RAY RUSSELL – THE COMPLETE SPONTANEOUS EVENT: LIVE 1967-1969 (Jazz in Britain) (2 x CD/ DL) (2025)

You really can’t go wrong with Jazz in Britain releases: attractively packaged, comprehensive and competitively priced, and this release featuring the music of Ray Russell and his confreres is no exception. It compiles most of the rare albums “Dragon Hill” and “Turn Circle” with some covers including Charles Lloyd’s ‘Sombrero Sam’, interestingly enough also covered by The Nice, and John Coltrane’s ‘Mr PC’, his famous track from “Giant Steps” in a 12-bar minor blues mode with some swing, of course! The music was recorded for the BBC radio show, Jazz Club, between 1967 and 1969 and on these two CDs you will find no less than 20 tracks across five sessions. The album also features one of the earliest appearances of legendary jazz bassist Dave Holland. At this stage the band was more Miles Davis Quintet stylistically, to become increasingly bold and improvisational by the 1970s. Order from the Jazz in Britain page on BANDCAMP.