzz Freeman (tracks: 1 to 4), Everett Brown, Jr. (tracks: 5 to 8)

Piano – Horace Tapscott (tracks: 5 to 8)

Trumpet – Bobby Bradford (tracks: 1 to 4)

Tracks 1 to 4: Recorded January 3, 1969, in Los Angeles. Previously released as LP with the title "Flight for Four" by Flying Dutchman label with one more track (Domino) not included in this compilation.

Tracks 5 to 8: Recorded April 1, 1969, in Los Angeles. Previously released as LP titled "The Giant is Awakened" by Flying Dutchman label.

This very valuable release documents two important but underrated avant-garde units that were based in Los Angeles. Clarinetist John Carter (here also heard on tenor and alto) and trumpeter Bobby Bradford co-led bands for many years in virtual obscurity. With bassist Tom Williamson and drummer Buzz Freeman, they are both abstract and logical on four originals with Carter's passionate sounds contrasting, as usual, with Bradford's lyricism. The second half of this disc features L.A.'s great undiscovered legend, pianist Horace Tapscott. He is heard in superlative form on four tracks (including the 17-minute "The Giant Is Awakened") in a two-bass quintet also co-starring the young altoist Arthur Blythe.

This album, comprising two 1969 releases on Flying Dutchman Records, showcases some of the earliest recordings of three prominent Los Angeles musicians who all sought to go beyond the boundaries of traditional jazz by using experimental structures and free-form improvisation.

Four extended Carter-Bradford selections boast much of the sparse, airy sound of the early Ornette Coleman quartet. Expressive solos by the late Carter (on alto, tenor and his customaryclarinet) and trumpeter Bradford strategically dart through the open spaces in the arrangements. Additionally, the melodic motif that keeps resurfacing in "Abstractions for Three Lovers" is simply gorgeous.

The transition from the Carter-Bradford group's graceful flow to the jabbing, staccato melody of the material on Tapscott's "The Giant Is Awakened" is a bit jarring. These quintet performances, drawn from early recordings by the pianist-composer, mark the album debut of saxophonist Arthur Blythe, who has gone on to notoriety. Blythe then hadn't fully developed his signature tone, but his high-flying alto solos provide a vibrant foil to both Tapscott's rumbling piano ruminations and the edgy energy of the mpositions.