Saturday, May 05, 2007

Apologies for going AWOL... then Clifford Thornton...









My apologies – this has been a week of enforced rest – exhaustion has caught up with me... so the Damo Suzuki review is somewhat late - but will go up today (honest)... and some mp3's tomorrow... Here's a track to keep things moving – an obscurity I just acquired in a new batch of stuff. Clifford Thornton, a multi-intrumentalist with radical leanings that are displayed in the album title: 'The Panther and the Lash.' This is 'El Fath,' recorded in Paris, November 1970. Starting on a vamp led by the bass followed by piano and hissing, rattling percussion that leads you in nicely, Thornton squalls up on the shenai, which I gather is some kind of Indian oboe. (Ornette has used one, way back). Thornton exploits its unique tonal qualities to the full, bending and swaying over the insistent rhythms of his backing musicians. This is a rare classic, now re-issued on CD from one of the great, if neglected, figures of Free Jazz. Till later...

Clifford Thornton
Clifford Thornton (cor, shn, v-tb, p, maracas) François Tusques (p, cel, balafon, maracas)Beb Guérin (b) Noel McGhie (d, perc)
El Fath
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