The Jazz Composers Orchestra, Michael Mantler

THE JAZZ COMPOSER'S ORCHESTRA

Michael Mantler

Communications No.8

Communications No.9

Communications No.10

Preview

Communications No.11

Soloists

Don Cherry (cornet)

Gato Barbieri (tenor saxophone)

Larry Coryell (guitar)

Roswell Rudd (trombone)

Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone)

Cecil Taylor (piano)

Orchestra conducted by Michael Mantler

7 saxophones (Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Frank Wess,

Lew Tabackin, Charles Davis, and others)

7 brass (Randy Brecker, Bob Northern, Julius Watkins,

Jimmy Knepper, Howard Johnson, and others)

piano (Carla Bley)

5 basses (Steve Swallow, Charlie Haden, Reggie Workman,

Eddie Gomez, Ron Carter, and others)

drums (Andrew Cyrille, Beaver Harris)

recorded January, May, June 1968 New York

OVERVIEW: Raucous cascading horns; Cherry's sinewy cornet riding a dense wave of tumbling basses and bombastic drumming; screeching guitar. Great players, great playing. A huge soundscape.

NO ANSWER

Michael Mantler

Number Six (Parts One/Two/Three/Four)

Number Twelve (Parts One/Two/Three/Four)

words by Samuel Beckett (from 'How It Is')

Jack Bruce (voices, bass)

Carla Bley (piano, clavinet, organs)

Don Cherry (trumpet)

recorded February, July, November 1973 New York, London

OVERVIEW: Celestial voices, yes, stunning poetry, yes, genius vocals, yes, genius, yes; weakpoints, no.

SILENCE

Michael Mantler

I Walk With My Girl

I Watch The Clouds

It Is Curiously Hot

When I Run

Sometimes I See People

Around Me Sits The Night

She Was Looking Down

For Instance

A Long Way

After My Work Each Day

On Good Evenings

words by Harold Pinter (an adaptation of the play 'Silence')

Robert Wyatt (voice, percussion)

Kevin Coyne (voice)

Carla Bley (voice, piano, organ)

Chris Spedding (guitar)

Ron McClure (bass)

recorded January through June 1976 Willow, NY,

and Wiltshire, England

OVERVIEW: A rockier, tuneful, progressive operatic bowl of Cream (Coyne for Bruce) mixed with Santana-esque / McLaughlin guitar dashed with a sprinkling of funky rhythms.

THE HAPLESS CHILD

Michael Mantler

The Sinking Spell

The Object Lesson

The Insect God

The Doubtful Guest

The Remembered Visit

The Hapless Child

words by Edward Gorey (from 'Amphigorey')

Robert Wyatt (voice)

Terje Rypdal (guitar)

Carla Bley (piano, clavinet, synthesizer)

Steve Swallow (bass)

Jack DeJohnette (drums)

recorded July 1975 through January 1976 Willow, NY, and England

OVERVIEW: Strong sing-song melodies and the perfect marriage of Wyatt and Rypdal in a tight progressive rock format, especially Gabriel-Genesis.

MOVIES

Michael Mantler

Movie One

Movie Two

Movie Three

Movie Four

Movie Five

Movie Six

Movie Seven

Movie Eight

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Larry Coryell (guitar)

Carla Bley (piano, synthesizer, tenor saxophone)

Steve Swallow (bass)

Tony Williams (drums)

recorded March 1977 Willow, NY

OVERVIEW: An exciting small group update of the guitar-led instrumental jazz-rock fusion appearing on the 1968 JCOA, featuring world rhythms, superb lead interplay and the full Williams pallet.

MORE MOVIES

Michael Mantler

Movie Nine

The Sinking Spell

Movie Eleven

Will We Meet Tonight

Movie Thirteen

The Doubtful Guest

Movie Fifteen

Movie Fourteen

Movie Ten

Movie Twelve

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Philip Catherine (guitar)

Gary Windo (tenor saxophone)

Carla Bley (piano, organ)

Steve Swallow (bass)

D. Sharpe (drums)

recorded August 1979 through March 1980 Willow, NY

OVERVIEW: More considered than its sister album, quiet pieces interspersed with more energetic disco and rhythm & blues. Sexy!

SOMETHING THERE

Michael Mantler

Twenty

Twenty One

Nineteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Something There

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Mike Stern (guitar)

Carla Bley (piano)

Steve Swallow (bass)

Nick Mason (drums)

The Strings of the London Symphony Orchestra arranged

and conducted by Michael Gibbs

recorded February through June 1982 Willow, NY; London

OVERVIEW: A steamrollering leviathan repleat with Stern's angry early-metal, Mason's heavy backbeats, Swallow's bubbling basslines, and a climactically swelling string section.

