Ray Anderson – Harrisburg Half Life (LP 01074)

The debut of a trombone legend. Ray Anderson was one of the most exciting new voices in jazz at the end of the 1970s, thanks to his work with Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul. In 1980 he released his first album as a leader on Moers Music, with a quartet of Allan Jaffe on guitar, Mark Dresser on bass and Gerry Hemingway on drums.

All five pieces are Anderson originals, and they show everything that makes him unique: a raw, full, growling trombone sound, huge technique, humour and a deep love of the blues. The title track “Harrisburg Half Life” opens the album, followed by the wonderfully named “If I Ever Had a Home, It Was a Slide Trombone”, a personal statement in music. “Ecaroo” and “Sojourn of the Squares” swing and twist, and the 11-minute “Portrait of Willie Vargas” closes the album. Anderson plays tenor and alto trombone and a few “little instruments”. Jaffe’s guitar adds a rocky, funky edge that would later define the band Slickaphonics.

This is a must for fans of jazz trombone, of Anthony Braxton’s late-1970s bands and of free jazz with groove.

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

Ray Anderson was born in Chicago in 1952 and moved to New York in 1972. His breakthrough came in 1977 when he joined Anthony Braxton, and from 1978 he also played in Barry Altschul’s trio. That trio recorded Somewhere Else (LP 01064) at the Moers Festival in 1979, a year before this album.

The musicians on Harrisburg Half Life became some of Anderson’s closest partners. Guitarist Allan Jaffe was also a member of the avant-funk band Slickaphonics, which Anderson led with bassist Mark Helias. Drummer Gerry Hemingway later formed the trio BassDrumBone with Anderson and Helias, which lasted more than 30 years. Anderson went on to win the DownBeat Critics Poll as best trombonist five years in a row, and the Penguin Guide to Jazz called him “the most exciting slide brass player of his generation”.

You can also hear Anderson on Moers with Roscoe Mitchell’s Sketches from Bamboo (LP 02024) and Anthony Braxton’s Seven Compositions 1978 (LP 01066).

Tracklist

• Side A

  1. Harrisburg Half Life – 9:44

  2. If I Ever Had a Home, It Was a Slide Trombone – 9:17

  3. Ecaroo – 4:04

• Side B
  4. Sojourn of the Squares – 7:04
  5. Portrait of Willie Vargas – 11:18

All compositions by Ray Anderson. Total running time: approx. 41 minutes

Personnel

• Ray Anderson – tenor & alto trombone, little instruments

• Allan Jaffe – guitar

• Mark Dresser – bass

• Gerry Hemingway – drums

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: 01074

• Released: 1980

• Price: €17.00