31 July 2011

RON PITTNER "OUT FROM THE EDGE" ( ANGELUS RECORDS, 1974)





This quite rare, yet very interesting LP rip is again a gift from a friend.

Never heard about this LP before - and Ron Pittner was almost unknown to me - except for two recordings with him. One is to be found here >
http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2011/02/alan-silva-celestrial-communication.html

...the other one is called "Jazz A Maison De Japon, Paris" with the same line-up as the present post.
(more from my friends treasure box will follow)

Maybe it's interesting to know that Angelus Records was a 'catholic' label (I was told) - the same is true for the german label 'Calig' (I know for sure) which issued for example Peter Brötzmann's "Nipples".

...I'm almost tempted to say - Enjoy! for god's sake...what a complex world.





RON PITTNER "OUT FROM THE EDGE"


Ron Pittner, drums & percussion
Kent Carter, bass & cello
Mototeru Takagi, tenor & soprano saxophone
Takashi Kako, acoustic & electric piano



1. Off - Duet for Piano and Percussion (03:54)
2. Stretch Street (Estado) - Quartett (12:25)
3. Out From The Edge - Quartett (20:06)



Recorded in concert March 2, 1974 Maison de Radio, Paris, France.


ANGELUS RECORDS WR-5142

(lp rip)

.

10 comments:

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Winb said...

Thanks for this.

longbranch said...

Thanks, glad to see this. I knew Ron a little (from L.A. originally, I think) when I first arrived in Paris, spring-summer 1980, he was still active there for a while. But lack of enough work, and eventual separation from his wife, led to the return of old bad habits, and he seems to have vanished since. He also had a record with Dave Burrell, from a French radio house concert--can't recall if it was actually released, or more likely he was trying to get it released. He had a nice touch.

E S said...

LONGBRANCH:
we probably know each other. I got to Paris in 1985.
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RON PITTNER:

I played with Ron a bit from 1989 -1991.
-------
Because there is certainly no other source of Ron's journey on the internet I guess that it's my responsibility to document it !

Yes, he was from L.A.(Santa Monica if I remember correctly) He arrived in Paris in the Free jazz heydays of the early 1970s. The big name on his C.V. was having done a few gigs (recordings ???) with Anthony Braxton when he was in Paris at the beginning of the 1970s (pre Circle days)

He moved from Paris to Colmar (450 kms from Paris in Alsace near the German border) to live with a wealthy French woman whom he met on a Club Med gig (100% verifiably true story…). He started a Jazz festival in Colmar in 1996 - (which incidently will be celebrating its 15th year next month…). Unfortunately while still living in Colmar, Ron died from cancer around 2000.

While being someone that obviously had a feeling for the music, he wasn't the quintessential serious musician - I think it would be true to say that music was in 4th place (and Ron would have been the first person to tell you that) after Women, partying and drugs/alcohol(not in excess when I knew him…) . In the late 1980s he used to play with just a snare, ride cymbal and high hat. Whether that was for musical reasons or just because it was a drag to haul around the bass drum will be left to the mysteries of undocumented history but I think that it was the latter.

Ron was really into Baseball and when he lived in Paris he was always the first baseman in the expatriates baseball game (mainly Americans and Japanese) played in the Bois de Vincennes. Along with the jazz Festival in Colmar, this Baseball game may be Ron's other legacy as it still happens every Sunday afternoon.

(Bassist Jack Gregg, who is still alive and playing GREAT at 72 y.o. was often the umpire… Jack is on the Gunter Hampel/Jeanne Lee recording on this site from this month in Inconstant Sol).

Ron always wore a bandana scarf around his neck when he played…

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

thanks a lot! pretty good one!
that would be definitely great to hear "Jazz a Maison du Japon, Paris" too!

Igor

Anonymous said...

Yes, Ron is fondly remembered by his softball buddies. In honor of this Los Angelenan and of the Japanese artists who played with him, we are still at it every Sunday in the Bois de Vincennes under the name "Les Paris Angels San", a "fun, friendly, fanatic" group of all ages, sexes, races, religions (or lack thereof) now in its 32nd year. Just sent out to our team today some pics of him and a scan of his "Out to Lunch" poster.
--David Ames Curtis Curtis@msh-paris.fr

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

1fichier

francisco santos said...

BIG THX!...

BT said...

Thank-you very much