Curlew – North America (CD2080)

Downtown New York in the early 1980s: punk, jazz, Southern R&B and avant-garde all at once. Curlew is the band of Mississippi-born saxophonist George Cartwright, and North America is their second album. It was recorded between summer 1983 and summer 1984 at B.C. Studio in Brooklyn and produced by Fred Frith, guitarist and co-founder of the legendary British band Henry Cow. Frith also plays bass here.

The line-up is an all-star cast of the emerging downtown scene. Cellist Tom Cora, guitarist Mark Howell and drummers Pippin Barnett and Rick Brown form the core, with guests Butch Morris on cornet and Polly Bradfield on violin. The 13 short, sharp pieces mix gritty roadhouse grooves, harmolodic funk à la Ornette Coleman, avant-rock and studio experiments. Frith manipulates guitar and saxophone live, Cartwright adds animal calls on “First Bite” and “Shoats”, and Cora plays accordion on “Two-Day ‘Till Tomorrow”. It’s Curlew’s most studio-based and most “avant-progressive” album, and a classic of the downtown sound.

This is a must for fans of Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, Naked City and John Zorn. Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

George Cartwright founded Curlew in New York in 1979. He brought his Mississippi roots with him, a roadhouse R&B swagger and a love for his early hero Ornette Coleman. The first album (1981) had Bill Laswell on bass. In the following years the band became a kind of incubator for New York’s avant-jazz and rock talent, and helped define the famous “Knitting Factory sound” of the late 1980s. The New York Times called them the best of the unsigned, genre-busting downtown groups.

On North America Fred Frith took the bass chair. That’s not as surprising as it sounds, since Frith later played bass for years in John Zorn’s Naked City. Tom Cora stayed with Curlew for almost two decades until his early death in 1998. You can also hear him with Chris Cutler and Maggie Nicols on Perfect Trouble (CD2070), also on Moers Music.

Tracklist

1. Ray – 5:25

2. Oklahoma – 3:47

3. Knee Songs 2 – 2:10

4. Person to Person – 2:10

5. Time and a Half – 2:41

6. Mink’s Dream – 3:01

7. Two-Day ‘Till Tomorrow – 1:22

8. Light Sentence – 2:25

9. First Bite – 2:25

10. Moonlake – 5:14

11. Shoats – 2:18

12. Agitar / The Victim – 4:50

13. Feelin’ Good – 2:50

Most compositions by George Cartwright; “Person to Person” and “Time and a Half” by Fred Frith. Total running time: approx. 41 minutes

Personnel

• George Cartwright – alto & tenor saxophone, vocals, animal calls

• Fred Frith – bass, guitar, violin, vocals, live electronics

• Tom Cora – cello, accordion

• Mark Howell – guitar

• Pippin Barnett – drums

• Rick Brown – drums

• Butch Morris – cornet (track 3)

• Polly Bradfield – violin (tracks 6, 10)

• Martin Bisi – bass drum (track 4)

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD2080 (originally released on LP as Moers 02042, 1985)

• Recorded: Summer 1983 – summer 1984, B.C. Studio, Brooklyn, New York

• Producer: Fred Frith

• Price: €14.00