Charles Tolliver, Music Inc & Orchestra - Impact
ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
Charles Tolliver - trumpet, flugelhorn [click here to see more vinyl featuring Charles Tolliver]
James Spaulding - flute, alto saxophone
Harold Vick - flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Charles McPherson - alto saxophone
George Coleman - tenor saxophone
Charles Davis - baritone saxophone
Jon Faddis, Lorenzo Greenwich, Virgil Jones, Jimmy Owens, Richard Williams - trumpet
Garnett Brown, John Gordon, Kiane Zawadi - trombone
Jack Jeffers - bass trombone
Stanley Cowell - piano
Clint Houston, Cecil McBee, Reggie Workman - bass
Clifford Barbaro - drums
Warren Smith - chimes, percussion
Big Black, Billy Parker - percussion
Winston Collymore, Noel Da Costa, Gayle Dixon, Noel Pointer - violin
Julius Miller, Ashley Richardson - viola
Akua Dixon Turre, Edith Wint Porter - cello
1 LP, standard sleeve
Limited edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Pure Pleasure Records
Original Label : Strata East Records
Recorded at Sound Ideas Studios, Ja
Engineered & mixed by George Klabin
Produced by Charles Tolliver
Remastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
Tracks :
Side A:
1 Impact
2 Mother Wit
3 Grand Max
Side B:
1 Plight
2 Lynnsome
3 Mournin' Variations
Reviews :
“Trumpeter Chrarles Tolliver was, with Stanley Cowell , the co-founder of the pioneering artist - owned Strata -East label, home of many crucial 1970s jazz recordings from the likes of Pharoah Saunders, Clifford Jordan, Gil Scott-Heron and, of course, Tolliver himself.
Many of his recordings for the label - including this one, re-released on vinyl by Pure Pleasure Records - are landmarks in 1970s jazz, straddling the line between ahrd bop and the avant-garde and possessed of a singular artistic vision. Released in 1975, Impact (not to be confused with Tolliver's 1972 quartet album of the same name, released, on Enja) carried on with the energetic large band format that Tolliver had experimented with on 1971's influential Music Inc. album, but with the addition of a string section.
The trumpeter composed, arranged, conducted and produced the entire project, a testament to both his energy and his huge talents, and the sheer quality of the musicians involved means a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
I've read complaints in some quarters taht the addition of strings dilutes the impact of Tolliver's extraordinary compositions but i can't agree. This is thrilling music, , from the opening title track through to the closer `Mournin' Variations` and the strings add a cinematic tension and a wider palette for Tolliver to paint his sound pictures with. His arrangements are consistently hard-edged and build momentum and tension, while the soloists - including George Colman, Stanley Cowell and Harold Vick, are given sufficient room to weave in and out of the multiple textures. It's gritty, strident, uncompromisingly `1970 urban` yet also ¬spiritual` - both very much of its time and transcending it.
It's not made clear if this is an all-analogue remastering, and i have my doubts but as there's a glassiness to the percussion and a slight blare on the horns which indicates the record may have been cut from a igital source: nonetheless mastering engineer Ray Staff has dug out the layers of detail in this complex recording and retains all the excitement and energy of what is one of the very best large ensemble recordings of the 1970s. Kevin Whitlock. “ Jazzwise Magazine , August 2020 by Kevin Whitlock
Ratings :
Discogs : 4,31 / 5