Schizophrenic Blues — Open-Box, 23% Off

Itaru Oki - trumpet
Noah Howard - alto saxophone
Jean-Jacques Avenell - double bass
Oliver Johnson - drums

Trost Records proudly announces the latest release in its ongoing cooperation with Berlin’s legendary FMP label, with the long overdue reissue of two classic live albums by the singular alto saxophonist Noah Howard, a key figure in New York’s free jazz revolution during the 1960s. Berlin Concert was recorded live in the titular city in January of 1975 with a quartet featuring pianist Takashi Kako, bassist Kent Carter, drummer Oliver Johnson, and percussionist Lamont Hampton, while Schizophrenic Blues was a quartet date taped live in Berlin in May of 1977 with a quartet comprising Johnson, bassist Jean-Jacque Avenel, and trumpeter Itaru Oki. Both titles were released on the SAJ sub label in 1977 and 1978, respectively.
These two albums deftly capture the full diapason of Howard’s fiery art. Fueled by the propulsive swing of the great Oliver Johnson, bassist Kent Carter—both Americans who spent many years living and working in Europe, including long stints with Steve Lacy—and percussionist Lamont Hampton, and Berlin Concert nonchalantly toggles between modal workouts, where Japanese pianist Takashi Kako invokes the ironclad drive of McCoy Tyner, and the needling fury of “New York Subway,” summoning the all-out fury of the 60s New Thing. The pianoless quartet Schizophrenic Blues casts the music in a different light, with the great Japanese trumpeter Itaru Oki serving as a worthy frontline partner for Howard’s livewire alto sax. Johnson is back in the rhythm section along with another Lacy disciple in the French bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, who had already formed a strong musical bond, a mind meld readily apparent in grooves both ferociously energetic and contextually nimble. The leader reveals his curiosity by extending his repertoire to include an unexpected reading of “Bird of Beauty,” a Stevie Wonder tune that released a few years earlier on Fulfillingness' First Finale, while the album concludes with a rousing, soulful rendition of the “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known fondly as the Black National Anthem. The two albums reinforce the scalding passion of Howard’s playing, while simultaneously highlighting a stylistic depth and lyrical grace that’s often overlooked in his music. Howard, who suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage in 2010, at age 67, has been duly celebrated for his work in the 1960s, but the return of these two gems makes it plain he had plenty more to say.

Recorded live by Jost Gebers on May 21st & 22nd,1977 at the Quartier Latin in Berlin.
Photographs by Dagmar Gebers.
Produced by Jost Gebers.