|
Seldom do I claim bragging rights for a record but here goes. Ultra-rare, Ultra-desirable, quintessential Soul/Jazz flute record by the LLOYD McNEILL QUARTET from 1969 on ASHA label and titled the same. Record is in NM condition, very light sleeving and spindle marks, excellent gloss, no scratches or digs. Record cover is by Lloyd and is in excellent condition, slight dulling of a few corners, little scuff on right side front cover(barely noticeable white spot in photo), no ring wear, no seam splits, no writing. Labels are in excellent condition, no writing. A nicer copy of this record will be a long time coming. Here is what the people at HIPWAX.COM have to say about this artist and record.
"The first thing to know about Lloyd McNeill is that his are the best soul-jazz flute LPs. The second thing to know is he is one of those incredible, more-sensitive-than-most people who excels at every artistic idiom and endeavor; making wonderful music is just part of his flowing creativity. A professor (at Rutgers University, earlier Dartmouth), he has much to say about music and creativity as well as an impeccable gift for saying it...sensibly. McNeill's writings on his musical experiences provide invaluable documents of "the period" (late 1960s-1970s) as well as a rare glimpse at the joy of a master.
McNeill has played with jazz legends --Andrew White (his longtime collaborator/producer), Eric Dolphy, Sabu Martinez, Mulate Astetke, among many others-- and he has had a significant hand in the arts scene of Washington, D.C. The major galleries of art, including those of the Smithsonian, sponsored multi-media "happenings" that soared far above the hippie caricature of acid rock with light show. During the first flowering of post-Civil Rights, African-American culture, the Lloyd McNeill Quartet's improvisitory, simultaneuous jazz and large-scale painting "happened" while a lucky, perhaps unsuspecting public drunk it in.
McNeill believes his influences and their results in his art, music, and poetry are inseparable and mutually reinforcing. Time spent with Picasso in Cannes, 1965 led to new expressions in all three, for instance. And when one brushes against a force such as Picasso, just the idea of "meeting Picasso" has a certain momentum, never mind the inevitable casting of rays of a different kind of light. Canvas, vinyl, the stage, paper, and books of poetry offer a few key imprints of McNeill, and McNeill consistently pays tribute to many illustrious peers.
There are six albums, all of which were produced and kept entirely under the artist's control. Each title surpasses anything you think of in flute on the major labels, even Blue Note. The Black Jazz label may be roughly similar in style, but Asha and Baobab are wholly Lloyd McNeill. And the records reflect none of the usual external trends from the decade in which they were recorded; all sound like 1971 rather than 1979. The final record even reprises the first (the exotic, broodingly moody "Asha"), and the sound throughout remains somewhat interchangeable and timeless. But each record has its own themes and currents, and even improvisation has its identifying signatures and fingerprints.
Buying: Lloyd McNeill records should be snapped up on sight. At least the three on Asha, long out of print, are considered collector's items. The three on Baobab are slightly more available but will reach the same status."
Lloyd McNeill's Soul-Jazz Flute LPs
- Rating
- 9 The Lloyd McNeill Quartet: Asha; Asha One; 1969
- 8 The Lloyd McNeill Quartet: Tanner Suite; Asha Two; 1969 (mono only; limited edition of 1,000)
- 9 The Lloyd McNeill Quartet: Washington Suite; Asha Three; 1970
- 8 Lloyd McNeill: Treasures; Baobab 1; 1976/1975
- 8 Lloyd McNeill: Tori; Baobab BE-654; 1978
- 9 Lloyd McNeill: Elegia--for Elizabeth; Baobab BRC-3; 1980/1979
|
|