Elton Dean Album Reviews (all words by Stephen Yarwood)

First of all not an ED solo recording, but an eagerly anticipated project bringing together some famous names. 

Softworks – Abracadabra

Many of the compositions on Abracadabra can be found elsewhere in one form or another, but you may not recognise them all immediately. Cunningly changed titles often hide these re workings. It will be interesting to see how much material specifically written for this line up emerges. Hugh Hopper commented, “The title track on the CD is completely new. The problem has been to find time to rehearse new pieces - Allan lives in Los Angeles and John, Elton and I live in Europe. Not impossible but it makes life more complicated.”

Hugh Hopper is anchorman, he plays what is appropriate, there are no wasted notes, his lines complement the music. I’m sure my radar picked up a fuzz box in the mix somewhere. John Marshall is an all rounder, subtlety and attack, rhythmic accuracy whatever the time signature. Nice brushwork on Baker’s Treat. Dean and Hopper contribute six of the eight tunes, an even split of three each. Elton Dean has Seven Formerly, an old Ninesense number that used to have a big band arrangement, Baker’s Treat, a ballad originally on ED's Moorsong album, and Willie’s Knee, also from Moorsong, a rhythm and blues groove on which the composer plays Fender Rhodes as well as his trademark alto.  Hugh Hopper's tunes are First Trane, swinging along on a characteristic mid tempo bass riff, Elsewhere, something of a Pat Metheny feel, almost commercial (!), and Abracadabra, pastoral saxello gets tougher and ends up with an eastern flavour. The latter composition, in this writer’s humble opinion, being the high watermark of the album.

The other tracks are Phil Miller’s K Licks, better known to aficionados of quirky English rock ensemble Hatfield & the North as Calyx, and Allan Holdsworth’s Madam Vintage, which is a Marshall/Holdsworth duet. 

ED solo projects

In the varied career of Elton Dean commercial considerations have never been allowed to stand in the way of a desire to constantly improve and explore. It is because of this stance that he remains a major player in European improvised music after more than 30 years on the scene. The recordings discussed below justify that respect. The man has released a lot of material over the last few years a large body of it improvised, to maintain interest the trick is to vary the participants, the personnel on the recordings covered here combine some of the usual suspects with less familiar names and keep the music moving.

Elton Dean's Newsense [Slam SLAMCD 229]
Back in 1997 Elton Dean was looking to revisit the successful Ninesense concept of the mid to late seventies. Ninesense were piano/bass/drums behind a six piece brass section playing roughly half improvised stuff and half composed / arranged pieces with spaces for solos. Newsense change the sound by adding the cello of Marcio Mattos, but mainly by the inclusion of a trombone super trio. Wherever he goes the legendary Roswell Rudd acts as a magnet for other trombone players, this occasion was no exception. ED already had Roswell in on his Newsense project and his presence soon attracted Paul Rutherford and Annie Whitehead. How could anybody pass up the chance to have these three on board? The brass section was completed by trumpeter Jim Dvorak, on vacation from In Cahoots. This recording was made in concert at London's Purcell Rooms, Elton has never been totally comfortable with the studio environment. The bulk of the composer credits naturally go to ED, of the eight tracks three are improvisations. The first composition Pour L'Annee is a rearrangement of Nicrotto from Ninesense Happy Daze album, this runs into Ruddfish Dish which is a trombone feature for Roswell Rudd who plays magnificently over a big band style arrangement. The first of the improvisations is Dirty Licks which starts with just cello and percussion, later joined by piano then bass becoming very dark and moody, finally breaking out with Dean's saxello. Very good indeed. Three Forty is another old Ninesense tune with Jim Dvorak outstanding, Bigger Boundaries is a sometimes chaotic group improvisation, and Allez Ali an ED composition with a slight eastern flavour and plenty of shorter solos. The final improvisation is Snap, Crackle and Pop, the three trombones in conversation, harmony and counterpoint. The set closes with the hymn / gospel feel of Oldroydean Prayerdance. As with Ninesense before, Newsense strike a nice balance between improvised and composed pieces.

Three's Company Two's a Crowd [Culture Press Records CP1005]
The tapes for Three's Company Two's a Crowd date from the late seventies but were only recently exhumed from Elton's attic and transferred to DAT. There are two combinations of musicians at work here, a trio of Dean plus Marcio Mattos (bass) and Ivan Zagni (guitar), and a duo with Pip Pyle. As you might expect the music is totally improvised, four pieces by the trio and two by the duo. Marcio Mattos has been Elton Dean's regular bassist and occasional cellist for many years, indeed I am convinced that he plays cello on the opening track of this set despite only being credited with bass. A recent conversation with Elton Dean showed he has similar doubts, Marcio can't actually remember playing cello on these sessions but then it was 20 years ago. The least known figure is guitarist Ivan Zagni, his unorthodox style incorporates all manner of scraping and scratching as well as strange chords and rhythms. All this is played on acoustic or amplified guitar, no electronic effects are used. The four trio pieces are genuine three way conversations, there is no rhythm section as such. Elton Dean moves smoothly between alto and saxello and is quite magnificent. Ivan Zagni is particularly outstanding on the final two tracks Hyades and Lyra. The duos were apparently recorded in Pip Pyle's garage and both feature Dean on saxello. Pleiades carries an air of restraint with subtle percussion and lyrical sax lines, whereas Toon is much more aggressive.

