Glass Bead Games

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Cat No: SES197378

Release Date: 01 March 2019

Label: Strata-east / Pure Pleasure Records

Packaging Type: Gate Fold Vinyl

No of Units: 2

Barcode: 5060149622964

Genres: Jazz

Description
180g audiophile vinyl reissue, remastering by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London.

Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 70's avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a groove.

Glass Bead Games is full of revelations at many levels. First, the decade of the 1970s did produce genuinely creative, "human" new music flowing from the jazz mainstream; second, Bill Lee was more than Spike's dad: he was a superlative bassist, a team player of the first order, a powerful catalyst who, if anything, deserves to be better known than his son; third, Billy Higgins was, as so many musicians insist, a once-in-a-lifetime drummer - the bellows inspiriting the collective flame.

Most importantly, Clifford Jordan was an artist of the first order, his playing so effortless and unforced, unselfconscious and focused, mature and wise that, at a time when altissimo fury was all the rage, it's small wonder his authentic voice frequently went unheard. His musical rhetoric is so personally expressive, its substance so compelling, the listener couldn't care less about the extraordinary technique required to convey its captivating message. Compared to some of his more acclaimed peers he's a less aggressive yet paradoxically more directive and shaping influence. The climaxes, rather than spelled out, are merely suggested, registering with deep and lasting impact on the listener...This is brilliant music-making by a Coltrane- influenced successor who feels no obligation to mime the predecessor. It may be the most significant saxophone performance on record since Coltrane and, providing the listener stays with it for any length of time, the most deeply satisfying. Jordan's game - so effortless, unforced, and "level" - erases distinctions between composed and improvised, soloist and ensemble, narrator and narrative, the dancer and the dance. It seems incapable of wearing out its welcome." - Samuel Chell, All About Jazz

Press:

"The instruments are well recorded and balanced, and the soundstage is exceptional. If there is a better sounding title in the StrataÂ East catalogue I have not heard it. I wonder how many other StrataÂ East titles have such sonics awaiting discovery?" - Dennis Davis, HIFI+

"Praise goes out to Pure Pleasure for not only reissuing this album, but for putting the effort in to make it sound so remarkably good. This is one album that should be in every jazz lover's collection and should be played often. Most highly recommended." - John Crossett, Aural Musings
Tracklisting