This classic live jazz recording of the Cecil Taylor Trio caught at the Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen on November 23 1962, is being re-issued as a double album for Record Store Day 2024. His trio are Cecil on Piano with Sunny Murray on drums and Jimmy Lyons on alto sax.
The A-side opens with Cecil's intro to Trance slowly quietening the audience, who are still chattering away, florid piano runs spiral against Sunny Murrays impressionistic drumming, before Jimmy Lyons alto sax floats over the top of everything, Cecil has left melody behind, aiming for intense spaces within spiritual awakenings.
Call opens with slow sax wanderings, gentle piano details and cymbals crashing and rising, this becomes more unsettling, a quiet storm brewing. The eventual sax solo echoes of be-bop exploring the new Avant Garde.
Lena I assume is a love letter to the fabulous Miss Horne, one of the most delightful people I've met, this feels like a tempestuous seduction, Cecil's insistent piano gets deeper and deeper into what he feels and wants, Sunny's drums feel like he has wandering hands, going all over the place, while Jimmy stands by shaking his head at all the contrapuntal arguing, wondering when to jump in and bring it all together, like he's sashayed towards them, jaws drop, beauty revealed, they play nicely together lovestruck.
The b-side is D Trad, What's That well daddio exactly what is that, throw your old conceptions out the window, allow Cecil to re-arrange the musical universe for the next 21 minutes or so. Nothing is remotely trad about this, out there beyond the scope of anyone who likes tonal jazz, full of rhythm this goes to the outer reaches.
The C-side opens with What's New and it's abundantly clear no pussycats will be involved, this down at heart search for that new sound, something to move them beyond mundanity out where no one's been before, during this 12 minute exploration.
Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come opens like they are loosening up, stretching and considering if the tune is to be found in the interactions they are having, it builds and once again Cecil is battling against Sonny's drums for some sort of supremacy with gentle sax punctuation.
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The D side opens with Lena (Second Version) that has a sassy sax lead line for Cecil to turn his piano into more of a declamatory machine full of wild imprecations and declarations of how he wants to love Lena, makes me dream of zipping her into some white boots once more, that smile she had that melted hearts. Tip toeing florid sax interactions follow that piano line across the room, cymbal crescendos snared within the lair. A long sultry runaround, like they are in a never-ending dance around the room hoping to be entwined, some schmoe orders a drink in the background, surely, it's not audience chatter I hear.
The album concludes with Neferttiti, The Beautiful One, second version they have properly loosened up and are in the late night grove, Jimmy sounds like he's all hopped up on something speedy, racing away, Cecil matches him in the race to the speediest glorification they can, playing more notes in this 8 minute version that in the earlier 9 minutes version, this is totally full on.
Find out more at https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/18349???https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorjazz
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