Jazzactuel [Box Set]

The release of reclaims from obscurity a remarkable period of music. Compiled by devoted fans and , this three-CD box set compiles , , and tracks originally released in the late '60s and early '70s by the French label . According to the informative, but at times overzealous, liner notes, the sessions originated from a music festival held in Paris in 1969 that was headlined by such American legends as . The music is just as wild as one might expect from such a roster. 's which opens the first disc, is a near-perfect document of late-'60s battery, with the leader's drums scrambling and crashing underneath 's foghorn tenor drones and the siren-like altos of . shocks through brooding intensity, as coolly recites a chilling indictment of machismo over a spooky piano vamp; in the context set by 's words, 's burly tenor obligatos take on a predatory quality. Other highlights of the set include on which the guitarist's ferocious tangle of distortion spurs his wife to primitive, orgasmic wails; where 's snaking muzette lines dance over 's relentless, often polyrhythmic march beat; and lastly the sublimely noisy a 22-minute free workout by , comprised of most of the crew and special guests like the elusive trumpeter/flugelhornist . Admittedly, this music can be numbingly extreme, but there are enough surprises to merit close listening all the way through. A delightful moment is the whooping their way through a parody of military music called that captures perfectly the revolutionary spirit that infuses seemingly the entire . It should also be mentioned that though dominates here, the listener is also treated to tripped-out courtesy of exploration by . These oddball tracks reveal the period from 1969-1971 as a true renaissance of "out" music, to which serves as a wonderful introduction. ~ Henry M. Shteamer