Republic of Jazz: Bobby Naughton, Leo Smith & Perry Robinson

Friday, August 10, 2018

Bobby Naughton, Leo Smith & Perry Robinson - The Haunt (NO BUSINESS RECORDS 2018)

One of the most immediately accessible of all avant-garde jazz sets because it is pervasively lyrical. A continually floating, melodically curving series of conversations which subtly keep changing colors and timbral intensities while a mysterious implied pulse makes it all cohere in a rather dream-like way. But this is a most vivid dream, the kind that lingers in the mind long after the recording has ended. THE HAUNT is a a permanent and dateless addition to jazz discography.. . . . Nat Hentoff Modern Recording

. . . molto lirica. . . Jazz Oltre

THE HAUNT is a brilliant specimen of textural improvisation at its most concordant. Three masters of the art of spontaneous interaction expertly combine their talents and diverse influences to create music that is dissonant(in terms of conventional tonality, that is) yet euphonious, freely structured yet prudently disciplined. The results should prove accessible to anyone with an ear toward creativity and striking sound combinations, whatever the listener's normal musical preferences. Tom Bingham, AUDIO

THE HAUNT is an album of superb compositions played by a trio of superb musicians. Rather than swinging hard over a firm tempo, the music flows at a slow pace, evoking images that undulate according to the immediate texture of the improvisation. Although it explores the nexus between the New Music and Contemporary Classical Music, THE HAUNT is not pretentious or studied in any way. Its music is abstract without succumbing to the sterility of abstraction. THE HAUNT could very well be one of the most important albums released in 1977. Vernon Frazer, CODA

These calm pieces, with a touch of third-stream sonority to them, represent fast-music dallying quite delightfully with slowness…….

There couldn't be a better instance than this record to show how the true instrumental music is fast however slow it gets, and that it can only be created instantly in the swiftness of perception by which the player maintains the tension, the entire weight of the structure on his shoulders.

Peter Riley, MUSICS London

Bobby Naughton - vibraharp

Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet

Perry Robinson - clarinet

1. The Haunt 7:18

2. Slant 5:45

3. Places 8:11

4. Rose Island 9:14

5. Ordette 9:11

6. Slant (alternate take) 6:49

Recorded April 21, 1976, Blue Rock Studio, NYC

All compositions by Bobby Naughton

Tracks 1–5, previously released as “The Haunt” (OTIC 1005)