At The BBC 1969-70

Description

Keith Tippett was just twenty-one years old when his group recorded the first of these sets for the BBC Jazz Workshop on May 21, 1969, three months before the recording of his first album, You Are Here - I Am There. This CD is notable for the presence of the three-part "Portishead Suite," which presents three stylistically distinct musical portraits of three generations of the town of Portishead in Somerset. The first is relatively gentle and fluid, while the second is more insistent, its 5/4 tempo evoking themes from King Crimson's first album. The third, with its playful rhythms, has Caribbean sonorities. "Hail Conquering Hero" is described by Tippett as "a jazz study of war." None of the compositions in this set had been previously published. The second and third sets were recorded for Jazz Workshop in 1970 and contain versions of tracks appearing on Tippett's second album, *Dedicated to You*. The third set, presented under the name Keith Tippett & Heavy Friends, was played as a single 23-minute piece. The audio fidelity, while not of studio quality, is nevertheless very good.