HOWARD RILEY — Flight (review)

HOWARD RILEY — Flight album cover Album · 1971 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
Sean Trane
Amongst the better-rated albums of Riley is Flight, where Howard performs (as usual) in a piano-dominated trio, this time with Barry Guy (contrabass) and Tony Oxley (drums), and it seems the logical continuation of the previous album. The non-descript artwork describes fairly well the music held on the slice of wax, and it was recorded in one session in the early spring of 71. Flight is definitely another experimental foray into dissonant sonic framework that can almost qualify as musique concrete, if it wasn’t played with “normal” instruments. The opening sidelong Motion is certainly a very challenging piece, but the dissonance and improvisation remains accessible for the patient and adventurous jazzhead. As opposed to Angle, Riley lets his acolytes some “songwriting” space, but it doesn’t make the musical propos easier on the listener.

As for the flipside, it forays a tad more in the dissonant region, with Oxley’s Cirrus track, completely disjointed and even atonal, followed by the Guy-penned Forgotten Game, where Riley’s piano seems to wonder aimlessly on any scale it happens to find itself. Difficult stuff, really!!. And just as you might think that Two Ballads might be a return to normalcy, one can only wonder how Lesley and Sue actually appreciated the dissonant and disjointed “songs” written for them, but my guess is that the later (more likely Barry Guy’s wife/girlfriend) was a tad luckier. The title track closes the aural hostilities directed at your sanity and a daring last stand, Riley almost abusing the piano, while Guy’s g-string on his contrabass gets stretched beyond reasonable. Definitely not the kind of album that you’d want to play to your latest conquest and get cosy with her. It’s always a bit of a wonder how such an album got a CD reissue, but FMR Records certainly has merits for doing so. Prefer the previous Angle album, as it makes much more sense to a nearly-sane jazzhead.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

LIVE WOUND RESPONSE [OUT​.​FEST 2013] Jazz Related Improv/Composition
RHODRI DAVIES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dominic Lash, Josh Sinton, Alex Ward Jazz Related Improv/Composition
DOMINIC LASH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dominic Lash, Pat Thomas : Elements and Properties Jazz Related Improv/Composition
DOMINIC LASH
Buy this album from MMA partners
El Camino Sigiloso Jazz Related Improv/Composition
PAULA SHOCRÓN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lucky All Along Post-Fusion Contemporary
LISA HILTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Chicago - Hard to Say I'm Sorry / Get Away [Live At 55]
CHICAGO
snobb· 18 hours ago
John Coltrane's iconic Parker Blues: "Freight Trane" w/ Tobias Meinhart, Rick Rosato & Jesse Simpson
TOBIAS MEINHART
js· 18 hours ago
Yo Viné Para Echar Candela
SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA
snobb· 23 hours ago
Joe Armon-Jones - Sorrow (feat. Liam Bailey) (Official Audio)
JOE ARMON-JONES
snobb· 1 day ago
Ambrose Akinmusire - muffled screams
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
snobb· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed