The Squid's Ear Magazine


Lacy, Steve: Stamps [2 CDs] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Originally released on the Hat Hut label in 1979, this 2-CD set of saxophonist Steve Lacy's quintet with Steve Potts on saxophone, Irene Aebi on cello, voice & violin, Kent Carter on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums, are heard live in two tour-de-force concerts, first at the 1977 Jazz Festival, in Willisau, Switzerland, then in 1978 at Jazz Au Totem in Paris, France.
 

Price: $17.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Steve Lacy-soprano saxophone, Japanese bird whistle

Steve Potts-alto saxophone, soprano saxophone

Irene Aebi-cello, violin, voice, bells

Kent Carter-bass

Oliver Johnson-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 608887586640

Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CVSD045CD
Squidco Product Code: 25777

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
CD 1 recorded at Jazz Festival, in Willisau, Switzerland, on August 27th, 1977, by Walter Troxler.

CD 2 recorded at Jazz Au Totem, Paris, France, February 22, 1978, by Philippe Quinsac.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Originally released in 1979 as a double-LP on Hat Hut, Stamps was Steve Lacy's first for the legendary Swiss label, and it remains one of the strongest statements of what he termed the "scratchy seventies." With the classic lineup of Lacy's soprano saxophone, Steve Potts on soprano and alto sax, Irene Aebi on cello (and singing on one track), Kent Carter on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums, the recording catches the band live, performing Lacy's angular, intervallic compositions, using arrangements that leave the rough patina, rather than buffing things to a smooth shine. This is the first time the important music has been reissued on CD, adding a bonus track, all remastered from the original tapes. The double-disc package sports a facsimile reproduction of the gorgeous artwork by Klaus Baumgärtner, with action photographs from the concerts on the interior. A must for Lacy fans and for anyone interested in creative music."-Corbett vs. Dempsey



"Steve Lacy and his quintet are well featured on this double LP which documents two appearances at European festivals. In addition to the soprano/leader, altoist Steve Potts has long been a commanding improviser in his own right and offers a constrasting yet complementary solo voice. Bassist Kent Carter and drummer Oliver Johnson are always alert during this complex music (seven Lacy scalar originals) while Irene Aebi (on cello, violin and occasional background vocal) is more of an acquired taste. Overall this set gives one a good example of Steve Lacy's late-'70s group and its distinctive music."-Scott Yanow, All Music



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Get additional information at All Music

Artist Biographies

"Steve Lacy (July 23, 1934 - June 4, 2004), born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone. Coming to prominence in the 1950s as a progressive dixieland musician, Lacy went on to a long and prolific career. He worked extensively in experimental jazz and to a lesser extent in free improvisation, but Lacy's music was typically melodic and tightly-structured. Lacy also became a highly distinctive composer, with compositions often built out of little more than a single questioning phrase, repeated several times.

The music of Thelonious Monk became a permanent part of Lacy's repertoire after a stint in the pianist's band, with Monk's songs appearing on virtually every Lacy album and concert program; Lacy often partnered with trombonist Roswell Rudd in exploring Monk's work. Beyond Monk, Lacy performed the work of jazz composers such as Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and Herbie Nichols; unlike many jazz musicians he rarely played standard popular or show tunes.

Lacy began his career at sixteen playing Dixieland music with much older musicians such as Henry "Red" Allen, Pee Wee Russell, George "Pops" Foster and Zutty Singleton and then with Kansas City jazz players like Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells, and Jimmy Rushing. He then became involved with the avant-garde, performing on Jazz Advance (1956), the debut album of Cecil Taylor,:55 and appearing with Taylor's groundbreaking quartet at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival; he also made a notable appearance on an early Gil Evans album. His most enduring relationship, however, was with the music of Thelonious Monk: he recorded the first album to feature only Monk compositions (Reflections, Prestige, 1958) and briefly played in Monk's band in 1960:241 and later on Monk's Big Band and Quartet in Concert album (Columbia, 1963).

