"art Bears"

Music for the silent film 'Man With a Movie Camera' (1929 - USSR) by Dziga Vertov, followed by 'Petite collection de rêves étranges et pièces plaisantes'. French avant-prog unit Art Zoyd formed in 1969 around the core of bassist Thierry Zaboitzeff, percussionist Jean-Pierre Soarez, and violin player Gérard Hourbette, with guitarist Rocco Fernandez, pianist Patricia Dallio, percussionist Daniel Denis (who later formed Univers Zero), and a changing lineup of half-a-dozen additional instrumentalists. In 1975, Zaboitzeff took over the group and changed its musical direction. The personnel would be narrowed to include two violins, electric bass, and trumpet, as evidenced by their debut full-length, Symphonie Pour le Jour Ou Bruleront les Cités, self-released in 1976.

This 1958 release, recorded the same year as Art Blakey's canonical album Moanin', bears little resemblance to that more famous release. While the personnel on Holiday for Skins features some of the finest players of the hard bop era (including drummer Philly Joe Jones and trumpeter Donald Byrd), the music on the album draws its inspiration directly from African and Latin folk forms. This is especially evident on tracks like "The Feast" and "Aghano," which feature circular drum patterns and chanting from the bandmembers. Tunes like "Mirage," however, blend these exotic sounds with a more straightforward bop vocabulary, resulting in the set's most engaging moments. As one of the more adventurous dates from Blue Note's '50s period, Holiday for Skins is an intriguing listen.