Joy Unlimited

Description

One of the great, lost British jazz gems of the 1970s, reissued for the first time since it was originally released in 1975.

The greatly missed trumpeter Harry Beckett has become incredibly collectable in recent times, with this album reaching significant sums, appealing to both Brit-jazz fans and the digging community after those elusive open drum breaks. The music is amongst the best he made in his career and features the funky guitar of Ray Russell in a number of superb Latin and Caribbean jazz fusion workouts. A gem and a lost classic.

Personnel: Harry Beckett (trumpet, flugelhorn), Ray Russell (guitar), Brian Miller (piano, electric piano, synthesizer), Darryl Runswick (bass, electric bass), Martin David (congas), Nigel Morris (drums)

Press:

"On this single date in March 1974 Beckett and the band achieved something pretty special and it seems surprising that it's taken so long for this gem to emerge once again. But perhaps these strange socially distanced days that we are now living through are exactly the right time to have our spirits lifted by Harry Beckett and Joy Unlimited." - ***** UK Vibe

"The late, great UK-resident Barbadian musician Harry Beckett had an instantly recognisable signature on the trumpet, a blend of vivacious suggestion, tender reflection, and beguiling laughter." - **** Jazzwise

"The late trumpeter and friends simply dazzle in this immaculate, feel-good set." - **** The Observer

"Crate-diggers will love the funky drum breaks on Ring Within Rings." - **** MOJO

"Classic UK fusion." - **** Record Collector

"The catchy themes are not too far removed from the riffy starting points that dominate contemporary London jazz and the album's rhythmic palette is similarly diverse. Over forty years on, Beckett's studio-savvy band still sounds fresh." - **** Financial Times

"Joy does indeed seem unlimited here as Beckett aims for a vibrant rock-jazz fusion work out that showed the Brits could easily match the sounds coming out of America." - **** Shindig! Magazine

"A decade after his death, his own recordings are less easy to find, so this reissue from 1975 - nicely packaged by Cadillac with new notes from Beckett biographer John Thurlow - is lovely to have." - LondonJazzNews

"A subtle calypso & jazz rock flavour from the trumpet of UK jazz legend Harry Beckett." - Julian Joseph, BBC Radio R3 (J-Z)

"A legend in UK jazz history." - Linley Hamilton, BBC Radio Ulster (Jazz World)

"Exuberant and energizing, it has catchy tunes and frill-free arrangements. It is the absolute, total, care-free flipside of the moody contemporaneous work of Miles Davis and makes great summertime listening. - All About Jazz