LIVE

Michael Mantler

Preview

No Answer /Slow Orchestra Piece No.3 (Prisonniers)

For Instance

Slow Orchestra Piece No.8 (A L'Abattoir)

When I Run

The Remembered Visit

Slow Orchestra Piece No.6

The Hapless Child

The Doubtful Guest

words by Samuel Beckett, Edward Gorey, Harold Pinter

Jack Bruce (voice)

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Rick Fenn (guitar)

Don Preston (synthesizers)

John Greaves (bass, piano)

Nick Mason (drums)

recorded live, February 1987 International Art-Rock

Festival, Frankfurt

OVERVIEW: A rare live retrospective that captures fairly loyal renditions of mostly previously recorded material, synth sitting in for strings were necessary from Preston who had recently collaborated on Mantler's "Alien" (not featured here).

MANY HAVE NO SPEECH

Michael Mantler

Introduction

Just As Someone

Ce Qu'a De Pis

Alles Scheint Rand

Imagine

In The End

Vieil Aller

Rien Nul

Tant de Temps

En Face

Chaque Jour

PSS

En Cadence

Something There

Comrade

Den Atem Ausgetauscht

A L'Abattoir

And What

D'o La Voix

Fou Qui Disiez

Merk,Jetzt

Son Ombre

R ve

Life Connects

Prisonniers

Silence

Viele Haben Keine Sprache

words by Samuel Beckett, Ernst Meister,

Philippe Soupault

Jack Bruce (voice)

Marianne Faithfull (voice)

Robert Wyatt (voice)

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Rick Fenn (guitar)

The Danish Radio Concert Orchestra conducted

by Peder Kragerup

recorded May through December 1987 Copenhagen,

London, Boston, Willow, NY

OVERVIEW: Complex mixture of literary and vocal styles; a sequence of barren pieces that exposes these great individual voices in unfamiliar contexts; some work better than others; Germanic Bruce; French Wyatt; Faithfull's Dietrich!

FOLLY SEEING ALL THIS

Michael Mantler

Folly Seeing All This

News

What Is The Word (words by Samuel Beckett)

The Balanescu Quartet

Alexander Balanescu (violin)

Clare Connors (violin)

Bill Hawkes (viola)

Jane Fenton (cello)

Michael Mantler (trumpet)

Rick Fenn (guitar)

Wolfgang Puschnig (alto flute)

Karen Mantler (piano, voice)

Dave Adams (vibraphone, chimes)

Jack Bruce (voice)

recorded June 1992 London

OVERVIEW: The disparate threads of Mantler's work coalesce under a gorgeous chamber setting; spine-chilling duets from Bruce and Karen Mantler; bitter sweet balladry constructed about Beckett's deathbed poem "Comment Dire", his final epistemic study on the nature of poetry.

THE SCHOOL OF UNDERSTANDING

Michael Mantler

Sort-of-an-Opera Words by Michael Mantler

CD 1

Prelude

Introductions

First Lesson

News

Love Begins

War

Pause

Understanding

CD 2

Health and Poverty

Love Continues

Platitudes

Intolerance

Love Ends

What's Left To Say

What Is The Word (words by Samuel Beckett)

Voices

Jack Bruce (Observer)

Per J rgensen (Teacher)

Mona Larsen (Refugee)

Susi Hyldgaard (Journalist)

Karen Mantler (Student)

John Greaves (Businessman)

Don Preston (Doctor)

Robert Wyatt (Guest Observer)

Musicians

Michael Mantler (trumpet, conductor)

Roger Jannotta (clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, oboe)

Bjarne Roup (guitar)

Marianne S rensen (violin)

Mette Brandt (violin)

Mette Winther (viola)

Helle S rensen (cello)

Tineke Noordhoek (vib, marimba)

Kim Kristensen (piano, synthesizers)

Don Preston (synth drums)

The Danish Radio Concert Orchestra Strings conducted

by Giordano Bellincampi

recorded August 1996 Copenhagen

OVERVIEW: This culmination of Mantler's vision sets him amongst the best contemporary composers; Bruce's best operatic outing since Escalator Over The Hill; spot the visceral grooving twists; an epical modern masterpiece.

HIDE AND SEEK

Michael Mantler

A Suite of Songs and Interludes for 2 Voices

and Chamber Orchestra

words by Paul Auster

Robert Wyatt (voice)

Susi Hyldgaard (voice)

Roger Jannotta (flute, oboe, clarinets)

Michael Mantler (trumpets)

Martin Cholewa (French horn)

Vincent Nilsson (trombones)

Bjarne Roup (guitars)

Susi Hyldgaard (accordion)

Tineke Noordhoek (vib, marimba)

Per Salo (piano)

Marianne S rensen (violins)

Mette Winther (violas)

Helle S rensen (cellos)

recorded February - September 2000

Copenhagen and London

OVERVIEW: Mantler continues to produce great intellectual works; Parisian accordion conjures intimacy; Auster's ("The New York Trilogy") play presented as a hypnotic dialogue between Hyldgaard and Wyatt intrigues, seduces, captivates and satisfies.

