The Basement Rug

I first discovered “Polish” jazz at Toronto’s Danforth Goodwill Store (now closed) a few years ago when I picked up Wojciech Karolak’s “Easy” (1974). The spooky funk of “Instant Groove” just blew me away. On this release by the same Polskie Nagrania Muza label, Namyslowski’s quartet takes you on one incredible ride that just won’t quit - not a weak spot in the whole performance. I love it! All music by Zbigniew Namyslowski. Recorded January 1966, at Polskie Nagrania - Studio 12, Warsaw, Poland.

Tracks:

1) Seven-Four Bars (Siodmawka) 08:05
2) Despair (Rozpacz) 06:10
3) Frances the Terror (Straszna Franka) 10:55
4) The Beatle Humming in the Reeds (Chrzaszcz brzmi w trzcinie) 09:00
5) My Dominique (Moja Dominika) 07:10
6) The Wardrobe (Szafa) 07:10
7) Mead Drinker Lola (Lola pijaca miod) 01:30

Performed by:

Zbigniew Namyslowski - alto sax
Adam Matyszkowicz - piano
Janusz Kozlowski - bass
Czeslaw Bartkowski - drums

Liner Notes:

“Jazz fills up my life. It means to me everything — said Namyslowski. — Playing in a quartet suits me best… Until recently I did not set great store by composition. But now to be successful one cannot merely play Horace Silver’s themes and other people’s arrangements. And so I have created my own quartet and my own music, to be able to play what I want and how I want…”.

Quoting these words I cannot help recalling a thin and insignificant looking boy who burdened with a huge cello scrambled on to the gigantic stage of the Forest Opera in order to play with the Modern Combo group, which was taking part at the II International Jazz Festival at Sopot (August 1957), as a completely unknown soloist. And yet a few years later Zbyszek Namyslowski won recognition not only with jazz fans and connoisseurs at home but also with the exacting critics abroad — after numerous tours of his quartet in such countries as Italy, Belgium, West Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Finland, USA.

Namyslowski went through most suitable stages before he achieved his present-day results; he played the trombone in traditional and swing bands, for some time also the trumpet and cornet, and when there was need he accompanied the vocalists on piano. But the ambitious musician was never after the label of a “multi-instrumentalist”. Eventually he chose the alto saxophone in which he could prove himself completely. What we appreciate with Namyslowski particularly is his equally enthusiastic attitude to all styles in jazz; he is always himself while playing hard-bop along with rhythm and blues, free-jazz and the third current along with the fringes of pop-music, and who at the same time would feel an irresistible fascination towards new ventures? A separate chapter could be devoted to Namyslowski’s compositions, the more so that his ambition is to draw inspiration from Polish folk-lore which leads to the sort of music that Poland exports as her contribution to the world of jazz.

While writing on Namyslowski we must say a few words about the remaining members of the band as they also have their say in modern jazz. The pianist ADAM MATYSZKOWICZ (b. 1940) made his first steps as jazzman within the Cracow “jazz boheme”; in 1963 he made his mark as member of “The Jazz Darlings”, and already in those days critics predicted him a fine career which was to lead him subsequently to appearances in the quartet of the known Polish tenore saxophonist Michal Urbaniak. His greatest success abroad was his accompanying to the known Polish group “Novi” which won the first prize at the 15th International Jazz Festival in Zurich (1965). The percussionist CZESLAW BARTKOWSKI also became a jazzman in a student milieu having begun his career in the FAR quartet. In 1961 he made himself known to the wider public at the International Jazz Jamboree at the Warsaw Philharmonic, then he participated in the triumphant tour of Namyslowski’s quartet (among others in Britain, Italy, West Germany). From time to time he joins other bands such as the excellent quartet of the Polish pianist Krzysztof Komeda. The bass player JANUSZ KOZLOWSKI (b. 1941) started, like his colleagues, as member of modern student bands. For some time he played with traditional bands such as “Warsaw Stompers”, Ragtime Jazz Band, the group Bossa Nova Combo and “Pagart’s” big band with whom he went on numerous tours abroad.

Siodmawka (Seven-Four Bars) — After the composition based on Polish mountaineer’s themes called “Piatawka” (Five-Four Bars) in which Namyslowski used rarely appearing in jazz rhythm 5/4, the composer went here still farther and used in “Siodmawka” the beat 714. Along with the free form we hive here harmonies of a mountaineer’s tune. This is undoubtedly one of the most interesting items of the record.

Despair — In respect of melody and harmony, an equally interesting piece. This is a twelve-bar form of blues, but without the use of the blues scale.

