Alan Skidmore: A Supreme Love on 6 CDs

Wie kann man eine sieben Jahrzehnte währende Karriere auf nur sechs CDs darstellen? Zu unseren Gunsten ist das riesige Privatarchiv von Alan Skidmore: Aus jeder Phase seines Berufslebens sind Radio-, Konzert- und Studioaufnahmen in sehr gutem Zustand erhalten. Aber was soll man weglassen? Wir beginnen 1961 mit Skidmores Debüt im Radio, als er mit seinem Vater Jimmy spielte. Er war gerade 19 Jahre alt. Es war das Jahr, in dem er John Coltranes berühmten Auftritt in Walthamstow erlebte. Coltranes Einfluss war unmittelbar, und Skids Liebe und Respekt für ihn hat ein Leben lang angehalten. Während der gesamten Aufnahmen hören wir, wie Skid Coltranes Musik in sich aufnimmt und sie in seine eigene verwandelt. Bis auf wenige Ausnahmen sind die Tracks in dieser Box bisher unveröffentlicht. Sie beinhalten Kollaborationen mit einigen von Skids talentiertesten Zeitgenossen. Sie werden ihn mit Alexis Korner, Humphrey Lyttelton, Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Tony Oxley, Wayne Shorter, Tony Levin, Paul Dunmall, Joe Zawinul, John Surman, Mike Osborne, John Taylor, Elvin Jones, Colin Towns und vielen anderen hören. Auf dem Weg dorthin gibt es viel zu entdecken, und Skids Ernsthaftigkeit und Respekt für die Musik sind überall spürbar. Unsere Reise endet 2019 mit Skids wunderschöner - und einziger - Interpretation von Coltranes "Psalm" aus A Love Supreme. Ein atemberaubendes Finale für dieses wichtige Portfolio. (Mark Wastell)

"John Coltrane hat mein Leben über sechzig Jahre lang tiefgreifend beeinflusst, aber ich habe das Tenorsaxophon noch nie so gehört, wie er es gespielt hat. Und das werde ich auch nie wieder: das wäre unmöglich. Und was für ein erstaunlicher Komponist. Ich danke dir, Trane, für all deine Hilfe und geistige Führung. Es war eine unglaubliche Erfahrung, dir all diese Jahre zuzuhören. Es war wirklich eine große Liebe." (Alan Skidmore)

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER ONE (disc I) The Skidmore’s with Alan Haven 1. Now’s The Time (Charlie Parker) 2. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington) 3. The Preacher (Horace Silver) Jimmy Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Alan Haven (organ), unidentified (drums) Recorded London 1961 Alexis Korner Blues Incorporated 4. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (Charles Mingus) 5. Honesty (David Baker) Alexis Korner (guitar), Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Chris Pyne (trombone), Danny Thompson (double bass), Terry Cox (drums) Recorded London, April / June 1965 Humphrey Lyttelton Big Band 6. Skid’s Kid (Kenny Graham) Humphrey Lyttelton, Greg Bowen, Bert Courtney, Kenny Wheeler, Ian Carr (trumpets), Chris Pyne, Eddie Harvey, Mike Smith (trombones), Ray Warleigh, Ronnie Ross, John Surman, Tony Coe, Alan Skidmore (saxophones), Colin Purbrook (piano), Ron Mathewson (double bass), Jackie Dougan (drums), Kenny Graham (composer, arranger, director) Recorded London 1966 Alan Skidmore Quartet 7. What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter) 8. Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Bob Cornford (piano), Dave Holland (double bass), Alan Jackson (drums) Recorded London, 29 August 1967 Alan Skidmore Quintet 9. Old San Juan (John Warren) 10. Once Upon A Time (John Surman) 11. Free For Al (Alan Skidmore) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), Harry Miller (double bass), John Taylor (piano), Tony Oxley (drums) Recorded at Monteux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux, Switzerland, 19 June 1969 Alan Skidmore Quintet 12. Double Meaning (Fritz Pauer) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), Harry Miller (double bass), John Taylor (piano), Tony Oxley (drums) Recorded London, 27 October 1969

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER TWO (disc II) Weather Report + Guests (NDR Workshop 73) 1. Directions (Joe Zawinul) Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone), Josef Zawinul (keyboards), Miroslav Vitous (double bass), Alphonse Mouzon (drums), Dom Um Romao (percussion), Eje Thelin (trombone), Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), John Surman (baritone saxophone) Recorded at Funkhausstellung, Berlin, Germany, September 3, 1971 Alan Skidmore Quintet 2. Folk Nik (John Surman) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Malcolm Griffiths (trombone), John Taylor (piano), Chris Laurence (double bass), Tony Levin (drums), Dietrich Schulz-Köhn (announcer) Recorded at 13th Deutsches Jazzfestival, Kongresshalle, Frankfurt, Germany, 24 March 1972 S. O.S. 3. Country Dance (Alan Skidmore / Mike Osborne / John Surman) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Mike Osborne (alto saxophone), John Surman (soprano saxophone) Recorded London, 27 January 1974 Alan Skidmore with Österreichische Rundfunksender Big Band 4. Up There (Alan Skidmore / arr. John Warren) Recorded at ORS Jazz Time, Vienna, Austria, 25 May 1976 Alan Skidmore / Tony Levin 5. Oxford Road, B13 (Alan Skidmore / Tony Levin) Alan Skidmore (tenor & soprano saxophone, drums, percussion), Tony Levin (drums, percussion) Recorded in Tony Levin’s music room, Oxford Road, Birmingham, 21 July 1977 Alan Skidmore / Tony Levin / Tony Oxley 6. Way Out East (Alan Skidmore / Tony Levin / Tony Oxley) Alan Skidmore (drums, percussion), Tony Levin (drums, percussion,) Tony Oxley (drums, percussion) Recorded in Tony Levin’s music room, Oxford Road, Birmingham, November 1977