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Who is Michael Mantler? Well, he is a relatively unsung hero, a genius composer and arranger, and a veritable magnet for great singers and other musicians. Never heard of him? Take a look at the credits to Gary Burton's "A Genune Tong Funeral", Charlie Haden's "Liberation Music Orchestra" and "The Ballad Of The Fallen", and pretty much everything Carla Bley produced from 1971 until 1991, including the classic "Escalator Over The Hill". Those "in the know" rate him highly; he was recently awarded the coveted Hans Koller Prize for lifetime accomplishments, which has also been given to fellow Austrian Joe Zawinul. Yes, okay, that's all very well, but, who is Michael Mantler?

Mantler was born on the 10th. of August, 1943 in Vienna; nineteen years later, and motivated by the jazz he was hearing on the US Forces's European radio network, he left to study at Boston's Berklee College armed with a qualification in trumpet and musicology from the Vienna's Academy of Music and University. After a couple of years Mantler had shifted his focus to the New York avant-garde scene, the 'Second Generation' free jazz musicians. Based around Bill Dixon's series of 1964 concerts known as the "October Revolution in Jazz", Mantler co-founded a short-lived, co-operative, non-profit organisation intended to commission, perform, and record new compositions for jazz orchestra called The Jazz Composer's Guild (note the individual's possession, instating the role of the orchestra at the service of the composer), also involving Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Carla Bley, Sun Ra and Archie Shepp; the Guild soon morphed into the better known Jazz Composer's Orchestra (formalized as the Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association, JCOA) led by new husband-and-wife team, Mantler and Bley. Meanwhile Mantler had written a series of pieces called "Communications", two of which formed the bulk of the inaugural 1965 JCOA album "Communications", having added to their ranks musicians such as Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Robin Kenyatta, Roswell Rudd, Steve Swallow and Barry Altschul. More "Communications" were performed at that year's Newport Jazz Festival and on the 1966 album "Jazz Realities" with Lacy and Carla Bley, before the pivotal, self-titled 1968 double-album "The Jazz Composer's Orchestra" (often confused with 1965's "Communications"), with soloists Taylor, Don Cherry, Rudd, Pharoah Sanders, Larry Coryell, and Gato Barbieri, which essentially rewrote the rule book for the limits of large ensemble creativity, musical avant-gardism and orchestral jazz, all set within the framework of a dynamically evolving musical family. It is also a keystone recording in jazz-rock fusion with Coryell's aggressive soloing, punctuated with hollow-bodied feedback freakouts.

There's a lot to be said for musical families - and I'm not talking about Karen Mantler's parentage, although for that we also have to thank Mantler and Bley. Rather that even though the writers and players are constantly changing, there seems to be an amazing consistency in the outputs of these, by definition, large, extended ensembles or Creative Orchestras, and a wonderful cross-fertilization of ideas and creativity. This is especially true of the JCOA who kept recording until it disbanded in 1975, producing Carla Bley and poet Paul Haines's operatic masterpiece, the Chronotransduction "Escalator Over The Hill" (1971), Don Cherry's "Relativity Suite" (1973), Roswell Rudd's "Numatik Swing Band" (1973), Clifford Thornton's "Gardens of Harlem" (1974), Grachan Moncur III's "Echoes of Prayer" (1974) and finally, Leroy Jenkins "For Players Only" (1975). So, if it's not the personnel, then what characterizes a Creative Orchestra, compared to, say, a Big Band, where the lineup is comparatively fixed?

The biggest difficulty is probably separating out the concept of a Big Band from a Creative Orchestra. If all that is needed is a core figure or kernal of musicians to lead the larger group then was Sun Ra's Arkestra a Creative Orchestra? Over the years, Ellington, Strayhorn and Basie all had many musicians revolve around their ingenuity. What about Miles's groups, or Santana, or Gong? "But those groups didn't have classical instrumentation, massed woodwind or strings," I hear you shout. So was Mahavishnu a Creative Orchestra? The various Mahavishnu Orchestras were probably too different to strictly qualify across all incarnations, but Mahavishnu II certainly had enough people and the right instruments. And if having classical instruments doesn't matter but having a key figure like John McLaughlin does, then is Remember Shakti a Creative Orchestra? It's certainly evolving beyond the original lineup. You get my point, where do we draw the line?