Frances the Terror — Here we come to know the quartet operating within free-jazz, the sort of music which perhaps does not appeal to all, but expresses, however, the artistic changes occurring in our days and the evolution of jazz. The band is improvising in two tempi, two phases, and does it very consistently.

The Beetle Humming in the Reeds — A folk-tune again, this time it’s a Krakowiak. The quartet plays it with dash and half-jokingly.

My Dominique — A typical ballad of simple harmonies, in slow tempo. The composer wrote it with his little daughter, Dominika, in mind.

The Wardrobe — The composition, which is being played dynamically and in a “dirty” way, may be regarded as a mixture: free harmony + big beat. Let’s hear what’s been the result.

Mead Drinker Lola — A sort of Charleston, a musical joke with typical solo parts. It can do without commentary, being simply a musical relaxation.

“Despite the comings and goings of our many American visitors in 1964, one of the most refreshing things to hit the British jazz scene last year was the visit of these four young Poles. This album… is a striking illustration of the high standard of European jazz. (”Melody Maker”, London, Jan. 9th 1965)

“…As an orthodox modern jazz group, they possess all the qualities one would look for in their American counterpart… As a group, the four men are obviously well accustomed to each other’s playing.. In addition their music has a strange attractive flavor which one can only put down to their contact with Polish folk music…”. (”The Times”, London, 18.3.1966)

I just grabbed this from My Jazz World:

This great funky album by trumpet player Blue Mitchell originally was released in 1969 on Blue Note Records and recently re-released, players are Wilton Felder, Bob West, Fred Robinson, Al Vescovo, Paul Humphrey, John Guerin, Dee Ervin, Monk Higgins, King Errison, Alan Estes, Bill Green, Buddy Collette, Bobby Bryant, Charlie Loper, Plas Johnson. The album was arranged and conducted by Monk Higgins.

Track List:

1) Hnic
2) Flat Backing
3) Na Ta Ka
4) Heads Down
5) Bantu Village
6) Blue Dashiki
7) Bush Girl

According to several comments posted here, you’d think Weisberg’s 1972 Hurtwood Edge was one of the best albums of all time. They cannot understand why it has not been re-issued on CD. I’ll tell you why - there is only a very small audience for Weisberg’s brand of easy listening, and while Weisberg is certainly an excellent flute player, he is no shining star as a solo recording artist. Despite having some “moments”, the only truly memorable track from this album is the almost funky Time Cube. Weisberg is now a part of the Verve group, but based on the lack of activity on his artist page (and the general decline of CD sales), I wouldn’t expect to see any Weisberg re-issues any time soon.

I remember buying an original tape copy of this album from a wall-o-tapes at New World Records in Brampton. Even though this was several years ago, I still recall looking at the wall and thinking to myself, “They sell tapes?”

I knew nothing about the band, but the cover looked interesting, and something about the original 1969 case fascinated me, the tape sat in a plastic tray that was inserted in a paper sleeve.

I pulled down Mantle-Piece and plopped it on the counter with the CD’s I had selected. I popped it in the tape deck of my car on the way home and was instantly impressed. As Bruce Eder states in his biography below, “Their sound was a strange mix of blues and jazz, channeled through psychedelia and some avant-garde sensibilities, and overall extremely difficult to classify.”

I did a bit of research and was surprised to find that the original name of this band was Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments. I remember Brown for his writing credits on Cream songs.

I had figured that Mantle-Piece was a one-off album deal, but the original line-up that included Brown released an album called “A Meal You Can Shake Hands with in the Dark”, also in 1969. Both albums were re-issued individually on CD (with bonus tracks) by Repertoire in 1994, went out-of-print, and then were re-issued again together on one CD by BGO (Beat Goes On) in 2001, but they were not available in North America. You can still order direct from BGO.

I created a CD from the original tape (before I had heard about the CD re-issues) and it was in heavy rotation for quite some time. Then I discovered a quality 256kbps MP3 rip over at the Madshoes “Musicology” blog.

If you are searching for an the original LP, expect to pay more than 100 bones for it.

According to Band to Band, there are 118 bands directly related to The Battered Ornaments, with 1137 bands in their local family tree - a very interesting one at that! Be sure to check out the links for the band members below:

Pete Bailey - Percussion
Graham Bond - Organ [Bond was a leader of the British Blues scene]
Pete Brown - Percussion, Composer, Vocals
Roger Bunn - Bass
Charlie Hart - Keyboards [Also visit charliehart.com]
Dick Heckstall-Smith - Saxophone
George Khan - Saxophone
Jim Mullen - Bass
Roger “Butch” Potter - Bass
Phil Ryan - Keyboards
Chris Spedding - Guitar [Spedding's sessionography is quite impressive]
Rob Tait - Drums
Dave Thompson - Organ
Pugwash Weathers - Drums

