Air w/Henry Threadgill - Open Air Suit (Avant Garde Project 166)

The Avant Garde Project is a series of 20th-century classical, experimental, and electroacoustic torrents digitized from LPs whose music has in most cases never been released on CD, and so is effectively inaccessible to the vast majority of music listeners today. This is wild stuff, so check it out if you've never heard this sort of music before. The analog rig used to extract the sound from the grooves is near state-of-the-art, producing almost none of the tracking distortion or surface noise normally associated with LPs.



AGP1-157 are now available for direct download in the archive at www.avantgardeproject.org



AGP158-165 and other AGP installments are also available at http://thepiratebay.org/user/loudav



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AGP166 is a 24-bit, 48 kHz transcription of the LP "Open Air Suit" by the avant-garde jazz trio Air. The group was formed in 1971 by Henry Threadgill, who played saxes and flute, double bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Steve McCall. This LP is their fifth, and their first for the Novus/Arista label (AN 3002). For some strange reason, it has never been re-issued on CD, and at the moment the one used LP copy available on Amazon is going for $80.



The compositions on this LP are by Threadgill, but all three instruments participate as equals in the improvisations. Of particular interest are the complex, fluid rhythms that the group develops, with Threadgill and Hopkins sensitively responding to each other from moment to moment to develop the core rhythm, and McCall syncopating off of that--or so it seems to me. The effect is kaleidoscopic. Threadgill plays a different instrument on each track--alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, and flute.



The LP was beautifully recorded, with all three players close-mic'd in a way that brings out the complex timbres of the three instruments brilliantly. The drum kit is distributed across both channels of the stereo mix, so it envelops the listener. The cymbals in particular are very nicely mic'd, and the 24-bit digitization does justice to fine edge of their sound. My LP copy is in excellent condition, with essentially no surface or pressing noise or tracking distortion. The torrent includes a PDF file with scans of as much of the front and back covers as would fit on my scanner bed.



Equipment used for A/D conversion: Lyra Helikon phono cartridge, Linn LP12/Lingo turntable, Linn Ekos SE tonearm, Audioquest LeoPard tonearm cable, PS Audio PS2 preamplifier, Kimber PBJ interconnect, M-Audio Audiophile USB A/D converter.



01 - Card Two, The Jick or Mandrill's Cosmic Ass [7:28]

02 - Card Five, Open Air Suit [10:20]

03 - Card Four, Strait White Royal Flush [6:14]

04 - Card One, Cutten [15:31]



NOTE: To the best of my knowledge, these recordings are not currently available commercially. If you know otherwise, please let me know ASAP, as I do not wish any artists to be deprived of the royalties that they so richly deserve.