Headless Quartet [Culture Press Records CP1006]
A quartet recording from 1998. ED retains Roberto Bellatalla but brings in Tony Bianco on drums, Alex Maguire completes the quartet on piano. In common with the much older Three's Company set, the music was commissioned by Enzo Hamilton for release on his own Culture Press label. The sleevenotes show three improvised pieces, but in practice beginnings and ends are barely discernible, the flow of the music is more or less continuous and covers a lot of ground. There is no denying it is uncompromising and difficult at times, but ultimately rewarding. Elton Dean blows up a storm of course, but is frequently matched for energy and intensity by Alex Maguire, an underrated talent. Wild flurries of notes follow angular chord sequences, never completely out of control, a fine performance. Although attention will tend to be focused on Dean and Maguire it would be a mistake to overlook the contribution of the rhythm section. Firestorms of percussion mix with more subtle passages where Roberto Bellatalla's bow work adds extra dimensions and colour.

Into the Nierika [Blueprint BP292CD]
The sessions for Into the Nierika took place at Mark Hewins' home studio during the Summer of 1998. Stripped down to ED plus Mark Sanders (drums) and Roberto Bellatalla (bass), this is a much sparser sound than recent group projects. Throughout the three improvised pieces the musicians stretch this way and that, reacting to and complementing the flow of ideas between them. The scope of the music is varied, as a very general rule ED seems to favour the alto for the high energy free blowing stuff, and saxello for more reflective passages, but nothing is really that predictable. It is a tribute to the talents and imagination of the musicians that at no time do you miss a chordal instrument such as piano or guitar, the flow of the music is seamless, these are players on the same wavelength.

Just Us [Cuneiform]
By early 1971 Elton Dean was feeling restricted within the Ratledge / Hopper arrangements Soft Machine were recording and performing. He was looking for more freedom, and got his way to some extent when Australian drummer Phil Howard was hired for the Fifth sessions after Robert Wyatt departed in August 71. Six months previously Howard had been a key player when Dean first recorded under his own name, using the line up that had been performing live as Just Us. This was an ideal opportunity to explore new avenues and generally stretch out. In addition to Dean and Howard, other players were Mark Charig (cornet) and New Zealander Neville Whitehead (electric bass). Special guests on two tracks were Mike Ratledge (organ) and Roy Babbington (double Bass).

The CD release, now retitled Just Us, comprises the five tracks from the LP plus two new tracks recorded live in 1972. Of the original tracks Ooglenovastrome begins chaotically with much free blowing, and develops into something reminiscent of Drop on Softs' Fifth with Charig's cornet cutting across Dean's electric piano. Eventually everyone drops out to leave Phil Howard soloing thunderously. The others then return for the final thrash. Something Passed is a maelstrom of collective improvisation held together by a relentless bass line that creates a sort of drone effect. Blind Badger is tightly arranged and melodic, loosening up towards the end and leading into the abrasive Neo-Caliban Grides. This is essentially three improvisations in one, a trio of Dean, Howard and Ratledge explore the frequency ranges of alto sax, organ and cymbals, followed by a head to head between electric and acoustic basses. Neville Whitehead and Roy Babbington demonstrate an impressive flow of ideas and technique, and are gradually joined by the others as they build to a frantic conclusion. The final LP track Part: The Last, is a pastoral soundscape sublimely dissipating the energy that went before. At around 20 minutes Banking on Bishopsgate forms the bulk of the previously unreleased material. Recorded in Bremen, Germany in June 1972, Elton Dean and Phil Howard are joined by Jeff Green (bass) and Nick Evans (trombone). The piece falls basically into two sections. Dean's electric piano underpins the first half whilst Howard's initially staccato rhythm gradually builds in characteristic multi layered intensity. Jeff Green's unusual six string bass adds extra dynamic range, indeed the rhythm section is perhaps a little too dominant at this stage sometimes drowning the efforts of Nick Evans. The second section sees Dean switch to alto and the groove changes completely, things become more frantic, intense and much freer. Dean and Evans work up a considerable head of steam, at one point Howard and Green drop out and leave them duelling like two angry wild animals. Dating from a London gig in December 1972 the other bonus track is a much shorter affair, the title Fun Cup being a play on words. You'll get the joke when you hear the music. Suffice to say it is unusual to hear Dean et al playing in this style, but it seems to present no problems to them, I guarantee your feet will be tapping. These recordings mark Elton Dean's transition from Soft Machine sax player to fully fledged solo artist.

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