Monday 1 March 2021

Alan Silva And The Celestrial Communication Orchestra – "Seasons" (BYG Records – 529.342-43-44) 1971


Lieutenant Castillo's Incan ancestor with traditional instrument

This Gargantuan free jazz odyssey over six sides of skronking wax has to be heard to be believed ... played by a massive free jazz orchestra that knows no bounds.Orchestrated by a man who looks like Detective Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo of Miami Vice as he would have been if he had lived in the heyday of Machu Pichu.
Silva provides us with the same filing problems as does Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, as this one features "The" Celestrial Communication Orchestra, whereas the other BYG album, "Luna Surface", is played by "His" Celestrial Communication Orchestra!?...Causing no end of problems for computers' filing systems....another argument for Vinyl with attending Nerd.
Talking of Vinyl, some smart-arse pointed out, when referring to Gong's BYG album, that BYG didn't issue their albums as 12",but they were infact 30 centimetres in diameter!?......some people really do need to find another hobby!....(ps...it was Steve Freeman of Ultima Thule mail order on discogs who killed brain cells with that laughable observation!?....they have a track record...geddit...of doing mind numbing nerd-outs like this!Now where's that left-handed screwdriver?).

Tracklist:

A Seasons Part 1 25:12
B Seasons Part 2 22:45
C Seasons Part 3 23:15
D Seasons Part 4 20:08
E Seasons Part 5 26:08
F Seasons Part 6 27:00


4 comments:

rev.b said...

THERE'S the big dog. Amazing how they manage to stretch a ballad out over six sides. The only album I know that gives Dave Burrell's Echo a run for its money.

Yann said...

HUGE ! One of the true masterpieces of free playing... with AEC's "People in sorrow" for the tender side, Brotzmann's "Machine Gun" for the angry side, and many others of course...
Silva was great with those guys, with Ayler too... but I'm much less fond of his work with F.Wright in "Center of the World" 4tet, in which sound is too dry and kind of "cling-clang" to my ears...

seldomskeen said...

thanks for sharing such great albums

son of frunobulax said...

dude, it's 'CELESTRIAL' with the r stuck in