By Request: the 1976 NDR Jazzworkshop with Dauner and Ponty

These records are not cheap as they are understandably rare, but looked quite interesting.  A few were posted previously (thanks for that!) on the inconstant sol blog (mostly free jazz or improvised) as can be seen here.

A bit of background can be found on wikipedia, translated from the original German:

The NDR Jazzworkshop was first organized in 1958, in which jazz musicians from different bands and different scenes worked together and presented their work results in the concert after several days of trial. The NDR radio station of the same name later remained for the documentation of recorded jazz concerts.

Unfortunately there is no complete discography to be found there, or even in the database here.
But as mentioned in the wikipedia page, some luminaries like (obviously, from the cuneiform release) Soft Machine, Volker Kriegel, and of course Wolfgang Dauner in this installment have appeared in different years.

In fact the presence of the latter composer, to whom an entire first side is dedicated, is obviously the reason this record was of interest.  So what can we say about Dauner's composition which begins with a bloodcurdling scream?  Well, suffice it to say I will never play it in front of my kids and my wife, and I think that says it all.

Sadly, Ponty's track is a bit disappointing with its simple three-chord change:





While the remainder of the tracks, with Eje Thelin's improvised wailing and Al Jarreau babbling in the old jazz manner, are best left unmentioned.

A Swiss SOFA's 33/45 EP

https://www.discogs.com/Sofa-3345/release/2374710

Straightforward smooth fusion here.  The first side is 33 and 15 minutes and I suppose after running out of ideas the second side is 45 and only 10.

First track, inanely called It's so Cozy:

Bernd Köppen / Heinz Becker ‎– Tanz Der Altarfiguren 1984 -- by request

The front of the sleeve folds opens to reveal the image immediately below it.

Church organ plus free jazz sax, what else could go wrong here?  Information here.

First and title track:






Rather more approachable is the track called January 30, 1983:

RIO Random in Nothin' Tricky, 1977 USA

This band, god bless their crazy souls, released a one-off private pressed LP in 1977 that is absolutely what I want and crave in progressive rock: ingenious and inventive, totally original composition with textures and sounds that never seem to end in creativity.  First of all I'll post Tom's review from rateyourmusic:

Very interesting avant progressive band from Illinois. Starts off with a disco(?!) track, but you know it's a head fake from the beginning. Mostly the group Random go for a chamber music sound, with all sorts of other styles mixed in, most notably jazz. Highly inventive for 1977, and one has to presume Henry Cow were an influence here. Album is available for free on the band's website.

The other (higher) review from siriuspooka;

The title "Nothin' Tricky" is an understatement. This band from Champaign-Urbana, formerly named "Random Rhythm and His Miscellaneous Meter Review", have to offer an interesting mixture. As Tom mentioned, in some smaller parts Henry Cow comes to mind. I hear as main influence Oregon, but making a balancing act between chamber rock avantgarde things and merge american folk in rock in opposition. It clearly can be sorted under the category unusual and entertaining. That's why 4 stars.


I would like first to correct these two gentlemen, first of all, the starter (Not Yet) has a disco beat but we are not talking about the ridiculous joke song in Orchestra Njervudarov, as you can hear here:





For me the charm of this track is that appears to be a satire of library and other easy listening songs, with the schmaltzy strings playing over surprising chord changes, and yes, its point is clearly to trick the listener regarding the subsequent content.  The second misprision is that the band's name is not an understatement but rather tongue in cheek, like almost all the music here.  Humor in music: RIO showed it can be done in a sophisticated and intelligent way (unlike Njervudarov's attempt as mentioned above).

Overall the record is very similar to my old favourite Feigenbaum and Scott which appeared here, without vocals.  The intelligence of the chamber arrangements, recalling Quebeckers Conventum, shines through like a laser in track 6, Procyon Lotar: (!)





On the one hand it saddens me that musicians that put so much thought and effort into a totally unknown piece of work should be so neglected, especially in today's world of artistic simplicity, on the other hand it never ceases to amaze me how creative the human mind can be at its best...

Michel Herr and Engstfeld in Perspective, Belgium 1978

Recall Michel Herr?  His album Good Buddies was one of the best requests I've ever heard in my tenure here since I was salaried away from my day job to run this blog.  And obviously, blessed with an unforgettable cover.  In distinction, this is more along the lines of standard issue advanced jazz with meandering compositions and not so much to hold on to.

The other artists can be found here with more information.

Herr's electric piano on the ostinatos of Continuous Flow is highly appealing:





Album closes with Stratus which is all ECM all the way:






And indeed Engstfeld's soprano sax vividly reminds me of my old favourite Gallery with its atmospheric soaring.