Steve Lacy, Bill Dixon & Franz Koglmann – Opium

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Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Opium

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Artist……………: Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy

Album…………….: Opium

Genre…………….: jazz, post.bop, free.jazz

Source……………: NMR

Year……………..: 2001

Ripper……………: NMR

Codec…………….: LAME 3.99

Version…………..: MPEG 1 Layer III

Quality…………..: Extreme, (avg. bitrate: 257kbps)

Channels………….: Joint Stereo / 44100 hz

Tags……………..: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3

Information……….:

Ripped by…………: NMR

Posted by…………: p-zombie@dev.null on 16/04/2013

News Server……….:

News Group(s)……..:

Included………….: NFO

Covers……………: Front

Opium has pieces from two very rare LPs on trumpeter Franz Koglmann’s Pipe Records Label—Opium/For Franz (1976) and Flaps (1973).

The CD includes two pieces by Koglmann from Opium/For Franz: “Der Vogel/Opium” and “Carmilla”—both feature themes with multiphonic improvisation. Trumpeter Bill Dixon’s “For Franz” is a more composed piece which features some excellent interaction between the trumpets and with Alan Silva’s pizicatto and arco bass.

The four pieces from Flaps consist of two compositions each from Koglmann and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. Lacy’s “Flops” starts with the theme, then goes into free improvisation and includes a bass solo and a dual soprano sax/trumpet improvisation. Koglmann’s “Bowery I” starts with arco bass. Koglmann uses muted trumpet and there’s some somewhat dated sounding electronic solo pulses and bleats from Gerd Geier. “Bowery II” is rather tuneful, and almost sounds like a bopish blues. The album closes with Lacy’s “Flaps,” which uses some typical Lacy song structures, including repetition and variation of phrase. The piece gets very free with independant simultaneous solos.

[Side note one: Unfortunately, the original tapes for these sessions were lost, and they had to be remastered from vinyl. There is some distortion, most prominent on some of the higher trumpet notes. Some pieces were omitted because the quality of Koglmann’s only vinyl copies weren’t good enough to remaster from.]

[Side note two: So far all of the Between the Lines releases have featured cover paintings by artist Jutta Obenhuber. Most of them have been rather subdued, but the cover for Opium is her most exuberant cover painting yet, and features streaks of translucent paint-bright, hot, red and orange over cool blues and greens, with some magenta peeking through.]

I’m glad that at least a portion of these sessions of New Orleans counterpoint meets post bop free jazz are available again.

– Alan Lankin

Originally released in the 1970s as two separate LPs (Flaps and Opium/For Franz) on the tiny Pipe Records label, the sound on this single CD reissue is generally decent (with only selected rough spots), especially considering that the original tapes were lost and these recordings had to be remastered from the records. Actually, there are three separate groups represented on the seven tracks, with trumpeter Franz Koglmann performing on all and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy on all but one. Curiously, trumpeter Bill Dixon, whose name appears first on the CD, appears only on one cut, “For Franz,” the longest and perhaps most impressive one on the recording. Each track is filled with treasures. The rare opportunity to hear Lacy and Koglmann together is an absolute treat, fulfilling expectations, while the unusual pairing of Dixon and Koglmann on trumpet, along with string bass giant Alan Silva on the very Dixon-esque “For Franz” is also a treasure. Koglmann’s stamp is heard throughout, with the compatible horns playing to his cue. Gerd Geier’s effective and tasteful use of electronics on several of the numbers adds a timeless touch.

Bass – Alan Silva (tracks: 3), Cesarius Alvim Botelho* (tracks: 1, 2), Toni Michlmayr (tracks: 4 to 7)

Cover – Jutta Obenhuber

Design – fuhrer vienna

Drums – Aldo Romano (tracks: 1, 2)

Electronics – Gerd Geier (tracks: 4 to 7)

Flugelhorn – Franz Koglmann (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 7)

Liner Notes – Franz Koglmann

Percussion – Walter M. Malli* (tracks: 3 to 7)

Recorded By – Clement Ziegler* (tracks: 1, 2), Herbert Giesser (tracks: 3), Herbert Mueller (tracks: 4 to 7)

Remastered By – Tom Delbeke

Soprano Saxophone – Steve Lacy (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 7)

Tenor Saxophone – Steve Horenstein (tracks: 3)

Trombone – Josef Traindl* (tracks: 1, 2)

Trumpet – Franz Koglmann (tracks: 3 to 7)

Trumpet, Written-By – Bill Dixon (tracks: 3)

Written-By – Franz Koglmann (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6), Steve Lacy (tracks: 4, 7)

Notes?

1, 2; Recorded at Acousti, Paris, December 19, 1975. 3: Recorded at Studio Heinz, Vienna, August 6, 1976. 4 to 7: Recorded at Mueller Sound Studio, Vienna, April 26, 1973.

1 to 3 originally released on the album “Opium/For Franz” by Franz Koglmann/Bill Dixon on Pipe Records, 1976 (There is one track more on the original release); 4 to 7 released on “Flaps” (Piope Records, 1973, four more tracks on the LP)

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Tracklisting

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1. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Der Vogel / Opium[06:41]

2. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Carmilla [04:58]

3. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – For Franz [17:04]

4. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Flops [05:11]

5. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Bowery 1 [05:43]

6. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Bowery 2 [05:03]

7. Bill Dixon. Franz Koglmann. Steve Lacy – Flaps [06:19]

Playing Time………: 51:01

Total Size………..: 94.12 MB

NFO generated on…..: 16/04/2013 14:41:46

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