The elasticity of time is something that should never be lost sight of when it comes to creative improvised music. Music recorded last week can sometimes sound more dated (and certainly less inspired “in the moment”) than music recorded decades ago. This release is a case in point. The music exemplifies an era far more creative and fluid than that suggested by the cultural conservatism of so much contemporary jazz.
While echoes of the pre-Don Moye era of the Art Ensemble of Chicago may be notable, the taking of risks, the undermining of conventional forms and an acknowledgement of “the tradition” which relies not one bit on (for example) the regurgitation of hard bop orthodoxy are all integral parts of the music here.
Combine these considerations with evident concern for a kind of communal music making that flouts notions of hierarchy and you have music that passing time seems to have made more radical than it was at the time of its production.
The widespread presence of both percussion and miscellaneous instruments, while echoing the A.E.C reference above, also serves to undermine the notion of virtuosity as it might be defined in any number of first-world universities in the present day. The virtuosity heard here is born of shared experiences and moments “on the job”. These come from the musicians playing privately for themselves, as a group, or before audiences unusually blessed with a quasi-spiritual sense of curiosity.
It’s all the more stimulating for that, and indeed out of time in the sense that it simultaneously quietly defines an era while essentially being timeless in the lessons it offers us.
The label gives us insight into the provenance of the music, thus: “We Want Sounds is delighted to announce the release of BAG’s first album since 1973, For Peace And Liberty, recorded in Paris in December 1972 when the musicians had recently arrived from St Louis. BAG only released one album during their existence. This long-lost performance, recorded at Maison de l’ORTF in optimal conditions just a few months previously, was thought lost until recently unearthed from the vaults of INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel)… Released in partnership with the band and INA, the album features sound remastered from the original tapes, plus a 20-page booklet featuring words by Oliver Lake, Joseph Bowie and Baikida Carroll plus Bobo Shaw’s and Floyd LeFlore’s daughters as well as extensive liner notes by BAG scholar Benjamin Looker and previously unseen photos by cult French photographer Philippe Gras.”
Discography
Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4 (36.01)
Floyd Lefore (t, v, misc. instruments); Baikida E.J. Carroll (t, flh, b, log drum, cowbells, v, misc. instruments); Joseph Bowie (tb, pc, v, misc.instruments); Oliver Lake (s, mar, mud drums, v, misc instruments); Charles “Bobo” Shaw (d, woodblocks, gong, stylophone, v, misc. instruments). Studio 104, Maison de la Radio (O.R.T.F.), Paris, France, 3 December 1972.
We Want Sounds WWSLP91