One possibility is the existence of an institutional framework to support and drive the creative process; a motivational philosophy that binds and bonds the individuals in a collective cause. Other musical families are more obvious in their motivations than the JCOA. For example, spirituality is the bond in The Polyphonic Spree. Perhaps if McLaughlin had persuaded more of his colleagues to follow Guru Chinmoy then a Mahavishnu philosophy may have emerged to create the Mahavishnu family. Politically driven outfits would include Haden's anti-war Liberation Music Orchestra, and Chris McGregor's anti-apartheid Brotherhood of Breath. "Black Power", equality and justice were also on the agenda of the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) which emerged from the social instabilities of mid-60s Chicago, giving rise to the Creative Construction Company and also spawned the more famous Art Ensemble of Chicago. So several Creative Orchestras are banner-waving organizations with a real message to relay. But the JCOA was far more ethereal in its motivation.

The key to understanding the JCOA is infact Mantler's orchestral vision, his operatic tendancies (heard in much of the JCOA recordings) and his later genius utilization of the literary avant-garde to define an umbrella attitude towards freedom of expression. In formalizing song structures (his composer notes for "Communications #8" read, "For a team of players. Loosely strung. Often rising. Much singing. Release. A long descent.") for that early free-form movement in New York jazz, he qualified it as a valuable and vital musical approach, lending it weight and kudos for assessment on an equal footing against the predominant mainstream post-bebop.

A short time later for "No Answer" (1977), Mantler first adapted his libretto from the canon of Samuel Beckett, the 1969 Nobel Laureate in Literature, whose "WATT" had been a long-term influence, and after which he named his and Bley's recording label, WATT Works. For "No Answer" Mantler sampled from "How It Is", and like a lot of Beckett's writing it uses a lot of repetition with the effect that the prose suggests a tempo, a meter and stanza, a sing-song minimalism,

hard to believe too yes that I have a voice yes in me yes when the panting stops yes not at other times no and that I murmur yes I yes in the dark yes in the mud yes for nothing yes I yes but it must be believed yes

...

and the mud yes the dark yes the mud and the dark are true yes nothing to regret there no

Until recently Mantler had stated, "I don't feel qualified to write words myself and I also know of no writers who I wanted to specifically write for me", so similar treatments were given to Harold Pinter, Edward Gorey, Ernst Meister ("Wandloser Raum") and Philippe Soupault ("Les Champs Magn tiques") to mixed response, from critical acceptance to absolute hatred of what some see as abuse of a favorite author (especially the adaptation of Pinter's play "Silence"). Recently he has felt able to contribute his own literary muse on "The School of Understanding". This marks a change in Mantler's professional and personal lives; in 1991 he separated from Bley and leaving WATT Works he moved back to Europe to base himself in Copenhagen and the South of France, mainly composing symphonic works ("One Symphony"), chamber music ("Concerto for Marimba & Vibraphone") and musical theater ("Hide & Seek").

Mantler is often accused of only writing dark music for lonely souls personified in Beckett et al.'s morose dealings of human suffering in self-doubt, a bleakness perfectly suited to the ECM label that holds most of his works. This verdict is not entirely correct, simply because it does not account for the heaps of energetic guitar-driven jazz-rock pervading the starkness; on several of the earlier albums ("Silence" with Chris Spedding, "The Hapless Child" with Terje Rypdal, "The JCOA" and "Movies" with Larry Coryell, "More Movies" with Philip Catherine, and "Something There" with Mike Stern), and then ignores the sublime integration of master music and master prose, expertly sung by some of the most exciting vocal artists, per se ("No Answer" and "Folly Seeing All This" with Jack Bruce, "Silence" and "The Hapless Child" with Robert Wyatt, "Many Have No Speech" with Bruce, Wyatt and Marianne Faithfull, and "The School of Understanding" with Bruce, Wyatt and Don Preston). The result is an approach to music, Mantler's construct, perhaps most refined on "The School of Understanding", that reaches out beyond the scoresheet, drawing in disparate elements of musicality not found in music alone; hidden musics found in other pulses, integrated as a whole and nurtured in an all-embracing womb of creativity. To answer the question then, Michael Mantler is the gravitational pull that draws out these musics and combines them in harmony, the flame about which the moths dance, Mantler is also the mantel about the fireplace, containing the conflagration. A bit like a Creative Orchestra, really.

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Other recordings of note, not featured here:

A GENUNE TONG FUNERAL - Gary Burton

LIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA - Charlie Haden

COMMUNICATION - The Jazz Composer's Orchestra

JAZZ REALITIES - Mike Mantler, Steve Lacy, Carla Bley, Kent Carter, Aldo Romano

ESCALATOR OVER THE HILL - Carla Bley, Paul Haines

13 & 3/4 - Michael Mantler, Carla Bley

THE BALLAD OF THE FALLEN - Charlie Haden

TROPIC APPETITES - Carla Bley, Paul Haines

FICTITIOUS SPORTS - Nick Mason

SOCIAL STUDIES - Carla Bley

ALIEN - Michael Mantler, Don Preston

CERCO UN PAESE INNOCENTE - Michael Mantler

REVIEW. RECORDINGS 1968-2000 - Michael Mantler

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