Marion Brown - Esslingen 1970

Beginning my homage to the late great Marion Brown before even closing with the final Noah Howard post... but gee, Brown... he was such a great, lyrical musician. Got to love his music!

First, some food:
Pieces of a Conversation (by Clifford Allen, 2005)
AAJ Fireside Chat (by Fred Jung, 2003)
Online Discography

Then, some music... again, proceeding (roughly) chronological, here's a 1970 set of the band by Brown and Leo Smith, featuring none other than Manfred Eicher on bass. New information suggests it's actually a radio broadcast (SDR, Süddeutscher Rundfunk II, "Leo Smith-Marion Brown Gruppe in Esslingen" 1971-02-12), and took place at Club Laboratorium (Webergasse 22).

All thanks for all the following Brown shares go to the original seeders on dime - mostly c, but also pj and a few others. These were mostly up in a little "flood" in 2005 and it's my pleasure to share them again both over on dime and here, too.

Thank you, Marion, for all the great music you left with us.

Marion Brown
Esslingen (Germany)
December 18, 1970

Marion Brown - alto sax, etc
Leo Smith - trumpet, etc
Thomas Stoewsand - cello, flutes
Manfred Eicher - bass
Fred Braceful - percussion

1. part I [29:30]
2. part II [17:33] (fades out, inc?)

TT: 47:06

Sound: B+
Lineage: sdb? > ? > cdr > xact > flac8

Note from EZtree seeder:
as part of the 'unissued' recordings listing in the marion brown
discography, this possible soundboard document (with traces of static)
is of a rare vintage, made during the same year that brought about the
incredible duets with leo smith as 'creative improvisation ensemble,'
and the larger ensemble opus 'afternoon of a georgia faun.' the use of
small percussive instruments, and in fact, multi-instrumentation in
general; an attention to spaciousness, especially the premium on
carefully place notes, and of course, carefully considered silence;
the active gestures to extend timbre and color, all contribute to
place this performance hotly on the heels of legendary issues such
as 'porto novo,' 'gesprächsfetzen,' and 'in sommerhausen,' though,
i would say, probably not as explicitly incendiary as those earlier
releases. but it burns true with its own distinctive flame ... strongly
recommended, essential, for any admirer of marion brown's and leo
smith's music.