The Don Rendell Ian Carr Quintet

The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Shades Of Blue (1965/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:52 minutes | 823 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)

Although the present album is the quintet’s debut, it could maybe be seen as their second one, since the band evolved out of the formation that had recorded Rendell’s Roarin’ album four years previously. Featuring the amazing Ian Carr on trumpet and the well-travelled Trevor Tomkins on drums, the quintet being completed by a usual-suspect of Green on bass and Purbrook on piano, although the latter’s departure would be the only line-up change in the quintet’s history. Some of these members were also involved in the cross-town rivals, The New Jazz Orchestra, and together, these two groups will carry more or less the who’s who of the next 15 or 20 years of the country’s jazz scene. Recorded in the fall of 64, and released on the Columbia UK label the following year, the evocative blue artwork is reminiscent of the US Blue Note label’s sleeves (not mentioning a reference to Miles’ KoB album’s title), and sonically-speaking, it’s fairly similar as well.

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The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Phase III (1967/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:42 minutes | 857 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)

A grey-area edition of the legendary Phase III album, another iconic recording featuring this famous quintet. A real lost treasure from the legendary Don Rendell and Ian Carr– a set that stands strongly with all of his classic albums of the late 60s, but which is issued here for the first time ever! It features the outstanding ‘Black Marigolds’ tunes, that more of a raga in it’s composition the track was inspired by a 2000 year old Indian story which perhaps shows some insight into the Eastern influences that were proliferating throughout many genres at the time.

“Third album, but a very different beast from the awesome Dusk Fire, probably partly because there were two years between the recording sessions, but also that the fairly collegial composing of DF has all but waned, as Ian Carr takes on the lion’s share. Normally in the light of the future Nucleus group, this could be excellent news, but the reality is somewhat not as evident as that conclusion would be. Well some of the music present some crazy time signature, and Carr’s passion for writing with letters as well as notes, shows up in some tracks (Antan, is from a XVth Century poem)

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The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Live (1968/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:01 minutes | 1008 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)

A jazz event… and a packet of crisps, please! The energy exuded by the group bounces off the walls and magnifies their imaginative enthusiasm to new heights. Apparently the original tape wasn’t in the best condition, so what we have here is a fine piece of archival reconstruction, though the slightly forward tone remains to ensure that we get to hear all of the instruments clearly. A nice chance to hear Carr and Rendell let off the leash.

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The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Dusk Fire (1966/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:37 minutes | 1009 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)

A grey-area reissue of this legendary album: the magnificent Dusk Fire album recorded in 1966. Rightly considered a masterpiece of British Jazz, cool and quirky finishing on a high with Michael Garrick’s powerful composition Dusk Fire. Rendell/ Carr Quintet shows how far British jazz in the second half of the ’60s had taken new directions. Not a jazz songbook standard in sight, moving away from the usual jazz conventions, heads and solos, rhythm section down in the engine room, improvised virtuosity of the soloists. The writing is more structured, a pictorial composition, storytelling, replete with literary allusions.

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The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Change Is (1969/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:59 minutes | 1003 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)

Many have tried – and failed – to reissue these albums by legitimate means. However, two decades since our initial approach, Universal Music has gone to great lengths to research their vast archives, and we have finally managed to succeed.

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