NO U-TURN

[photo courtesy of Mark Weber]

Sometime in mid- or late-April, the Paris-based indie jazz label Dark Tree Records will a drop No U-Turn, a previously unreleased live performance from L.A. avant-garde godfathers Bobby Bradford and John Carter. The 5-song, 72-minute set features Carter's son Stanley Carter along with Roberto Miguel Miranda on double basses and William Jeffrey on drums. It was recorded on a 4-track reel-to-reel at Baxter Hall on Pasadena's Cal-Tech campus on November 17, 1975. The setlist: "Love’s Dream," "She," "Comin’ On," "Come Softly" and "Circle."

According to D.T. label head Bertrand Gastaut, "No U-Turn is the first and only recording by this quintet and the earliest extant recording of Bobby and John live in performance. Also, this shows that window of about five years when John was using soprano and clarinet equally. And most importantly, for historians this recording fills a void in Bobby Bradford and John Carter’s discography. If you were not in Los Angeles throughout the 70s, this is the first time you'll hear what they were doing during those years!"

This release will include a 16-page booklet with liner notes by photographer/journalist Mark Weber, who also donated rare and previously unpublished photos from his voluminous archives alongside contributions from Jak Kilby and Gérard Rouy. (Go here for audio samples from No U-Turn.)

Even better, tonight at the blue whale in Little Tokyo, you can congratulate Bob in person when he plays with his quartet (pictured below, from left of Mr. B): bassist Zephry Avalon, drummer Tina Raymond, woodwind poo-bah Vinny Golia. Golia will follow with his sextet: alto saxophonist Gavin Templeton, trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, guitarist Alex Noice, bassist Jon Armstrong and drummer Andrew Lessman. These are good days, peeps! XO, the Beast