From Cuneiform Records Press release:
In the
history of British jazz, there were few voices as unmistakable as
Mike
Osborne's alto saxophone, but his story is one of the tragedies of
British jazz. Within 15 years of his first recordings, simmering mental
illness had taken over and forced him away from his musical compatriots
in vibrant London and brought him back to his native Hereford (near the
Welsh border), where he lived under care until his death in 2007, his
saxophone silent for decades.
But during his career, Osborne was one of British jazz's most versatile
players, working with members of the various spheres creating a new
indigenous British jazz: the Spontaneous Music Ensemble circle; the
crowd around the South African Blue Notes; members of the Canterbury
Scene; and the modernists centered on John Surman.
Dawn presents Osborne in both his earliest surviving recording, as a
co-leader with Surman of a quartet from 1966, and in 1970 with the first
known recordings of his mighty trio with the transplanted South African
rhythm team of Harry Miller and Louis Moholo. These unearthed
recordings not only fill in important gaps in Osborne's own discography
but in the history of British jazz as a whole.
The first six tracks, recorded in 1970, are by his trio, his main
vehicle as a leader and featuring his most long-standing partners in
Miller and Moholo. The band only made two albums during its lifetime,
Bordercrossing and All Night Long. Dawn is significant for presenting
the trio years before these sessions and demonstrating that the group's
sound, marked by Osborne's tart melodicism, Miller's brawny lines and
Moholo's propulsive freedom, was established at the beginning of their
partnership.
Listeners will then travel back four years earlier, with four recordings
taken from a period when names now famous were just coming out from the
shadow of Britain's traditional jazz scene. Osborne, 24, is there in
his first recording, Surman, 21, in only his second, supported by Miller
and drummer Alan Jackson. This was an era of formal suits and
allegiance to the innovations in American jazz happening on labels like
Blue Note and ESP-Disk', reflected in the performances and the material.
In all, there is well over an hour of excellent quality, previously
unheard and unreleased recordings here, as well as a 12 page booklet
with informative liner notes and many previously unseen photos. This is
an important document historically, but even more importantly, it's
really great music.
Mike Osborne : alto sax
Harry Miller : double bass
Louis Moholo : drums [1-6]
Alan Jackson : drums [7-10]
John Surman : baritone sax, soprano sax [7-10]
Tracks 1-3 were recorded in London, UK, August 1970.
Tracks 4-6 were recorded in London, UK, December 1970.
Tracks 7-10 were recorded at Regent Sound, London, UK on June 9, 1966 by Eddie Kramer.
© 2015 Louise Palmer
(p) 2015
Cuneiform Records
Cuneiform blog with info on actual releases
