Pakistani Pomade

Item as described, quick shipment.

Thanks to John Corbett and the Unheard Music series on the Atavistic label, the first recording of the Schlippenbach Trio is finally released on CD. PAKISTANI POMADE is an FMP Archive Edition -- the original 1973 LP was on the German FMP label, one of its first few releases. The cover drawing of "The Filthy Trio" is by Alex Schlippenbach's then very young son. This is dynamic and beautiful music, definitely flowing from the energy music of the late Coltrane and Cecil Taylor -- imagine a trio of Coltrane, Taylor and Rashied Ali and you'll be in the right ballpark, despite the fact that both the English and German free improv schools had been developing for several years by 1972 when this recording was made. Evan Parker mainly plays tenor, and his unique voice on the soprano sax was still several years away. It's not just high-volume, high-intensity blowing, though, there are loads of creative twists, including Parker vocalizing through his mouthpiece and what sounds like Schlippenbach playing the inside of his piano. The CD reissue includes four alternative takes of the title track, in addition to the 8 original pieces. The original LP jacket is reproduced, which includes an array of 12 photos, and several more larger photos are included as well, retrieved from the archives. Given the negligible distribution that FMP must have had in the U.S. in 1973, I doubt more than a tiny handful of U.S. listeners would be replacing their vinyl with this disc. For virtually all of us it is our first chance to hear this incredible music! For me, this music carries the spirit of those days when anything seemed possible. In the context of the Vietnam War, the nuclear superpower face-off, and a divided Germany, the uprisings of 1968 continued in the form of powerful, diverse movements of the Left, a planetary youth movement. This free music was part of that larger Movement for freedom, and it is energizing to hear it 30 years later. (verified purchase from the Cosmic Record Emporium)

This is what music is supposed to be. This is what music is supposed to sound like. This is how music should make one feel. I've heard lots of avant-garde / free jazz stuff before. Yet something about this album - perhaps just my state of mind at the time of listening aided these thoughts - changed the way I think of music. I'm not saying free jazz is the paramount of all music. But, I think music, in general, should be this DARING and RADICAL, yet COHESIVE and BEAUTIFUL. This music makes me feel like I'm watching a riot or something - anything could happen, and I'm just standing on my balcony, overlooking the street, waiting for the next group of protesters to throw rocks at the police, or for the cops to throw the next tear gas grenade into the crowd, igniting their disenchantment into total pandamonium. It's not that _Pakistani Pomade_ is the greatest album I've heard (probably close, though) - it's that everything about this album and the music contained within should be present in ALL music.

Can't really add anything to the great review of autonomeus below (he's some kind of social-democracy lover, which is lame, but he has outstanding taste in music and he knows his shnoit), so mainly I just direct you to read that. Basically, if this album doesn't leave you utterly speechless and laughing like someone tripped on too many psychotropic mushrooms, I'll buy your copy. I'd honestly be happy to have another one, if only to serve the honorable purpose of putting the cd in the hands of someone who would realize its magnificence. This is a godsend of European free improvisation. Put it beside your copies of _Machine Gun_ and _AMMusic 1966_, and your Cecil Taylor cds.

The European free improv scene has generally revolved around temporary collaborations. Longstanding groups are rare and the Schlippenbach Trio must be the longest running group of all, still going strong today. Their 1972 debut album for the FMP label has therefore had a reputation way beyond those who actually heard the hard to get vinyl release. So this CD reissue has a lot to live up to. Thankfully it doesn't disappoint. There are a few tracks employing squeaks and scraping and even some Mongolian-style growling/throat singing. But aside from these interludes and by the standards of early 70s free improv, PAKISTANI POMADE is located unashamedly within a "jazz" lineage. Schlippenbach attacks the piano with pointillist flourishes and dramatic atonal clusters, a very European romantic/expressionist take on the Cecil Taylor approach. At a time when other drummers were dispensing with standard kits and bashing found objects, Paul Lovens sticks to a relatively conventional kit and plays relatively recognizable rhythms within an approach presumably derived from Sunny Murray and Ed Blackwell. And Evan Parker's sax solos show links to Coltrane, Pharoah and particularly, in the gruff tone, Archie Shepp. Perhaps the most striking feature is that this is free improv which really does sound like "instant composing". There is a sense of logic and architecture. Each piece has its own identity. Such "compositional" structure is immanent and organic in the playing of each musician - there are no melodic/thematic frame devices of the type you get on the two CBS Oxley Group albums (or with Ornette, Trane etc). Instead it is as if each musician has a set of sustained compositional ideas that can be put into play or into juxtaposition at any moment. Well done Atavistic for their brilliant programme of reissuing vintage free improv. PAKISTANI POMADE is a real gem with bonus tracks and nicely packaged with new photos and facsimile sleeve / disc. I wholeheartedly agree with the other reviewers - essential!

Ein wunderbares Album, ein großartiger Schlippenbach.

I was introduced to the Schlippenbach Trio by a friend who lent me Physics, and I subsequently bought their latest Warsaw Concert. Both are recommended releases from this long running and highly accessible free music group, but in my opinion Pakistani Pomade stands out as the one to get if you only get one. Also, more satisfying on LP.