Lacy's first visit to Europe came in 1965, with a visit to Copenhagen in the company of Kenny Drew; he went to Italy and formed a quartet with Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and the South African musicians Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo (their visit to Buenos Aires is documented on The Forest and the Zoo, ESP, 1967). After a brief return to New York, he returned to Italy, then in 1970 moved to Paris, where he lived until the last two years of his life. He became a widely respected figure on the European jazz scene, though he remained less well known in the U.S.

The core of Lacy's activities from the 1970s to the 1990s was his sextet: his wife, singer/violinist Irene Aebi,:272 soprano/alto saxophonist Steve Potts, pianist Bobby Few, bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, and drummer Oliver Johnson (later John Betsch). Sometimes this group was scaled up to a large ensemble (e.g. Vespers, Soul Note, 1993, which added Ricky Ford on tenor sax and Tom Varner on French horn), sometimes pared down to a quartet, trio, or even a two-saxophone duo. He played duos with pianist Eric Watson. Lacy also, beginning in the 1970s, became a specialist in solo saxophone; he ranks with Sonny Rollins, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, and Lol Coxhill in the development of this demanding form of improvisation.

Lacy was interested in all the arts: the visual arts and poetry in particular became important sources for him. Collaborating with painters and dancers in multimedia projects, he made musical settings of his favourite writers: Robert Creeley, Samuel Beckett, Tom Raworth, Taslima Nasrin, Herman Melville, Brion Gysin and other Beat writers, including settings for the Tao Te Ching and haiku poetry. As Creeley noted in the Poetry Project Newsletter, "There's no way simply to make clear how particular Steve Lacy was to poets or how much he can now teach them by fact of his own practice and example. No one was ever more generous or perceptive."

In 1992, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed the "genius grant").

He also collaborated with a wide range of musicians, from traditional jazz to the avant-garde to contemporary classical music. Outside of his regular sextet, his most regular collaborator was pianist Mal Waldron,:244-245 with whom he recorded a number of duet albums (notably Sempre Amore, a collection of Ellington/Strayhorn material, Soul Note, 1987).

Lacy played his 'farewell concerts to Europe' in Belgium, in duo and solo, for a small but motivated public. This happened in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruge and Bergen. This recollection is published by Naked Music. In Ghent he played with the classical violinist Mikhail Bezverkhni, winner of Queen Elisabeth Concours. He returned to the United States in 2002, where he began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. One of his last public performances was in front of 25,000 people at the close of a peace rally on Boston Common in March 2003, shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq.

After Lacy was diagnosed with cancer in August 2003, he continued playing and teaching until weeks before his death on June 4, 2004 at the age of 69."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Lacy)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Born January 21 1943 in Columbus, Ohio, Steve Potts comes from a musical family. At a very early age, he was fascinated by the saxophone after having heard his cousin, Buddy Tate, play sax in Count Basie's orchestra. While simultaneously studying architecture in Los Angeles, he also studied music with Charles Lloyd. But he dedicated himself to music after that by moving to New York to study with Eric Dolphy. He became friends with Ron Carter and frequented Coltrane, Tony Williams, Jimmy Garrison, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Larry Coryell and Wayne Shorter. He played with Roy Ayers, Richard Davis, Joe Henderson, Reggie Workman and Chico Hamilton, the latter of whom he worked with for four years.

In 1970, leaving behind his New York life, Steve left to launch himself in Europe. He landed in Paris, and immediately started working with Brigitte Fontaine and performing with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Mal Waldron, Ben Webster and Hal Singer with whom he enjoys a continuing musical and personal relationship ... not to mention the Art Ensemble of Chicago and other American and French groups.

He formed his own group in 1973 with Christian Escoudé, Boulou Ferré, Oliver Johnson and Gus Nemeth. He also met Steve Lacy at this time. They traveled the world performing together for over 23 years and recorded over 25 albums. This did not prevent Steve Potts from leading other projects such as accompanying Jessye Norman in 1982, or working with the African group Ghetto Blaster in 1986, or composing film music. He created a new group in 1990 and recorded the CD " Pearl " with Richard Galliano, Jean-Jacques Avenel and Bertrand Renaudin. As eclectic as ever he also recorded with Imaran a group of Touareg musicians and in 2000 released "Wet Spot" with a new quartet consisting of Michael Felberbaum, Stéphane Persiani, Richard Portier.

