Having been a key player in the first wave of British free improvisation during the 60s and 70s, notably with Spontaneous Music Ensemble and his own group Amalgam, by the early 80s Trevor Watts was ready for fresh pastures. In 1982 he inaugurated two new groupings — Moiré Music, which was formed to play his compositions, and the Drum Orchestra, created to combine his improvisations with African rhythms. By 1990, the two had combined to form Trevor Watts' Moiré Music Drum Orchestra, interweaving those two contrasting strands of the saxophonist's music. This release is a welcome re-issue for an album which was originally released on Watts' own Arc label in 1991. The music dates from a 1990 Latin American tour which was sponsored by the British Council, with three tracks recorded live in Venezuela and a fourth in Mexico. It is entitled Live in Latin America Vol. 1 but no subsequent volumes were ever released.
Although boundaries between the two groups were sometimes blurred, the Moiré Music part of the combined group is here represented by bass guitarist Colin Gibson, kit drummer Liam Genockey, plus African drummer and lead vocalist Nana Tsiboe while the Drum Orchestra contingent consists of African drummers and singers Nee-Daku Patato, Nana Appiah and Jojo Yates. As that line-up indicates, the overwhelming focus of the music is on rhythm, with all of those players contributing to a dense, richly detailed percussive backdrop over which occasional passages of call-and-response singing and chanting are added to further enhance the rhythmic drive. The combined effect is impressive, creating a compelling, highly danceable mix that is sure to get feet moving, pulses racing and adrenalin pumping.
Over the top of that backing, interspersed with the singing and chanting, Watts plays extended alto saxophone solos on every piece. As he has so often demonstrated, he is an experienced and adept soloist, capable of reeling off a varied and engaging solo seemingly without batting an eyelid. Here, the rhythmic backing provides him with a framework to work in, meaning that his playing mirrors its verve and energy. Otherwise, as he is the only soloist, Watts does not interact with the other musicians in any obvious way. This tends to give the tracks a certain predictability; each of them is between thirteen and seventeen minutes long, but two minutes into any of them, the listener knows what is going to happen for the duration and that few surprises are in store. Despite that, a good time was obviously had by all concerned and every piece is heartily cheered and applauded by the audience. This was a group best heard live, as this recording clearly demonstrates.
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