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Friday, March 19, 2010

Record of the Week: Mark Charig's "Pipedream"




Last evening I (re)opened a someway obscure and dusty section of my discotheque: the European avantgarde shelf... Incus, Ogun, FMP, Hans Reichel, Luis Moholo, Lol Coxhill, Keith Tippett, Marc Charig, Evan Parker, John Surman, Elton Dean... and I put on the platter a seldom quoted masterpiece: "Pipedream" by Mark Charig with Keith Tippett and Ann Winter - trumpet/flugelhorn, piano percussions and organ - more later - and voice, respectively, on Ogun label.

The recording - mostly improvised - was recorded in the chilly winter English countryside, in a small unheated church - in Feb. 1977... 33 years ago... the percussions played by Keith Tippett are... the church bells (!!!) and the organ is the old church organ... the dynamics are CRAZY!!!

The flugelhorn and piano percussions, strings strummings, the BELLS... well, since last listening, I had to keep playback volume lower to avoid some mistracking and "system crisis".

... with my actual "Gotorama" heavenly beauty, ALL the GLORY and FULL sound seems to effortlessly flood in my listening room... BELLS are really awesome in dimensions and nuances and trueness...

Now I can clearly hear the outer recording-venue noises, as well... mostly cars, but also whispering voices (Recordist? Friends? Pedestrians?;-))) previously almost inaudible... also the wooden-floor resonating under steps... while K. Tippet reaches the organ... CRAZY!

Lysergic and invigorating... and highly recommended!

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