Kip Hanrahan - 1981 - Coupe de Tete

Kip Hanrahan

1981

Coupe de Tete

01. Whatever I Want 5:43

02. At The Moment Of The Serve 5:39

03. This Night Comes Out Of Both Of Us 5:40

04. India Song 4:13

05. A Lover Divides Time (To Hear How It Sounds) 3:17

06. No One Gets To Transcend Anything (No One Except Oil Company Executives) 3:42

07. Shadow To Shadow 7:06

08. Sketch From "Two Cubas" 4:07

09. Heart On My Sleeve 5:14

Accordion – Orlando Di Girolamo (tracks: A4, B5)

Alto Saxophone – Carlos Ward (tracks: A2, A4, B3, B5)

Alto Saxophone – George Cartwright (tracks: A1)

Bass – Cecil McBee (tracks: B5)

Bongos – Nicky Marrero (tracks: A1)

Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Chico Freeman (tracks: A4)

Congas – Angel Perez (tracks: B2)

Congas – Carlos Mestre (tracks: B4)

Congas – Gene Golden (tracks: B4)

Congas – Jerry Gonzalez (tracks: A1, A2, B1, B2, B4)

Congas, Percussion [Iya] – Daniel Ponce (tracks: A2, B1)

Drums – Anton Fier (tracks: A1 to A3, B1 to B4)

Drums – Ignacio Berroa (tracks: A2)

Drums – Victor Lewis (tracks: B5)

Electric Bass – Bill Laswell (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B3)

Electric Bass – Jamaaladeen Tacuma (tracks: A2, B1, B2)

Electric Guitar – Arto Lindsay (tracks: A1 to A3, B1 to B4)

Electric Guitar – Bern Nix (tracks: B2)

Electric Guitar – Fred Frith (tracks: B3)

Electric Guitar – George Naha (tracks: A2, A3)

Flute – George Cartwright (tracks: A4)

Flute, Flute [Wooden] – Byard Lancaster (tracks: A3)

Flute, Piccolo Flute – George Cartwright (tracks: A3)

French Horn – John Clark (tracks: A4)

Percussion [Itotole, Quinto] – Jerry Gonzalez (tracks: B3)

Percussion [Iya] – Daniel Ponce (tracks: A1, A3)

Percussion [Okonkolo] – Nicky Marrero (tracks: A3)

Percussion, Percussion [Quinto] – Kip Hanrahan (tracks: A3)

Percussion, Synthesizer [String] – Kip Hanrahan (tracks: B4)

Percussion, Vocals – Kip Hanrahan (tracks: A1, A2, B2)

Piano, Vocals – Carla Bley (tracks: A4)

Shekere – Daniel Ponce (tracks: B3)

Shekere – Gene Golden (tracks: B2)

Shekere – Jerry Gonzalez (tracks: B3)

Soprano Saxophone – David Liebman (tracks: B5)

Surdo [Grande], Agogô – Dom Um Romao (tracks: B3)

Tenor Saxophone – Byard Lancaster (tracks: A1)

Tenor Saxophone – Chico Freeman (tracks: A1, A2, B5)

Tenor Saxophone – John Stobblefield (tracks: B2)

Tenor Saxophone – Teo Macero (tracks: B5)

Trumpet – Michael Mantler (tracks: B4)

Violin – Billy Bang (tracks: A4)

Vocals – Lisa Herman (tracks: A3, B1, B3)

The percussion is here on prominent role, which is good; it's frantic, on-going. Sometimes it's a bit like more jungle-groovy version of Joni Mitchell's The Jungle Line. Most of the jazz here doesn't feel stereotypical or immediately recognizable, only the slower and smoother pieces like India and Heart on My Sleeve are bad that way, quite weak pieces, but perhaps OK if you're fine with any relaxing jazz... I'm not. And not surprisingly, they are the only songs without Kip Hanrahan on percussion. So those are more like outlier interludes. Kip is the driving force on this album, and it's very coherent, comfortable, with a special feel. I think it's important that there are vocals though, and it works really well, it's delicate and intriguing. But the background rhythms keep going and going, their own way, and that's awesome.

A stylistically strange beast that begins to make more sense when you examine that incredible lineup of musicians and realize that on this album Hanrahan is primarily acting as a conductor/producer, assembling different groups at different times to do different things. I would argue that despite Fred Frith and Lisa Herman appearing on only a few tracks, it's the RIO influence that marks that spine of the album, with No Wave and Jazz Fusion sounds built upon that spine.

While a fascinating album to dissect, it's hard not to compare it to the work and genres of the musicians it's brought together. Arto Lindsay's guitar bites, but it's no DNA. Lisa Herman's vocals are well done, but nothing as interesting as Kew.Rhone, etc, etc.

After all that experimentation and fusion, I think the best thing here is Carla Bley, Billy Bang and Chico Freeman doing a straightforward cover of India.

Coup de tête blunts too many of the edges of its influences and contributors to be fully successful but is an interesting document of 1980 era New York and is compelling despite its issues.

Fittingly enough, the first sound heard on Kip Hanrahan's premier release is that of the conga and the first word sung is "sex," two leitmotifs that would appear consistently in his ensuing work. Coup de Tete burst on the scene in the early '80s as an entirely fresh, invigorating amalgam of Cuban percussion (much of it Santeria-based), free jazz, funk, and intimate, confrontational lyrics. Hanrahan had worked at New Music Distribution Service, a project run by Carla Bley and Michael Mantler (both of whom appear on this album), and had established contacts with numerous musicians from varied fields who he threw together in a glorious New York City melting pot. With the percussion and electric bass laying down thick and delicious grooves, the cream of the younger avant saxophonists in New York at the time wail over the top, accompanying some of the most brutally uncomfortable lyrics ever put to wax. The relationships Hanrahan details are turbulent to say the least, often intertwined with economic concerns as well as a general sense of the impossibility of understanding one's mate. After asking him for abuse and being refused, his lover (sung wonderfully by Lisa Herman) taunts, "When you could only sulk/I had more contempt for you than I ever thought I could have." Interspersed among the bitter love harangues and ecstatic percussion-driven numbers are two stunningly lovely pieces, Marguerite Duras' "India Song" and Teo Macero's "Heart on My Sleeve," both aching with romanticism. Coup de Tete is a superb record, an impressive debut, and, arguably, one of the finest moments in Hanrahan's career along with the following release, Desire Develops an Edge. Highly recommended.