Also about this time, Potts started a very rich period performing regularly at the Sept Lézards club, where over a period of eight years it was possible fo invite more than 70 musicians such as Alain Jean-Marie, John Betsch, François Ripoche, François Théberge, Stéphane Belmondo, Médéric Collignon, Stéphane Guillaume, Olivier Ker Orio, Jérôme Rateau, Morena Fattorini, Romain Clerc-Renaud, to play with his three regular groups: Stevie and the Boogah Band (George-Edouard Nouel, Stéphane Persiani, Jean-Claude Montredon), the Institute of Advanced Harmony (Michael Felberbaum, Michel Edelin, Thomas Savy, Stephen Kerecki, Richard Portier) and Steve Potts and Family (Michel Edelin, Sophia Domancich, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Simon Goubert).

At the same time, Steve Potts started an improvization workshop, the Menilmontant Street Band which he participates at the Ateliers du Chaudron.

For the present, Potts is contemplating his next recording project, continuing to tour a bit, especially in Italy where he performs with pianist Gianni Lenoci and musicians around him, and preparing a surprise project which will be announced in the near future."

-Steve Potts Website (http://www.stevepotts.net/html/press/bio.htm)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Irene Aebi (born July 27, 1939 in Zurich, Switzerland) is a Swiss singer, violinist and cellist. She is noted for her work with jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy, her husband, from the 1960s to his death in 2004.

Initially a classically trained instrumentalist, she only began to sing at Lacy's request. In a review of a 1999 concert, critic Frank Rubolino describes Aebi as possessing a "brusque, forceful style of singing".

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Aebi)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Kent Carter (born June 14, 1939 in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Carter studied several instruments before settling on bass. In the late 50s-early 60s, he studied at Berklee College Of Music, played with Lowell Davidson, and in New York with Jazz Composers Orchestra. From the mid-60s he was in Europe with artists including as Barry Altschul, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Carla Bley, Paul Bley, Bobby Bradford, Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, Michael Mantler, Enrico Rava, Max Roach, Roswell Rudd and Mal Waldron. During the 70s he continued his association with Lacy, was with John Stevens' Spontaneous Music Ensemble, TOK, a trio with Takashi Kako and Oliver Johnson, and formed his own trio with Carlos Zingaro and François Dreno.

By the 80s, Carter had relocated to France, teaching at the Beaux Art School, Angouleme, and with his wife forming MAD, a music, arts and dance studio. He worked in Detail, with Frode Gjerstad and Stevens, Project, with Karl Berger, Claude Bernard, Klaus Kugel, Charlie Mariano and Albrecht Maurer, and Voyage, with Beñat Achiary and David Holmes. Carter has also played with Billy Bang, Petras Vysniauskas, Theo Jorgensmann, Andreas Willers and Eckard Koltermann. Carter composes for theatre and film, and performs internationally."

-All Music (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kent-carter-mn0000086603/biography)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Oliver Johnson was a noted participant in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, but was a versatile and adaptable performer in many settings. He settled in Paris in the late-60s. He worked with a number of major figures from the free and experimental scene, including Anthony Braxton, Dewey Redman, Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and David Murray, as well as more mainstream players, including Hampton Hawes, Bobby Hutcherson, Maynard Ferguson, Yusef Lateef, Atilla Zoller and Johnny Griffin. He worked regularly with saxophonist Steve Lacy between 1978-89. He co-led the trio TOK with Takashi Kako and Kent Carter. His body was discovered on a bench near Les Halles."

-Jazz House (http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=1016637285)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Existence 12:52

2. Ire 11:22

3. The Dumps 11:56

4. Follies 11:11

CD2



1. Stamps 4:51

2. Duckles 12:56

3. Wickets 11:36

4. The Blinks 9:22

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Lacy, Steve
Quintet Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Top Sellers for 2018 by Customer Sales

Search for other titles on the label:
Corbett vs. Dempsey.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Lacy, Steve
The Ictus Archives, Volume 2 [VINYL]
(Ictus)
Drawn from the same period around 1976 which produced legendary free jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy's albums Clangs and Trio Live, the collected recordings in the two volumes of Ictus Record's Archives series were recorded while touring Italy with percussionist Andrea Centazzo, this 2nd volume from a concert in Udine presenting duos with Centazzo and a trio with bassist Kent Carter.
Lacy, Steve
The Ictus Archives, Volume 1 [VINYL]
(Ictus)
Drawn from the same period around 1976 which produced legendary free jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy's albums Clangs and Trio Live, the collected recordings in the two volumes of Ictus Record's Archives series were recorded while touring Italy with percussionist Andrea Centazzo, this first volume presenting a concert in Udine with Lacy performing solo and in duos with Centazzo.
Bradford, Bobby / Frode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens
Blue Cat [VINYL]
(NoBusiness)
The 2nd in NoBusiness' archive series of the Norwegian Detail collective, here with Frode Gjerstad on alto sax, Bobby Bradford on cornet, Kent Carter on bass, and John Stevens on drums, captured live in London in 1991 during a UK record, in a 3-part work of informed free-jazz and free playing, exciting music with complex, swinging subtlety.
Bradford, Bobby
Love's Dream
(EMANEM)
Lacy, Steve / Brion Gysin
Songs
(Hatology)
Jorgensmann, Theo
Fellowship
(Hatology)
Trio x 3
New Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden 2002 [2 CDs]
(Hatology)
Other Recommended Releases:
Gjerstad, Frode / Kent Carter / John Stevens
Detail-90 [VINYL]
(NoBusiness)
The second incarnation of the Detail trio of saxophonist Frode Gjerstad and drummer John Stevens with Kent Cart taking the role of double bass, is heard in this studio recording from 1990 at NRK-studio in Stavanger, Norway, a superb example of the nearly telepathic freedom four years of playing together afforded them, as heard in two extended, energetic improvisations.
Bley, Paul Trio
Touching & Blood, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two essential and innovative piano trio albums: Paul Bley Trio's 1965 album Touching with Bley on piano, Kent Carter on double bass and Barry Altschul on drums, plus the title track from the 1967 Bley album In Haarlem - Blood with Altschul and Mark Levinson taking the double bass roll, performing compositions by Paul Bley, Carla Bley and Annette Peacock.
Lacy, Steve / Steve Potts
Tips
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded in Paris in 1979, Steve Lacy (soprano sax) and Steve Potts (alto sax) perform music for the aphorisms of Georges Braque, as sung by Irene Aebi; originally issued on Hat Hut records, this reiusse remasters the original release and includes images from the score.
Lacy, Steve
Avignon and After - 2 (1972-7) Volume 2
(Emanem)
The second volume of Steve Lacy's solo soprano saxophone concerts, starting off with the three short versions of Billy Strayhorn tunes which opened his first solo concert at Avignon in 1972.
Lacy, Steve
at the New Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden 2002
(Hatology)



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Roebke, Jason
Four Spheres
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Brilliantly unusual approaches to jazz scores from Chicago bassist Jason Roebke in a quartet with legendary saxophonist and clarinetist Edward Wilkerson Jr., pianist Mabel Kwan and drummer Marcus Evans, all four also performing on metronome, and Roebke providing low-fi cassette interruptions, a fascinating merging of jazz forms and methods of making the music stop.
Lytton, Paul / Erhard Hirt
Borne on a Whim: Duets, 1981
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
The first release from Corbett vs. Dempsey drawing on the Paul Lytton Archives, this recording of electronic & acoustic improvisation from UK percussionist Paul Lytton and German guitarist Erhard Hirt was recorded in Belgium in 1981 for the German Po Torch label, founded in 1976 by Paul Lovens & Paul Lytton to release forward-looking forms of free improvisation.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
Clusterfuck
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here improvising over a work of graphic notation where the composed structures are balanced with blocks of improvisation, allowing for quick dynamic shifts in direction.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
New Map
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here performing a work where the improvisers are provided with a series of open-form "cells"--concrete ideas, notes and directions--to which they must respond.
Guy, Barry and Friends
Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Two days of concerts in 2018 at Alchemia Club, in Krakow, Poland and a recording at Radio Krakow the next day from English composer, band leader and a bass player Barry Guy, in varying configurations at Alchemia of duos & trios with some of Europe & The UK's leading improvisers, culminating in an 11-piece ensemble at Radio Krakow performing the large work "For To End Yet Again".
London Jazz Composers Orchestra
Krakow 2020 [6 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
To celebrate its 50th year since bassist Barry Guy assembled the London Jazz Orchestra for its first 1970 performance on BBC Radio, the now multinational band convened in Poland in 2020 for a series of concerts at Alchemia Club and Manggha Hall in configurations of duos to quintets, culminating in a full ensemble performance of two magnificently powerful works: "Flow" and "Harmos-Krakow".
Parkins, Zeena
To Dusk (Black Cross Solo Sessions 8)
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Sidelined by the pandemic in June of 2020, Downtown New York electric harp improviser Zeena Parkins began daily recordings in her home studio exploring new approaches to solo electric harp performance using pedals, objects & percussions, selecting ten of the most interesting improvisations for her contribution to Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions.
Drake, Hamid
Dedications (Black Cross Solo Sessions 6)
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
As prolific a drummer as Chicago-based international improviser Hamid Drake is, he has never released a solo drum album, which is finally put right with this release recorded at Experimental Sound Studio, developing strategies for these nine accomplished recordings, performed on a standard drum kit with each dedicated to prominent free jazz icon or group.
Frith, Fred / Susana Santos Silva
Laying Demons To Rest
(RogueArt)
An evocative album of sublime improvisation between guitarist Fred Frith and trumpeter Susana Santo Silva, recorded live for France Musique/Radio France at Motoco, Mulhouse as part of Festival Météo in 2021, the two inspiring remarkable force and assertive direction in a darkly spirited conversation of deep introspection and cathartic exorcism; magnificent!
Wong, Theresa
Practicing Sands
(fo'c'sle)
A series of instrumental pieces and songs from Chinese-American composer, cellist, and vocalist Theresa Wong, inspired by the sounds of the natural world and a personal sense of "sonic genetic memory", her works merging composition and improvisation, the album recorded by Wong herself using specific microphone placement to bring out the warmth of her instrument and voice.
Nakatani, Tatsuya / Kawabata Makoto
Reverse Fault
(Acid Mothers Temple)
Recording at percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani's studio Nakatani-Kobo in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and at Acid Mother's Temple guitarist Kawabata Makoto's studio in Asuka, Nara, Japan, the duo continue their collaborations honed through live touring and various improv configurations, generating incredible seismic sonics through unusual use of their instruments.
Lingens, Hannes
Nachthund [VINYL + CD]
(Umlaut Records)
Three recordings from percussionist Hans Lingens in his 2nd solo album on Umlaut, working at the intersection between improvised and composed forms of experimental music: "Nacht", a montage of prerecorded layers of mostly rolls and brush sounds; and two recordings in one take using close miking as he performs on a single cymbal with mallets ("Hund") and a bass bow ("Manatee").
Taylor, Cecil Ensemble
Gottingen [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A double CD of the complete Cecil Taylor Ensemble's 1990 performance at Junges Theater in Gottingen, Sweden, with personnel similar to his 1989 Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble album Legba Crossing, here in an adventurous concert of large group improvisation with Taylor performing on piano while directing and conducting the extended orchestration that includes balafon & elephanthorn!
Coltrane, John Quartet
Newport, New York, Alabama, 1963, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Two quartets performing two live concerts from 1963 led by John Coltrane on tenor & soprano saxophones, the first at the Newport Jazz Festival with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass and Roy Haynes on drums, the second at Birdland with Elvin Jones on the drums, plus 2 studio recordings with that quartet at Van Gelder Studio in the same year.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC