The Keith Tippett Group
Dedicated To You (But You Weren't Listening)

I guess I'll update myself sooner or later…

The 'brand new' album I'm about to review, let me say right away, I really like it. So, if you've never listened to it, take all the nonsense you'll read with a grain of salt. The fanfare that opens "This Is What Happens" is already a precise indication, and the title a kind of declaration of intent. Drums(!) and blasting percussion support the boisterous and joyful improvisations of Charig and Tippett. The little sped-up trombone ending is thanks to Nick Evans, who, with the accelerated tape, was convinced he resembled Freddie Hubbard. Well … still a great idea.

The more than 10 minutes of "Thoughts To Geoff" begin suspended in a collective improvisation and then flow into a beautiful rhythmic and quite ‘free’ jazz, with the whole band blending wonderfully, solos following one another fluidly, and Charig's cornet standing out. "Green And Orange Night Park" starts off cadenced and acidic, and continues with a continuous crescendo accompanying Elton Dean's sax, which already seems to anticipate the atmospheres of "5" by the Soft Machine, coming out in about a year. And then there's something reckless and provocative about stringing together the deliriums of "Gridal Suite" and especially "Five After Dawn"… perhaps the 22-year-old Keith Tippett, who, at an age roughly similar to Avril Lavigne's, had already declined to join King Crimson permanently to continue playing the music he loved most.

All the tracks recorded for the album, despite being imperfect or self-indulgent in places, have an energy that, in my opinion, makes them explosive, chaotic, very beautiful. It has been said of "Black Horse" that it has a rhythmic drive reminiscent of Santana. It also reminds me a bit of something by Nucleus, but the game of similarities is for trained ears, and for me, it ends here. In general, the comparison may relate to some sounds (and the attitude) more than the style. In this album, the collective improvisations, instrumental blasts, and the 'emotional' side of music often take precedence at the expense of the fluidity and structure of the pieces, for better or worse. Perhaps a purist of more refined jazz might turn up their nose at the noisy and somewhat lopsided progression of this album… a matter of perspective.

The fact remains that, 35 years later, you can still feel the freshness of ideas, energy, and the joy of playing. The cover and artwork designed by Martin and Roger Dean (the one with the space deer from Yes and dragonfly elephants from Osibisa) with the 'cerebral' fetus and the mother whispering the album's title are beautiful.

Ilikedit.