JEFF CLYNE - IAN CARR - TREVOR WATTS - JOHN STEVENS "SPRINGBOARD" (POLYDOR, 1966)

This was previously posted by kinabalu in December 2009. 
As the links are long gone I thought it would be time for a re-up.
In fact it was this post (thank you kinabalu!) which made me aware about this excellent and still not re-issued LP. 
New rip in flac with (small) cover pictures.

And here's the original text from Kinabalu:

Well, whaddyaknow! I made a request for this in the last post and here it is, served on a golden platter by reader "corvimax" who dipped into the big pool of the P2Ps to retrieve the goodies for our joint enjoyment here on the blog.

Having listened to it several times, it remains a huge mystery why this album has not been deemed worthy of reissue after 40 years, still fetching bundles of money on the collector's market.

This was recorded in 1966, but only released in 1969 on Polydor.

The basic facts:

Jeff Clyne, Ian Carr, Trevor Watts, John Stevens - Springboard

1. Love Was Born [TW]
2. C4 [JS]
3. Ballad [JC]
4. Helen's Clown [TW]
5. Ou Sont Les Neiges D'Antan [IC]
6. Crazy Jane [IC]
7. Springboard [JS]

Ian Carr - trumpet, flugehorn
Trevor Watts - alto sax
Jeff Clyne - bass
John Stevens - drums

Recorded at Regent Sound Studio, London.

(Aug 1966, Polydor 545007)

This is a brilliant album, probably "free" by the standards of the time, but not really free in the sense of the later compact minimalism of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. It also predates the later fusion of Nucleus, of which Carr and Clyne were founder members, but there are elements of the later Amalgam obviously, with three of the members present here. Perhaps one can hear shades of the early Ornette Coleman and Joe Harriott combos who were pioneers in defining the new thing in the late 50s. It's unorthodox, but still very melodious, chemically free of the mid- to late-60s blow-outs associated with the ESP label. Whatever labels to attach, this is fresh to these ears, more than 40 years after the fact.

After listening to this album, I would advise our followers to listen to the John Stevens - Chemistry - album which we have posted here before. Interesting linkages and continuities from this to the later Chemistry from the mid-70s.

As always, enjoy! More to come! And another thanks to "cortimax" for digging this out of the virtual ether.