Recorded after
Keith Tippett
's 50-piece orchestra project
Centipede
,
Blueprint
couldn't make a stronger contrast. This scaled-down session would become the starting point for the pianist's free improvisation career. His piano playing was still under a strong
jazz
influence and he had not started to use the instrument's bowels yet. Bassist
Roy Babbington
and vocalist
Julie Tippetts
accompany him almost throughout. Percussionists
Frank Perry
and
Keith Bailey
occasionally join in, providing mostly chimes and cymbals. The session, supervised by
Robert Fripp
, opens with
"Song,"
a delicate
jazzy
number. With
"Dance,"
things get more serious.
Tippetts
provides a steady rhythm guitar motif while everything around her breaks loose. Some numbers like
"Glimpse"
"Woodcut"
play more on silence than sound, exploring very quiet realms. At these points, the music is completely freed from any
references. Sound quality on the CD reissue is not fantastic (there is noticeable distortion in peaks), but the set remains engaging, even when one puts its historical significance aside. Oh, and by the way: those two
"Blues,"
they aren't. ~ Francois Couture