Morning Glory

The popularity of California rock bands with both female and male vocals was simply immense in the wake of the Mamas & the Papas and Jefferson Airplane. Morning Glory pay significant tribute to both bands on their obscure and only LP, though you can certainly hear some Byrds in some of the guitar licks, as well as traces of Bay Area psychedelic groups like Moby Grape in some of the arrangements. It's well-sung (with the sole woman in the group, Gini Graybeal, handling most of the lead vocals) and tightly played, with Abe "Voco" Kesh, most famous for his work with Blue Cheer, handling the production. The problems are a little predictable for bands heavily influenced by California heavyweight groups of the era, but they're present nonetheless: a lack of top-flight songwriting in particular, and an absence of overwhelming personality in general…

In what could easily mistaken for a release on the ECM label, Morning Glory inhabits that crisp minimalist style so familiar to producer Manfred Eicher. Surprisingly enough, this studio recording, with bonus Live In New York disc, is delivered by three of today's most zealous improvisers and outcats. Formed in 2005, the trio's previous release, Aurora (Maya, 2006), began bassist Barry Guy established their improvisation bona fides with saxophonist Evan Parker's intellectual explorations and Mats Gustafsson's noisier ones. Each player also has a dedication to classical and chamber musics and perhaps that is where these compositions and improvisations intersect.

Norman & Nancy Blake - The Morning Glory Ramblers (2004) {Plectrafone 80302-01160-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 150 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 38 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2004 Plectrafone Records / Dualtone / Norman & Nancy Blake | 80302-01160-2
Bluegrass / Country / Folk / Old-Timey

It's hard to believe that Morning Glory Ramblers is the first full-length recording by Norman and Nancy Blake in eight years. Certainly they've been active, from playing on all 47 Down From the Mountain dates, performing on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain soundtracks, June Carter Cash's final album, Wildwood Flower, and various other projects. This album, recorded on the soundstage of the Western Jubilee Warehouse in Colorado Springs, is a dynamite setting for the material found here. There are 17 songs in this collection, seven of them traditional melodies, still others so old they've seldom been heard over the last century, a Hank Williams' tune, and a couple by friends of Norman and Nancy's that are so saturated in the deep country, they could have been written decades before.

Morning Glory: The 1973 Concert at the Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires is the first official release of pianist Bill Evans with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell captured live at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires, Argentina on June 24, 1973.

If Definitely Maybe was an unintentional concept album about wanting to be a rock & roll star, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is what happens after the dreams come true. Oasis turns in a relatively introspective second record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers…

John Surman - Morning Glory (1973) {2016 Remastered Reissue - Fledg'ling Records FLED 3101}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 269 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 101 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 89 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 2016 Island Records / Fledg'ling Records / John Surman / A Wing & A Prayer | FLED 3101
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

For Morning Glory, John Surman sets aside his signature baritone saxophone in favor of soprano sax, bass clarinet, and synthesizer – the result is a record as radiant and beautiful as its title portends, comprised of four epic tracks that despite their scope represent his most mainstream work to date. The skill and dexterity of the improvisations here are astounding. Surman and sidemen Terje Rypdal (guitar), Chris Laurence (bass), John Taylor (electric piano), Malcolm Griffiths (trombone), and John Marshall (drums) connect on an almost telepathic level. But for all its experimental approaches and ingenious ad-libbing, Morning Glory is a remarkably generous album, inviting and approachable like few avant-jazz dates before it. So much of Surman's brilliance hinges on his refusal to alienate listeners regardless of their personal leanings and expectations, while at the same remaining true to his singular muse.