Centipede - 1971 - Septober Energy

Centipede

1971

Septober Energy

101. Septober Energy - Part 1 (21:43)

102. Septober Energy - Part 2 (23:34)

201. Septober Energy - Part 3 (21:21)

202. Septober Energy - Part 4 (18:45)

Violins:

Wendy Treacher

Jihn Trussler

Roddy Skeping

Wilf Gibson (lead)

Carol Slater

Louise Jopling

Garth Morton

Channa Salononson

Steve Rowlandson

Mica Gomberti

Colin Kitching

Philip Saudek

Esther Burgi

Cellos:

Michael Hurwitz

Timothy Kramer

Suki Towb

John Rees-Jones

Katherine Thulborn

Catherine Finnis

Trumpets:

Peter Parkes

Mick Collins

Ian Carr (doubling flugelhorn)

Mongezi Feza (pocket cornet)

Mark Charig (cornet)

Alto Saxophones:

Elton Dean (doubling saxello)

Ian Steel (doubling flute)

Ian McDonald

Dudu Pukwana

Tenor Saxophones:

Larry Stabbins

Gary Windo

Brian Smith

Alan Skidmore

Baritone Saxophones:

Dave White (doubling clarinet)

Karl Jenkins (doubling oboe)

John Williams (bass saxophone, doubling soprano)

Trombones:

Nick Evans

Dave Amis

Dave Perrottet

Paul Rutherford

Drums:

John Marshall (and all percussion)

Tony Fennell

Robert Wyatt

Vocalists:

Maggie Nicols

Julie Tippetts

Mike Patto

Zoot Money

Boz Burrell

Basses:

Roy Babbington (doubling bass guitar)

Jill Lyons

Harry Miller

Jeff Clyne

Dave Markee

Brian Belshaw

Guitar:

Brian Godding

Piano:

Keith Tippett (musical director)

Producer:

Robert Fripp

Keith Tippett is best known to progressive music fans for his work on King Crimson’s early 1970s albums, but when the pianist released the epic double album, Septober Energy, he was already hot property on the European jazz scene. Bristol-born Tippett had not only wowed critics and the public with his lightning-fast technique, but also with his qualities as a composer with two highly-rated albums recorded for Polydor and Vertigo. When he came up with the idea of writing a large-scale piece that would bring together more than 50 musicians from jazz, rock and classical music, RCA’s progressive boutique label, Neon, jumped at the chance to sign him up.

During 1970, the massed ranks of Centipede played several high-profile gigs at home and abroad with RCA chartering a jetliner to ferry the musicians, gear and crew to Europe. Cited by a young Mike Oldfield (who saw them perform) as an influence in his thinking for Tubular Bells, Centipede boasted five vocalists, including Tippett’s wife, Julie Driscoll, three drummers, and legions of brass and string players drawn from the very best contemporary music circles of the day. Featuring members of Nucleus, Soft Machine, King Crimson, Blossom Toes, and Patto, Tippett’s magnum opus was informed by a utopian impulse that regardless of genre, music was a uniting force for good.

In June 1971, with Robert Fripp at the controls in Wessex Studios, players were ushered in groups to overdub their parts. The combination of a complex score coupled with its improvised passages added up to not only a high-pressure environment but an expensive one that allowed just three days in which to get everything done. Everything, that is, apart from Fripp’s own guitar solo as they simply ran out of time. Beginning with ambiguous percussive sounds, ominous drones and ethereal vocal harmonies unfurl as though stretching in the morning sun, until the air is filled with skittering notes and fleeting encounters between brass and strings. Spread across four side-long movements, Tippett’s tone poem breaks into strident themes that march firmly along to rock grooves which are springboards into jazzy excursions. The pianist’s writing for such an extended ensemble focuses attention on the unconventional dynamics of the line-up but never loses sight of melodic and harmonic opportunities. Sing-a-long chants, gothic strings, turbulent arrangements and acerbic soloing makes for a formidable and sometimes challenging listen. The critical acclaim the album received upon its release didn’t translate to sales and RCA dropped Tippett after his next, more introspective improv album, Blueprint. Nevertheless, Septober Energy remains a magnificent testament to Keith Tippett’s ambitious and visionary enterprise.