01/12/2023
‘This utterly engrossing feast focuses on the ‘golden period’ of British jazz, when boundary-breaking and experimentation first broke through. Featuring large sleeve reproductions (both front and back), period reviews, historical overviews and vintage music press adverts, Labyrinth finally puts this music on the pedestal it rightly deserves’ – Jon Newey (editor, Jazzwise)
LIMITED EDITION BOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
BEAUTIFUL, EXCLUSIVE MICHAEL GARRICK COLD MOUNTAIN POSTER (REPRODUCING A LONG-LOST 1972 DESIGN) WITH THE FIRST 100 ORDERS!
Labyrinth is a massive hardback book, 375pp in length, printed on high-quality art paper, with an embossed cover and cloth quarter-binding, written by Richard Morton Jack (Galactic Ramble, Psychedelia, Nick Drake: The Life).
It celebrates over three hundred albums, offering detailed background info about each, alongside excerpts from original reviews and masses of high-quality images that reproduce their fabulous artwork and labels at near-full size. It also features a fascinating introduction by Tony Reeves (Mike Taylor Quartet, New Jazz Orchestra, Colosseum etc).
Covering abstract jazz, avant-garde jazz, serial jazz, free jazz, Indo-jazz, jazz-rock and more, it tells a story Britain should be proud of: open-minded and creative musicians pushing the boundaries of their art in the face of penury and indifference, and welcoming influences from a range of other cultures via immigrant musicians such as Joe Harriott (Jamaica), Amancio D’Silva (India), Guy Warren (Ghana) and Harry Beckett (Barbados).
Some sample pages can be seen via the sales link.
Each copy will be shrinkwrapped, double-boxed for maximum protection, and despatched in early January.
A limited number of copies is being printed, so we recommend ordering in advance to be sure of getting one.
And here is the sales link, with additional images from the book: https://www.elvinyl.com/listings/3939843-books-for-sale?fbclid=IwAR0uPv70f2J92wnHy02Vzz_ynCr04fG1JBPKiDmZy0SNLATxWNm4SQ-VSvw
The above text is the book’s blurb. Having been privileged to have seen the book in advance, let me share some of my own enthusiasm for it… 🙂
The presentation is incredible and the knowledge / connoisseurship in the text both entertaining and richly informative.
I share Richard’s passion and fascination for British jazz in this time period – which I often liken to the flora & fauna of Australia: unique by virtue of developing in complete isolation. For British jazzers in the 50s and 60s, a spat between the US and UK Musicians’ Unions meant that US jazz greats were more or less banned from performing in Britain – certainly, it was extremely difficult for tours to happen. So the tiny community of modern jazzers in Britain – however much they may have been in awe of their US cousins (rightly or wrongly) – had no option of learning at the feet of those they viewed as masters. They had the records but they had to figure it out themselves. And they did – with a language both familiar yet with its own distinct patina.
By the late 60s, a new generation of players were confident enough to stop grovelling at the idea that US jazz musicians were inherently better – they had their own things to say and had no fear in developing their own vocabularies (free improvisation, fusion, etc.) with which to say them.
There was a brief moment between 1968-71 when major labels signed up British progressive jazzers, hoping that something might work commercially (as it was doing with progressive/underground rock at that time), but it never did. Record release opportunities went back to the obscure labels and labour-of-love merchants who had supported British modern jazz in the 50s and early 60s.
Richard’s knowledge of this era is vast and his prose is delightful – almost every page illustrates in full colour the covers (be-sleeve-noted backs and fronts) of records I could never afford in their original form. The price tag on his book is hefty but trust me, if you’re a Brit jazz buff it’s essential – and worth every penny! 😃
That’s as good a description of the uniqueness of British jazz as I’ve seen, Colin.
I ordered the book last night from the British Jazz Facebook page and am greatly looking forward to it. I’m sure it will be as indispensable as Richard’s Galactic Rambles books.
I could never afford those!
Great summary Colin, I’m vividly reminded of the Tubby Hayes book which takes about 300 pages to say the same thing (mind you it’s an excellent book too and I bought it off a quite grumpy Simon Spillett at a gig).
You’ve mentioned my apparent grumpiness so many times in reference to your purchase of my book that I’m thinking of quoting you on the sleeve of the next reprint.
“Great book. Author didn’t want to talk to me at a gig where I bought it. Recommended.”
gnnn – mmmph – eeeeh
That’s one of my favourites too.
You appear to be transcribing Donald Sinden’s hang-on-a-minute-I’ve-forgotten-my-line vocalese… 😀
Pre-Byzantine….
If it’s not tautology, this looks like jazz p0rn.
I have alerted some of my better-off friends to the existence of this very spicy-looking tome, in the forlorn hope that one of them buys it and I can borrow it later. Assuming the pages aren’t stuck together.
Is this a series? Are there earlier books that cover the British Dance Bands of the 30s and 40s? Or the trad jazz bands of the 50s?