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER THREE (disc III) S. O.H. 1. Dutch Dreams (Ali’s Waltz) (Jan Huydts / Ali Haurand) Alan Skidmore (soprano saxophone), Ali Haurand (double bass), Tony Oxley (drums) Recorded at Fabrik, Hamburg Germany, 19 October 1981 Alan Skidmore with Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR 2. Nature Boy (Eden Ahbez) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, Colin Towns (arranger) Recorded at Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hannover, Germany, December 1989 Tenor Tonic 3. Modal Tonic (Alan Skidmore) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Paul Dunmall (tenor saxophone), Paul Rogers (double bass), Tony Levin (drums) Recorded at Pendley Jazz Festival, Tring, England, 6 July 1985 Alan Skidmore with Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR 4. I Remember Clifford (Benny Golson) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, Horst Mühlbradt (arranger) Recorded at Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hannover, Germany, December 1989 Alan Skidmore Trio 5. Moving Along (Alan Skidmore) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Mick Hutton (double bass), Spike Wells (drums) Recorded London, 26 October 1987 Alan Skidmore with Colin Towns’ Mask Symphonic 6. After the Rain (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Colin Towns’ Mask Symphonic, Colin Towns (arranger) Recorded, CTS, Wembley, London 1989 Elvin Jones Jazz Machine 7. George And Me (Elvin Jones) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Sonny Fortune (tenor saxophone), unidentified (piano), unidentified (double bass), Elvin Jones (drums) Recorded Ronnie Scott’s, London 1988

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER FOUR (disc IV) Alan Skidmore & Kenny Wheeler with Jazz Live Trio 1. Just Once (Alan Skidmore) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), Klaus Koenig (piano), Peter Frei (double bass), Pierre Favre (drums) Recorded at Radio Studio DRS ( Studio 2 ), Zurich, Switzerland, 19 January 1980 Alan Skidmore / John Surman 2. Jass (Alan Skidmore / John Surman) 3. Ist (Mike Osborne) 4. Riffing Together (Alan Skidmore / John Surman) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), John Surman (baritone saxophone) Recorded at Mike Osborne Benefit Night at 100 Club, London, 30 April 1991 Alan Skidmore Quartet 5. Easy to Remember (Richard Rogers / Lorenz Hart) 6. K. A.N. S.Y. (Alan Skidmore) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Arnie Somogyi (double bass), Mark Taylor (drums) Recorded London, 1992 Alan Skidmore Quartet 7. Spiritual (John Coltrane) 8. Take the Coltrane (Duke Ellington) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Arnie Somogyi (double bass), Stephen Keogh (drums) Recorded at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Cheltenham, England, 5 April 1997

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER FIVE (disc V) Alan Skidmore Quartet 1. But Not For Me (George Gershwin / arr. John Coltrane) 2. Naima (John Coltrane) 3. Impressions (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Arnie Somogyi (double bass), Gary Husband (drums) Recorded NDR Studio, Hamburg, Germany, 10 March 2000 Colin Towns Mask Orchestra 4. John (Colin Towns) Colin Towns Mask Orchestra featuring Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Colin Towns (composer, arranger, conductor), Guy Barker, Henry Lowther, Martin Shaw, Graham Russell, Nathan Bray (trumpets), Barnaby Dickinson, Roger Williams, Pat Hartley, Liam Kirkman (trombones), Nigel Hitchcock, Simon Allen, Phil Todd, Julian Arguelles (saxophones), Dudley Phillips (double bass), David Hartley (piano), Ian Thomas (drums), John Parricelli (guitar), Paul Clarvis (percussion) Recorded at Moers Festival, Moers, Germany, 13 May 2005 Alan Skidmore’s Ubizu 5. Africa (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Ingolf Burkhardt (trumpet), Steve Melling (piano), Mike Paxton (drums), Colin Towns (keyboards), Neville Malcolm (double bass), Saidi Kanda (percussion), Musa Mboob (percussion) Recorded London, England, January 2008 Alan Skidmore Quartet 6. Giant Steps (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Geoff Gascoyne: double bass, Tony Levin: drums Recorded at Fleece Jazz Club, Suffolk, England, 2011 Alan Skidmore Quartet + Georgie Fame* 7. Mr. PC (John Coltrane) 8. Jumpin with Symphony Sid* (Lester Young / lyrics by King Pleasure Alan Skidmore (tenor Saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Geoff Gascoyne (double bass), Ian Palmer (drums), Georgie Fame (vocals) Recorded at A European Jazz Jamboree, Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie Berlin, Germany, 19 September 2008

A SUPREME LOVE: CHAPTER SIX (disc VI) Alan Skidmore Quartet + Ed Jones & Howard Cottle 1. Transition (John Coltrane) 2. Chasin’ the Trane (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Andrew Cleyndert (double bass), Miles Levin (drums), Ed Jones (tenor saxophone), Howard Cottle (tenor saxophone) Recorded at Café OTO, London, England, 17 July 2019 Alan Skidmore Quartet 3. Resolution (John Coltrane) 4. Pursuance (John Coltrane) 5. Psalm (John Coltrane) Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone), Steve Melling (piano), Andrew Cleyndert (double bass), Miles Levin (drums)