Biography by Bruce Eder:

The Battered Ornaments had their origins in the unexpected musical aspirations of Pete Brown. Best known as a poet among the British beats of the early/mid-’60s, Brown knew something of jazz and blues, and even played an instrument — the trumpet — with some modest degree of facility. He was still primarily a writer, but he gravitated toward music and devised a presentation of poetry, jazz, and avant-garde music that entailed the presence of a band — toward that then, he put together a group called the First Real Poetry Band with a lineup, as he recalled in a 2000 essay, that included John McLaughlin (guitar), Binky McKenzie (bass), Laurie Allen (drums), and Pete Bailey (percussion). The group performed at the top London clubs of the period, and added to Brown’s recognition among the literati, sufficiently so that he ended up being approached by Cream — then a hot blues-based power trio who had run through much of their best blues repertory on their debut album and was now looking to write original material, to assist them with the songwriting. Bassist Jack Bruce and guitarist Eric Clapton didn’t need help where music was concerned, but lyrics were another matter, and Brown and Bruce soon found a harmonious working relationship.

And when Cream took the airwaves and the listeners on both sides of the Atlantic by storm, with the singles “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room,” not to mention a brace of LP tracks off of their album Disraeli Gears, Brown suddenly emerged as a major background figure in the British pop music world. It was around this same time that the First Real Poetry Band got recorded by a friend of Brown’s, and there was talk of a possible commercial release. Meanwhile, Brown carried his songwriting activities forward on behalf of the Graham Bond Organisation, a precursor ensemble to Cream who had hung on up to that point, but were soon to break up — the process left him with a large repertory and a problem; amid the stellar lineup of the First Real Poetry Band, his singing was the weak link, as he was the first to admit, and rather than try to elevate his skills, he decided instead to recruit a less imposing group of sidemen to work with, and the First Real Poetry Band passed into history.

At the core of the new band was reedman Nisar Ahmed Khan (aka George Khan), playing alongside Lynn Dobson, while Jamie Muir — still a few years away from his work with King Crimson — played percussion at first, though Pete Bailey had replaced him by the time they got around to recording. Khan put Brown on to guitarist Chris Spedding and bassist Butch Potter, and Dick Heckstall-Smith was aboard on tenor sax, and Charlie Hart — later much better known as a bassist — played the organ and violin, and Bob Tait played drums. Their sound was a strange mix of blues and jazz, channeled through psychedelia and some avant-garde sensibilities, and overall extremely difficult to classify. Despite the latter shortcoming, however, audiences liked the outfit billed as Pete Brown & His Batterered Ornaments. The bookings were plentiful and the work was not only starting to pay decently, but they soon had representation by Blackhill Management, which, as they discovered, had entre to EMI Records’ newest imprint, Harvest Records. This was all happening in late 1968 and early 1969, when there was still a thriving underground music scene in England, and Brown and company fit right into the zeitgeist.

But as 1969 wore on, and a first album — A Meal You Can Shake Hands with in the Dark — was released, and did well enough so that a second one was recorded — a process similar to the one that had overtaken Brown’s first band began to occur within the Battered Ornaments. They began to get more ambitious in their musical goals, and also to see Brown’s still limited — but highly expressive — vocalizing as a detriment. This time, however, it was the band that made a move on Brown rather than the other way around. Matters came to a head in early July 1969, when Brown was essentially voted out of the band he’d organized, unanimously. When the smoke cleared, the core of five musicians remained, with Spedding installed as lead singer. The second version of the Battered Ornaments was a tighter band, and a thoroughly more professional sounding outfit, despite some limitations — Spedding was obviously a more natural musician than Brown, but his vocals, while more professional, weren’t any better, and were a lot less interesting.

The group set about wiping Brown’s singing from the completed second LP and substituting Spedding, with backup singing by all of the others. And the results, while smoother and more professional, were also a good deal duller without Brown’s contribution to the music. The original Battered Ornaments might have been unclassifiable in terms of their music, but with Brown as the frontman there was an unpredictable element — which extended itself from his singing to the playing of the others, by emotional and musical osmosis — that kept listeners of all sorts engaged in the finished tracks. The second album, by the new Battered Ornaments, sounded like a bunch of highly talented jazz players doing good work that was a lot more predictable and not half as interesting. (In a sense, in terms of the internal dynamics of the band — which very much shaped its sound and playing — the departure of Brown had an effect similar to the loss of Brian Jones in the lineup of the Rolling Stones; the latter group had got Mick Taylor, a true virtuoso on the guitar, who could take solos that neither Jones nor Keith Richards ever would have thought of playing, in his place, but they lost all of the unpredictability that Jones himself had brought to the table, and lot of the edgy tension that went with it; except, of course, that the Battered Ornaments had no Mick Jagger in their ranks, or even anyone quite as charismatic in his dark way as Keith Richards, to keep pulling people into their orbit.)

