"Armonicord. In 1977 an album was released in the name of Armonicord, of which I have just found a copy through a mutual friend: Esprits de Sel. Having heard of the album's release at that time, the memory of the presence of harpsichordist Odile Bailleux and drummer Christian Lété undoubtedly made me imagine a possible sort of chamber music. In the cover, we can admire the graphic scores of baritone saxophonist Jouk Minor, all in curves and ellipses with instrument and timing indications.

A mention also: This disc is dedicated to Rachid Houari. Rachid is indeed the drummer credited on the cover of the Libres CD. He was part of the legendary group Gong and recorded their first album Magick Brother (BYG Actuel 5) with Daevid Allen, Gilly Smyth, bassist Christian Tritsch and saxophonist Didier Malherbe in 1969, before being replaced by Laurie Allen and then Pip Pyle for Flying Teapot, Electric Camembert, etc. Magick Brother was also credited with the participation of double bassists Barre Phillips, Earl Freeman and Dieter Gewiffler as well as pianist Burton Greene. Rachid was the drummer on the stage of the Amougies festival, that says it all. We also find Rachid Houari in the Camembert Éclectic and Continental Circus sessions.

In this Libres d'Armonicord, we discover here a solid free-jazz drummer in the tradition of Steve Mc Call, Don Moye and co who then resided and toured in Europe (1968 and 1969). The leader and "composer" of the group was Jouk Minor, here credited with baritone and sopranino sax. For readers who are fond of vintage free-music emotions, it is worth remembering the existence of Candles of Vision where Jouk Minor sets the stage in the company of Pierre Favre and trombonist Eje Thelin, an album recorded in June 72 by the ORF in Graz and published by the Calig label whose catalog contains Nipples by Brötzmann (with Bennink Van Hove and Parker/Bailey on the B side), Gesprächsfetzen and Live in Sommerhausen by Marion Brown and Gunther Hampel with the enormous Buschi Niebergall in the first, the fairy Jeanne Lee in the second and Steve Mc Call in both. Also a curiously experimental album by Wolfgang Dauner and Karl Berger's We Are You with Peter Kowald and Allen Blairman. Candles of Vision is located in the "Teutonic" hard-free movement and shares the same instrumentation as King Alcohol by Rudiger Carl with Christmann and Schönenberg recently reissued by John Corbett.

This is not quite the spirit of this Quartet, but here we find an Austrian trombonist Jozef Traindl, from the legendary Reform Art Unit. Traindl also recorded in Opium For Franz with Steve Lacy and Franz Koglmann on side B (side A: Bill Dixon trio with Alan Silva and Stephen Horenstein 1975)... as well as with Machi Oul Big Band, Pierre Barouh... As for the saxophonist and oboist Jean Querlier is a must in French free-jazz, an excellent melodist in a more formal and lyrical aesthetic, with more structured themes and improvisations, known for his work in the group Confluence with Didier Levallet, Jean Charles Capon, Christian Lété and also Clivage, Soleil Noir, Didier Levallet, René Bottlang, etc...

The two pieces - compositions by Jouk Minor, Contact (21:12) and Un Goût de Rouge (17:01) were recorded during the 1st Massy Independent Festival on October 26, 1975, an unmissable event orchestrated by Raymond Boni's band , Gérard Terronès and co. On the bill: Archie Shepp Quartet (2LP Ujaama-Unité label Unitélédis), an anthology of avant-garde guitarists: Raymond Boni, the scathing and punk tandem avant la lettre Jean François Pauvros & Gaby Bizien, Derek Bailey (who invited as an impromptu duet with Tristan Honsinger who was begging on the way) Ornette Coleman's Skies of America, Steve Lacy (whose text written for the festival program is reproduced in the CD cover) and I forget... What an era !

To listen to on headphones: to be able to better localize the strikes of Rachid Houari, polyrhythmic and whirling drummer with great dynamics and mastery of pulsations. Excellent drummer. The three blowers clear the air and Jean Querlier is unrecognizable, guiltily giving in to delirium, screaming and these damned heightened harmonics, which constitute the stock in trade of Jouk Minor, often unleashed. So Querlier, similarities with Dolphy and Lyons. Minor more sound seeker. Joseph Traindl supports and accentuates the effervescent jungle atmosphere of Armonicord. Obviously, the recording is not optimal, but this recording is enough to give you an idea of the physical and mental commitment of this quartet of geeks. And yet, the four musicians scrupulously follow Jouk Minor's precise instructions, which constitute a springboard to take off and move in space and time with great ease."-Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg