on life, music etc beyond mainstream
… – Aus dem Jahr 1969: Neil Ardley conductor, director; Derek Watkins, Henry Lowther, Harry Beckett, Ian Carr trumpets; John Mumford, Derek Wadsworth, Mike Gibbs, Tony Russell trombones; George Smith tuba; Dick Heckstall-Smith, Dave Gelly, Jim Philip, Barbara Thompson woodwinds, saxophones; Frank Ricotti vibes, percussion; Jack Bruce double bass, Jon Hiseman drums.
Memories? Fantasies?
Vor etlichen Jahren hat Harry Beckett Robert Wyatt eine alte Trompete geschenkt, auf der er heute noch spielt, daheim, aus reiner Freude. Auf einigen seiner letzten Alben kann man sie auch hören,
I characterised Harry’s style so regularly in print as the infectious sound of someone quietly chuckling that I began to wonder if even the perpetually genial Beckett might get irritated by the comparison. But what the Penguin Guide to Jazz On CD more circumspectly described as „a kind of chastened happiness“ really did catch the spirit of this much-loved performer. And, yes, this is a brillant record, quintessentially English, even with Coltrane’s Naima on the tracklist.