STEVE LACY "WORDLESS" (FUTURA, 1971)

In 1971 steve lacy was hitting a real peak of sorts incorporating , what was happening musically in the the jazz laboratory that paris happened to be for those half a dozen years from 67-73. .
Lacy describes the fertility of the era and location( in his notes to the 3 disc set ‘dreams scratching the seventies’ on the savarrah lable, with amazement).

Braxton and members of the art ensemble of Chicago lived near by ( lacy reffers to them as the best free improvisors of the day), and lacy was also performing with experimental rock musicians, and electronic composers/ fluxus members such as alvin lucier and Fredrick rzweski who were both along with lacy rotating members of the pioneering electro acoustic improvising ensemble MEV.

All this seems to have informed the bold synthesis of total free improvisation and his distinctive monk influenced , deceptively simple compositional style.

That synthesis was only beginning to take shape by 1971.
This is album is fairly unique in being one of the few lacy albums one might consider ‘free jazz’ a very tough listen .. this is edge of the precipice stuff, lacy spins out of his classic tunes some of the most sonically aggressive improvisations of his career.

This one features the expat African American Ambrose Jackson , a mysterious presence (on trumpet) who appeared exclusively on a few albums recorded in paris, then disappeared again (from recording at least).
It would be interesting to know what happened to him, although he is a bit of a bystander on this album, he had a fulsome tone that showed promise and a degree of originality.


I think this is a fantastic album which deserves consideration for a full remastered reissue.
I’d certainly buy it.
Could be though that the master tape is lost or damaged gerard terrones who runs the marge/futura label has not seen fit to re release it.
Indeed this was my 1st ever upload in the comments of the ch#9 blog almost a year ago now!!

1/ Existence (Lacy) 5:55
2/ The Way (Lacy) 3:35
3/ Bone (Lacy) 7:30
4/ Name (Lacy) 8:30
5/ The Breath (Lacy) 9:00
6/ Prologue A Life On Its Way (Lacy) 5:30

Recorded Au Theatre de l'Epee de Bois, Paris on January 4, 1971
Produced by Gerard Terrones

Steve Lacy: soprano; Ambrose Jackson: trumpet; Irene Aebi: cello; Kent
Carter: bass; Jerome Cooper: drums.

1971 - Futura (France), GER 22 (LP)
???? - Musica Records (France), MUS 2006 (LP)
(this post from the OOP CD)

thanks to Dale for the original futura cover!!