Legends say that Ron Everett sold the first and for a long time only copies of »Glitter Of The City« by his own hand on the streets of Philadelphia, just when the discomania reached its last and highest peak. Probably a matter of fact. In any case, it is true that the spartanically designed vinyl LP went down completely as an underrated gem of late avant-garde jazz of its time – with no budget, no promo or the fondly invoked instant cult status. Instead, Everett faded back into obscurity after that, releasing one more tape called »By Myself,« on which he recorded everything himself, and dying in 1989 a quasi-nameless alchemist of all the influences that had made his hometown so great in the decades before. Jazz funk, free impros, soul vibes and bluesy undertones enriched with Everett’s own lethargic vocals remained. When the Jazzman Holy Grail Series guys and gals took on this gem, the question was: where to get the master tapes? Not even could they have been stolen. Everett’s wife Linda moved them after all these years. They finally found what they were looking for among freaks of the international digger scene: a guy from the States, an Italian DJ and a Japanese record archivist who owned several copies. From them a sound quality was pressed, like from oranges Granini. Juiciest alto escapades by Bobby Zankel and Jimmy Savage shoot through the air here, most delicate polyrhythms by Lex Humphries (Sun-Ra Arkestra) and Nate Jones (James Brown’s Finest) fray between the ears, piano and trumpet by Everett himself sound like poetry, not to mention his unpretentious lyrics. In between, a 16-piece cast of excellent musicians, unknown even to those who can recite entire jazz encyclopedias. Bottom line, it just sounds like Miles, Pharoah, John and Herbie are jamming in a parallel dimension where they don’t hold a shred of fame. Classic.
Melos Kalpa
Melos Kalpa
Hands In The Dark