CD Details

ELECTRIC CITY (2CD)

DOWNES, BOB
1970 , UK , EAN CODE 5013929728820 - EURO 13.00

Label: ESOTERIC RECORDINGS

ALBUM REVIEW
Flautist / composer Bob Downes is one of the most creative and innovative figures on the British Jazz scene, with a wide scope of cross-genre contributions from contemporary Classical Music via Jazz and Jazz-Rock to Free Jazz and Improvised Music. Downes was an integral part of the late 1960s / early 1970s revolution, that emerged in British and European Jazz, emancipating it from years of American influence and domination, and participated in numerous seminal recordings made during that period. His many activities were usually executed under the loosely defined umbrella name of Open Music, which varied from a trio to a large ensemble and as the name suggests was completely free from any stylistic or genre restrictions. After recording several albums for mainstream record labels in his early days, Downes created his own record label, called Openian Records, on which he releases his projects, being one of the first musicians to do so. By the early 1980s Downes moved to Germany, where he lives and continues his work today. This incredible album presents Downes as a composer of Jazz-Rock oriented shorter pieces, packed with energy and intricate arrangements. The list of participating musicians is awe inspiring, with some of the most illustrious musicians on the scene at the time, like trumpeters Kenny Wheeler, Ian Carr and Harold Beckett, guitarist Chris Spedding and Ray Russell, bassist Harry Miller and many others. The music is brilliant, breathtaking and captivating. The virtuosic performances are ample expressions of the underlying musical currents and once immersed in the magic sound, the listener is completely absorbed and mesmerized. They don't make music like this any more, that's for sure. Brilliant stuff! (Jazzis - Rate Your Music)