Phase III (Remastered) The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet

• 1 Crazy Jane 06:57
• 2 On! 06:44
• 3 Les Neiges D'Antan (Snows Of Yesteryear) 05:16
• 4 Bath Sheba 09:01
• 5 Black Marigolds 13:28
• Total Runtime 41:26

Info for Phase III (Remastered)

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)

One thing that strikes immediately is the breakneck speeds of some of these tracks (notably the opening Crazy Jane and its follow-up On!), as if the musicians were trying to outdo each other, but forgot being at the service of the competition. Indeed if I had the vinyl spinning, I’d probably check to see if it is not spinning at 45 rpm. However, things get somewhat back on track with the Carr-penned Neiges d’Antan, which mixes some classical influences, even if the piece’s slow section around the end is needlessly long. After the short and expandable ballad of Bath Sheba, the album gets into its other centrepiece, the Garrick-penned Blacl Marigolds (brought from outside the Quintet), a superb modal jazz piece that can be assimilated to an Indian raga, where Garrick and the boys soar with an intense determination that could only impress Impulse!’s “New Thing” wave. Too bad these two lengthier pieces are drowned in a pond of less advanced shorter pieces.

If anything, Phase III seems to be step backwards from Dusk Fire, one that returns to the standard jazz, although I wouldn’t make the shortcut by implying that it just that! But P3 is definitely late one battle in the jazz-progress war (despite its two excellent lengthy avant-pieces), where its predecessor was probably ahead of the pack. Nevertheless, the present album is certainly the Quintet’s second-best album (well disputable with the Live), and one that can safely invested in, despite the BGO label linking it with their ”Live” album in a 2on2 reissue set."

Don Rendell, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
Ian Carr, trumpet, flugelhorn
Michael Garrick, piano
Dave Green, bass
Trevor Tomkins, drums

Engineered by Adrian Kerridge

Digitally remastered

Don Rendell
born 4 March 1926, Plymouth, Devon, England. Rendell began playing alto saxophone as a child but later switched to tenor. He played in a number of dance bands during the late 40s, and in 1950 became a member of John Dankworth’s septet. After leaving Dankworth in 1953 he formed his own small group but also worked with bands led by Tony Crombie, Ted Heath and others. In 1956 he joined Stan Kenton for a European tour, appearing on Live At The Albert Hall. In the late 50s he played with Woody Herman. During the 60s Rendell was again leading his own bands, featuring musicians such as Graham Bond, Michael Garrick and Ian Carr, with whom he was co-leader of a successful band. The four albums he recorded with Carr are highly recommended. Rendell has also recorded with Stan Tracey (The Latin American Caper), and Neil Ardley (Greek Variations).

A fluent improviser, with hints of post-bop styling overlaying a deep admiration for the earlier work of Lester Young, Rendell has long been one of the most admired of British jazz artists. For many years he has been tireless in the promotion of jazz through his activities as a sought-after teacher.

Ian Carr
has been on the cutting edge of the British jazz scene for nearly four decades. Self-trained as a musician, Carr played an important role in the development of jazz-rock fusion, playing with John McLaughlin in the early '60s, forming one of England's first electronic jazz-rock fusion groups, Nucleus, in 1969 and playing with the international band the United Jazz Rock Ensemble, since 1975. In 1982, Carr received a Calabria award in southern Italy for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Jazz. Wire Magazine presented him a special award for services to British jazz in 1987. Carr has been equally influential as a music journalist and educator. The co-author of a jazz encyclopedia, The Essential Companion, Carr was also the author of Music Outside, an examination of contemporary British jazz published in 1973; Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography, published in 1982; and Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music, published in 1991. Since 1992, Carr has written a monthly column for BBC Music Magazine. Carr is an associate professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Dance and lectures weekly on jazz history. Born in Scotland and raised in England, Carr thought little of a career in music until he was nearly 30 years old. Educated at King's College in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where he studied English literature, Carr served in the Army in the late '50s. Shortly after his discharge, he formed a band, the EmCee Five, with his brother Mike and John McLaughlin. Carr remained with the band for two years, leaving to form the Rendell-Carr Group with saxophonist Don Rendell in 1962. During the seven years he worked with Rendell, Carr helped the band record five albums.

In September 1969, Carr helped form the groundbreaking fusion band Nucleus. The group attracted international acclaim when it took the top prize in a competition at the Montreaux International Festival in 1970. Carr continued to play with Nucleus until 1989 when he left to tour the United Kingdom and Europe as a soloist on electric trumpet with an Anglo-American orchestra led by American composer George Russell. Old Heartland was recorded with the Kreisler String Orchestra in 1988 while Sounds and Sweet Airs was recorded with organist John Taylor in 1992. (Source: AMG)

This album contains no booklet.