Label: Strata-East – SES-19758
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1975
Style: Post Bop, Avant-garde Jazz, Spiritual, Free Jazz
Recorded 3rd July 1973 and 23rd May 1974 at Media Sound, New York.
Arranged By, Composed By, Producer – Milton Marsh
Artwork [Graphics] – Carole Byard
Published By – Milton Marsh Publishing Co.
Matrix / Runout (Side A Etched Runout): SES-19758-A e
Matrix / Runout (Side B Etched Runout): SES-19758-B
A1 - Vonda's Tune (part 1 of "Earth, Home Of The Mortals") ........................ 2:14
A2 - Community Music ................................................................................... 6:43
A3 - Monism ................................................................................................... 8:49
B1 - Metamorphosis .......................................................................................5:57
B2 - Ode to Nzinga ........................................................................................7:18
B3 - Sabotage, 3 preparations .......................................................................9:15
alto saxophone, conductor, voice [spoken text] – Milton Marsh
piano – Cedric Lawson
alto saxophone – Joseph Ferguson, Rene McClean
baritone saxophone – Reynold Scott
tenor saxophone – Bill Cody, David S. Ware
trombone – Charles Stevens, Bill Lowe, Bill Campbell
trumpet – Kamal Abdul-Alim, Sinclair Acey, Bubbles Martin, Frank Williams
tuba – Bill Davis
double bass – Don Pate
drums, percussion – Greg Bandy
One of the harder to find records on Strata East, and a beautiful set of spiritual/free jazz tracks composed and arranged by reed player Milton Marsh.
In 1975, Milton Marsh released his first album "Monism" for the Strata-East label. Marsh, a composer, arranger, saxophonist and flautist, recorded the album in New York City, and the musicians on "Monism" represent some of the finest living in NYC at the time: pianist Cedric Lawson, bassist Don Pate, along with two rising stars at the time, David Ware on saxophone and Greg Bandy on percussion. Ironically, all of these artists would go on to record several volumes of music in their careers except for Marsh, who recorded only one additional album, 1985’s Continuum, after a decade long absence.
Marsh composed and arranged all of the album’s six compositions, each of which featured between nine and 17 players. This sizable headcount explains the album’s ability to soar from quiet, minimal moments to robust, dissonant explosions, depending upon the track.
“Vonda’s Tune”, the album’s opener, begins with a brief solitary and somber horn solo, which later opens up to the more “avant” sounds of “Community Music”. The title track is where Marsh’s compositions reach their most unpredictable and exciting moments, however. “Monism” closes out the A side with a free jazz jamboree, complete with a spoken word delivery of a Sufi poem from Marsh himself. The album’s B side is relegated to more traditional structures, and features some of the most driving piano, drum and saxophone playing.
An incredible album from Milton Marsh on Strata East. Essential.
If you find it, buy this album!