It all ended by 1970, in the wake of the critical and commercial failure of Mantle-Piece, when Spedding accepted an offer to work on Jack Bruce’s first solo album, Songs for a Tailor (which, ironically, was comprised of songs with lyrics by Pete Brown), and later joined Bruce’s touring band. The Battered Ornaments were mostly forgotten over the ensuing decade, as the members moved on to other projects, Brown emerging with a new band called Piblokto while Spedding went on to become a top session player with one huge British hit (”Motor Bikin’”) to his credit, and Charlie Hart became a member of Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance, in addition to being a busy sessionman.

Although he was born in Calcutta, Hamish Imlach (1940-1996) claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. He was described by Ewan McVicar, the Scottish storyteller and singer, as “a raconteur who taught Billy Connolly, a singer who taught Christy Moore, a blues guitarist who taught John Martyn.”

While I don’t know that much about him, I get the impression from this record that he could perhaps be called the “Weird Al” of Scotland. While Yankovic chose to parody current pop hits, Imlach minced traditional folk songs, which is perhaps a more daring feat. Bob Dylan found out the hard way that 1960s folk fans could be a bit tight-assed about culture.

Despite his humour Imlach was a true folk singer, performing both celtic and American folk songs. The two songs included here are American classics. I wonder if the Deep Elm Blues (popularized by the Grateful Dead) is about Deep Ellum, Texas?

Downloads:

1) Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 1)
2) Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 2)
3) Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 3) (Generique)
4) Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 4) Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysees
5) Assassinat (Take 1) Visit De Vigile
6) Assassinat (Take 2) Julien Dans l’Ascenseur
7) Assassinat (Take 3) L’Assassinat De Carala
8) Motel (Diner Au Motel)
9) Final (Take 1)
10) Final (Take 2)
11) Final (Take 3) Chez Le Photographe Du Motel
12) Ascenseur (Evasion De Julien)
13) Le Petit Bal (Take 1)
14) Le Petit Bal (Take 2)- Au Bar Du Petit Bac
15) Sequence Voiture (Take 1)
16) Sequence Voiture (Take 2) (Sur l’Autoroute)
17) Generique
18) L’Assassinat De Carala
19) Sur L’Autoroute
20) Julien Dans l’Ascenseur
21) Florence Sur Les Champs- Lysees
22) Diner Au Motel
23) Evasion De Julien
24) Visit Du Vigile
25) Au Bar Du Petit Bac
26) Chez Le Photographe Du Motel

Review by Lindsay Planer:

Criss-Cross (1962) — Thelonious Monk’s second album for Columbia Records — features some of the finest work that Monk ever did in the studio with his ’60s trio and quartet. Whether revisiting pop standards or reinventing Monk’s own classic compositions, Monk and Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), John Ore (bass), and Frankie Dunlop (drums) exchange powerful musical ideas, as well as provide potent solos throughout the disc. Fittingly, “Hackensack” — a frenetic original composition — opens the disc by demonstrating the bandleader’s strength in a quartet environment. The solid rhythmic support of the trio unfetters Monk into unleashing endless cascades of percussive inflections and intoxicating chord progressions. The title cut also reflects the ability of the four musicians to maintain melodic intricacies that are at times so exigent it seems cruel that Monk would have expected a musician of any caliber to pull them off. “Tea for Two” showcases Monk’s appreciation for the great stride or “walking” piano style of James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith. The arrangement here is lighter, and features a trio (minus Rouse) to accent rather than banter with Monk’s splashes of magnificence throughout. Likewise, Monk’s solo on “Don’t Blame Me” is excellent. The extended runs up and down the keyboard can’t help but reiterate the tremendous debt of gratitude owed to the original stride pianists of the early 20th century. The 1993 compact disc pressing of Criss-Cross sounds great and adds a version of “Pannonica” that was previously unissued at the time. Unfortunately, however, the liner notes originally used on the album jacket — penned by “Pannonica”’s namesake, Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter — were replaced by those of a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. This is prime Monk for any degree of listener.

Thelonious Monk, Piano
Charlie Rouse, Tenor Sax
Frankie Dunlop, Drums
John Ore, Bass

Track List:

1) Hackensack
2) Tea For Two
3) Criss-Cross
4) Eronel
5) Rhythm-A-Ning
6) Don’t Blame Me
7) Think Of One
8) Crepuscle With Nellie
9) Pannonica