Barry Altschul Trio – Somewhere Else (LP 01064)

Drums, trombone and bass, live in Moers. On June 2, 1979, drummer Barry Altschul brought his trio to the 8th Moers International New Jazz Festival, with Ray Anderson on trombone and Mark Helias on double bass. This LP captures that concert.

Altschul calls the style he played with this band “freebop”: the swing and energy of bebop combined with the freedom of the avant-garde. Each member of the trio brought his own pieces. Altschul wrote the title track “Somewhere Else” and the 16-minute “Martin’s Stew”, Anderson the funky “Slickaphonic Shuffle”, and Helias the lyrical “Onea”. Altschul plays not just drums and cymbals but also bells, gongs, cuíca and waterphone. Anderson, one of the great trombone virtuosos, adds humour, growl effects, kalimba and Brazilian whistles. Three players with strong rhythmic ideas meet here in an open, playful and powerful conversation.

This is a must for fans of Anthony Braxton’s 1970s quartet, of Ray Anderson and of energetic, swinging free jazz.

Original pressing from the label’s own stock. This LP comes from Moers Music’s original stock. It’s not a reissue or a re-pressing. Buy directly from the label, originals only.

The Side Story

For Barry Altschul, Moers was familiar ground. Five years earlier, in June 1974, he had played the festival as the drummer in Anthony Braxton’s legendary quartet with Kenny Wheeler and Dave Holland. By 1978 he was building his own career as a leader, working with musicians like Dave Holland, Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis, Sam Rivers, Arthur Blythe and Anthony Davis.

This trio with Anderson and Helias was one of his best bands. A year after Moers they recorded the studio album Brahmafor the Canadian Sackville label. Ray Anderson and Mark Helias later founded the ironic avant-funk band Slickaphonicsin the 1980s, which is where the name “Slickaphonic Shuffle” comes from. Decades later, the three reunited as a trio.

Ray Anderson appears on several other Moers records: his own album Harrisburg Half Life (LP 01074), Roscoe Mitchell’s Sketches from Bamboo (LP 02024) and Anthony Braxton’s Seven Compositions 1978 (LP 01066). And a day after Altschul’s concert, on June 3, 1979, Sunny Murray and David Murray played the same festival (Live at Moers, CD1054).

Tracklist

1. Somewhere Else (Barry Altschul) – 13:30

2. Slickaphonic Shuffle (Ray Anderson) – 9:38

3. Onea (Mark Helias) – 6:38

4. Martin’s Stew (Barry Altschul) – 16:17

Total running time: approx. 46 minutes

Personnel

• Barry Altschul – drums, cymbals, bells, gongs, cuíca, waterphone, percussion

• Ray Anderson – trombone, kalimba, Brazilian whistles

• Mark Helias – double bass

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: 01064

• Recorded: Live, June 2, 1979, 8th Moers International New Jazz Festival, Germany

• Released: 1979

• Recorded by: Hans Schlosser

• Producer: Burkhard Hennen

• Cover design: Jürgen Pankarz · Photography: Birgitte Singer

• Price: €17.00