Steve Lacy Seven- PROSPECTUS (1984) Hat ART
From the inside cover (enclosed):
We start the set with STAMPS, the ice-breaker in honor of Mr Miles Davis, Based on the open notes
of the strings, it allows us to warm up, and you, to tune in.
WICKETS is a blue tale (tail?) on the trail, to Bobby Timmons, a blues blown in be natural.
Another kind of blues, THE WHAMMIES is our fastest moving item. Based on based on selected licks
from Fats Navarro. Once the chart is played, we get out quickly. When it is over you will have really
had it.
PROSPECTUS is an invitation to a voyage and is dedicated to McCoy Tyner.The words are by
Blaise Cendrars, who used a real travel brochure, slightly modified: "Come and see out little isle/
it's all the way down South/ in the Japanese possessions/ this little country is certainly mostly unknown
in Europe/ it merits a bit more attention/ fauna and flora have great variety/and hardly have been
studied up to now/ and this you'll find everywhere you look/ a picturesque point of view/ and in the
interior/ some ruins of Buddhist temples/ which are, in their genre/ pure marvels." (Translated by
Steve Lacy) This kind of collective improvisation is only possible when one has the luxury of being
able to work with the same group of gifted individuals over a long period of time. That is the REAL
Prospectus.
THE DUMPS (TAKE 1) Is a be-bop rag, a la Jelly Roll Morton. A tough number, we're still working on
it after 10 years. Note the forward-looking exchanges toward the end.
The second record contains our CLICHES. This piece began as an African postcard from Aline Dubois,
who visited Senegal. It was done in one take. We were lucky enough to be able to recruit some talented
young guests in the studio for the "rhythmic village". In memory of a dear friend and great musician,
Joe Maka.
TAKE 2 of THE DUMPS starts out more gayly, gets into some trouble, recovers well, and then at the
reprise loses its footing and crashes to a halt. After the last groan of anguish, we make a good insert,
repairing the damage but allowing the souvenir to remain.
The last tune RETREAT.Thomas Gainsborough, 18th centuyry painter, made this remark: "Enough
of portraits!/ I wish I could pack my Viola Di Gamba/
And go off to some charming village/ to paint landscapes/ And savor the end of my life/ In tranquility/
And peace." (re-translated by Steve Lacy) A little rhapsody for Bob Marley, based on a mode from
the far East in tick-tock time.
STEVE LACY, January, 1983.
Steve Lacy- Soprano Saxophone
Steve Potts- Alto and Soprano Saxophone
George Lewis- Trombone
Bobby Few- Piano
Irene Aebi- Violin, Cello, Voice
Jean-Jaques Avenel- Bass, Thumb Piano on CLICHES
Oliver Johnson- Drums
(and Cyrille Few and his friend- Percussion on CLICHES
Sherry Margolin- Percussion on CLICHES and RETREAT)
Side One:
1- Stamps (6:56)
2- Wickets (11:43)
3- The Whammies (5:16)
Side Two:
4- Prospectus (6:05)
5- The Dumps (Take One) (17:23)
Side Three:
6- Cliches (22:58)
Side Four:
7- The Dumps (Take Two) (15:52)
8- Retreat (7:54)
Recorded November 1 and 2 1983 at Ircam-Espace Du Projection, Paris.
re-up:
(1) (2)
