Label: SouffleContinu Records

フランスSouffleContinuの偉業的復刻!!初期の重要タイトル4作が纏めてリイシュー!!60年代半ばにキャリアをスタート、Sun Ra、McCoy Tyner、Memphis Slim、Bill Dixonらと共演、ソウルとブルースの影響下にありながらアヴァンギャルド・ジャズ、フリージャズ、即興アーティストとして活動したサックス及びフルート奏者Byard Lancaster。フランスの奇才ピアニストJef Gilson主催のPalmに残した4枚のアルバムの一つ、1974年発表の名作[Us]がCD再発。Sylvin Marcのエレクトリックベース、そして不朽の名手Steve McCallがドラムを担当した1973年11月24日のセッションを収録。







At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler.

In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It’s Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of… Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again.

On Palm Records (Gilson’s label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib.

“Us”, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass (a Fender… Lancaster?) and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums.
On the album, the trio works from the John Coltrane model; free jazz shook up by the timely contributions of the bassist, followed by a mesmerizing atmospheric music. Then, Lancaster delivers a sinuous solo path, which is a reminder of his unique tone. On the album’s companion single, the trio launches into great black music of a
different genre which would lead the clairvoyant François Tusques to claim that Byard Lancaster is an “authentic representative of soul/free jazz”, to sum up this is Great Black Music!