4 Compositions for Sextet
| 4 Compositions for Sextet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 7 February 1970 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde jazz, Free jazz | |||
| Length | 38:14 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Tony Oxley chronology | ||||
| ||||
4 Compositions for Sextet is an album by English free-jazz drummer Tony Oxley, which was recorded in 1970 and released on CBS. The album, the second of a trilogy that Oxley recorded for major labels, features the same band with whom he recorded the previous, The Baptised Traveller, expanded to a sextet with the addition of trombonist Paul Rutherford.
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [2] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+[3] |
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states "The four tunes are all outer-limits numbers; all methadrine takes on what were happening improvisations. It's true that there are loose structures imposed on all four tracks, but they quickly dissolve under the barrage of sonic whackery."[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that "Four Compositions was a title guaranteed to offend players and fans who wanted to set aside any implications of predetermined structures."[2]
In his book Honesty Is Explosive!: Selected Music Journalism, music writer Ben Watson claims about the album "It is a stone-cold, drop-dead, ice pick-in-the-forehead masterpiece. It was too much for the marketing department at Columbia, and Oxley was dropped."[4]
Track listing
[edit]- All compositions by Tony Oxley
- "Saturnalia" – 10:09
- "Scintilla" – 8:56
- "Amass" – 13:00
- "Megaera" – 6:09
Personnel
[edit]- Evan Parker – tenor sax
- Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Paul Rutherford – trombone
- Derek Bailey – guitar
- Jeff Clyne – bass
- Tony Oxley – drums
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Tony Oxley – 4 Compositions for Sextet: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1160. ISBN 0140515216.
- ^ Hull, Tom. "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ Watson, Ben (2010). Honesty Is Explosive!: Selected Music Journalism. United States: Borgo Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1434457837.
