Thursday, 23 May 2019

Frank Lowe & Eugene Chadbourne ‎– "Don't Punk Out" (QED Records QED 995) 1979



I guess this is as close as free jazz got to a Punksploitation album?
Chadbourne gets free-ish with jazzy B-team  ESP records legend Frank Lowe on Tenor Sax, for some casual improvisation in a room. It just misses Rashid Ali on the skins to make this palatable.
This is the expanded CD version, that includes stuff from 1979, the first 16 tracks recorded in the summer of hate in 1977.....hence the 'Punk Out' reference?

Frank, himself, was a rather overlooked figure on the east coast Free Jazz scene,which had become a tad marginalised by 1977.Over-shadowed by the ghosts of John Coltrane and Albert Ayler.He was always gonna be in the B-Team.If the dead ones remained alive,he probably would have been a star. Like Hendrix whose legendary status was guaranteed by an early death, just as he was getting really shit.So be it with Coltrane and Ayler.Forever placed on a pedestal of unattainable status among equally talented peers of the future and past.....oh Yeah, Frank Lowe's dead now too,still being left out of the jam sessions in heaven in preference to Coltrane and Ayler!?.....oh sweet blonde and caucasian Jesus, why saxophone and guitar players?...why do we attach so much importance to these egocentric oafs?

Tracklist:

1 Composition For David Murray 1:51
2 If It Should Happen 4:08
3 Fright 4:25
4 At Reel's End 2:35
5 Bobo Did It 2:35
6 Ghosts 4:19
7 The Clam 0:59
8 Fire Down There 1:32
9 Phantom To The Tower, Pt. 1-2 4:24
10 You Were Right In The First Place 2:47
11 45 1st Ave [Take 1] 0:20
12 45 1st Ave [Take 2] 2:33
13 There's No Place Like Home 2:54
14 Doctor Too-Much 2:47
15 Don't Punk Out [Take 1] 1:53
16 Don't Punk Out [Take 2] 1:21
17 Inner Extremities Suite 1 5:07
18 Inner Extremities Suite 2 5:18
19 Inner Extremities Suite 3 3:04
20 Cascades 4:14
21 Manhattan Cry 3:19
22 Open Vision 2:18


5 comments:

Mjy said...

Wow, just this album's mere existence boggles the mind, thank you! FWIW I think coltrane and ayler deserve their reputations, but not at the expense of all else. Though that fault lies with critics and not necessarily listeners..

Anonymous said...

As you're always so mean about Thurston Moore, I feel compelled to highlight that he once released a Frank Lowe record on his label. How many other artists on your amazing blog can say that?!!

Jonny Zchivago said...

I guess nobody on this blog has released a Frank Lowe record.....but no-ones all bad,and that includes Thurston Moore......I think I admitted that I actually like Thurston's musical adventures......its just that he seems to crop up everywhere,all the time......he's even infiltrated these Frank Lowe posts!!!!...leave us alone Thurston, pleeeeze!

rev.b said...

I actually came across a used copy of this one in the early 80’s for around five bucks. I haven’t listened to it in a long time, but I remember it being a good one for this type of thing. Lot’s of great toe tappers on this one.

Fanny Blancmange said...

Thanks for this and your recent turn towards Out-Jazz. I'll grab this for Frank rather than the annoying Michael Moore of the avant-gtr.

FB