24 December 2009

George Russell + RAI Big Band - Live in Rome '80


"how much significant music was sponsored and broadcast in Western
Europe...in the 60's and 70's ( and still)"

from the previous post by Spazz numbNuts.

In this case the Italian RAI was the co-producer of a series of 11 events
involving many great composers/arrangers and its own Orchestra
(the now defunct RAI Big Band).
See the complete program by clicking on the image above.

Re-listening to this concert, i've remembered a J.E.Berendt's article
(about the 60's Big Bands) concluding with a question :
"will ever return the Big Bands?"

Rec. live at Quercia del Tasso in Rome on June 6, 1980.
(radio broadcast)

George Russell, conductor, arranger
Alice Norbury, co-conductor (4)
Lew Soloff, trumpet, flugelhorn
Robert Moore, tenor & soprano saxophone
Bobo Stenson, piano
J.F.Jenny Clarke, bass
Keith Copeland, drums
+
RAI Big Band :
Nino Culasso/Doriano Beltrame/Cicci Santucci/Michele
Lacerenza,tp - Giancarlo Beccattini/Ernesto Pumpo/
Marco Pellacani/Gennaro Baldino,tb - Gianni Oddi/Baldo
Maestri/Sal Genovese/Beppe Carrieri/Carlo Metallo,reeds
- Sergio Coppetelli/Pino Rucher,gt - Maurizio Majorana,b -
Carlo Zoffoli,vib - Roberto Pregadio,p - Roberto Zappulla,dr

1. Ezz-Thetic (15:41)
2. Two Dimensions (13:23)
3. All About Rosie (11:54)
4. Living Time [Events V and VI] (22:50)
5. Time Spiral (24:10)
6. Listen To The Silence [Encore] (09:55)

Total Time 1:37:56

Happy Christmas To Everybody !

18 comments:

riccardo said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

A++
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this post. Looking at the date it seems to be 2 days before he recorded the Electronic Sonata 1980 in Milan.

I was lucky enough to see George Russell twice - the 2nd occasion being his 80th birthday concert in London. He was a remarkable man and a great musician.

kingpossum said...

Belated Merry Christmas to you too, riccardo! And many blessings to you and to all here for the coming year.

BernieZ said...

Thanks a lot for this wonderful concert. Btw, there is a first biography of George Russel out now (George Russell: the story of an american composer, by Duncan Heining) Have not read it yet though.

Unknown said...

Hi Riccardo. I don't know if you'll read this request, since I come in a bit late. I remember well that RAI broadcast many of these concerts live. I remember I taped the one with Mike Westbrook and then accidentally I deleted the tape (shame on me!). Do you know if your friend might have taped any other of the series of concerts and more specifically the Mike Westbrook one? I would really love to have that one .... Probably M. Westbrook is not exactly in tune with this blog .... still I give it a try since you're now sharing with us this excellent G. Russell ...
Ciao

kinabalu said...

Mario,

Mike Westbrook is very much in tune with this blog. Look here!

riccardo said...

@ mario

curiously i don't find (in my tapes collection) the Westbrook and the
Breuker recordings. In addition to
the Russell, i've already posted
(in contributions) the wonderful Lacy/Rudd recording and is my intention to share, in the next future, the remaining seven recordings.

Unknown said...

@ Kinabulu

OK, you caught me :-)

@ Riccardo

Too bad if you can't find the Westbrook, I'll check the other concerts you'll decide to post. Many thanks anyway for all the wonderful music you share

Anonymous said...

Hi, Thanks for this great post. The last piece is actually "Listen to the Silence" which Russell used to plat for the acknowledgements. cheers.
Pierre

duck said...

This George Russell looks interesting
I got some serious listening to do.
Always thanks Riccardo

kinabalu said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
softnucleus said...

Some confusion about this recording.
The Venetian concert was held NOT in Venice but in MESTRE, Teatro Corso, because there was a chance of rain. Campo Santa Margherita is an open air venue, the Venetian word “Campo” means a kind of square. Mestre is very close to Venice, just after the 4 km long bridge on the lagoon called "Ponte della Libertà".
I was at Teatro Corso in Mestre and greatly enjoyed the George Russell concert!
BUT this recording is NOT from the Mestre concert but from Quercia del Tasso in Rome (it's an Amphitheater) June 6, 1980, the day before! (See poster).
I recorded the RAI broadcast (I have it on an old reel) but poor Riccardo recording is a little bit better. Unfortunately I started recording concerts a couple of years later, so I don’t have a documentation of the Mestre concert on June 7.
Recapping: correct venue and date are:
“Quercia del Tasso”, Rome, June 6, 1980.
All the best to you, kinabalu.

kinabalu said...

Thanks for those clarifications, softnucleus. Yes, I know Mestre is on the mainland and you have to cross a bridge to get to Venice. I did that ages ago by foot! I was back in Venice in 2012, I think, but this time staying at a hotel on Lido and taking a boat to get to Venice itself. Elsewhere you take the bus or whatever other vehicle is there, but in the Venice area you go by boat. I still had this vague feeling of being on a boat way after I returned.

I also reupped the Chris McGregor concert at Mestre. Is that correct as far as you know? I'll correct this post of course to get the time and place correct.

softnucleus said...

You are right about Venice, kinabalu! If you come again maybe we can meet! :-)

Yes, Chris McGregor is correct. I'm checking the other concerts of "Un certo discorso" and the only mistake, until now, was George Russell.
By the way you can replace "unknown" (track 6) with "Listen To The Silence".

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

New link with updated and correct text-file

1fichier

Guitarradeplastico,scraping oddities said...

Many thanks

francisco santos said...

BIG THX!...