John Tchicai – John Tchicai With Strings

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Spiritual jazz — frank, deep, reaching; no fakery.

Tchicai appears on Ascension and Ayler’s New York Eye And Ear Control; he’s on Witchdoctor’s Son, with Johnny Dyani and Dudu Pukwana, besides landmark recordings with Archie Shepp, including Four For Trane; and his Mohawk LP on Fontana is a five-star affair. Yet still Richard Williams in The Guardian reckoned this ‘wise and lyrical’ album ‘one of his best recordings’.

Here his playing is somewhere new, oscillating between Dolphy and Konitz. John Coxon and Ashley Wales are rivetingly attuned to him, on harpsichord, trumpet, electric guitar, sampling, bowls and percussion. In different ways the music evokes such talismanic recordings as Ayler’s set Swing Low Sweet Spiritual, Jimmy Giuffre’s live performance of Jesus Maria, Trane’s Dear Lord, and George Russell’s Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature.

"'Afro-Danish saxophonist John Tchicai spent his youth playing alongside the greats- recording and performing in NYC with Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp and Don Cherry amongst many others. Following a meeting at the Coimbra Jazz festival in 2004, he agreed to record with John Coxon and Ashley Wales. The beautiful resulting album sold out almost immediately on its release in 2005 and is available here for the first time on vinyl. Eloquently balanced between Eric Dolphy and Lee Konitz, his 'wise and lyrical' alto saxophone and bass clarinet playing make this 'one of his finest recordings' [Richard Williams in The Guardian] Essential.""

Originally issued as a CD by Treader in 2005. Pressed in 2019.