tracks

Clarity
A View Of This Life
Oliver Lake
Prelueoionti
Ballad
Clarity (4)
Ab Bb 1-7-3°
IOMI

notes

Before his career defining records on Arista/Novus in the 80s and 90s, jazz and fusion guitarist Michael Gregory Jackson recorded his debut for ESP-Disk'. The sessions, recorded in New York, Connecticut and Los Angeles in the summer of 1976 are wildly meditative and personify the seventies laid-back vibe. A trio of soft, lilting melodies set the mood; David Murray on tenor sax, Oliver Lake on flute, and the album's leader, Michael Gregory Jackson on acoustic guitar. The unfolding stream of ideas make these improvisations vital today; arhythmic strumming, an enchanted R&B vocal from Mr. Jackson, avant percussive clatter, processed electric guitar, and fiery horn lines over timpani and flute. Composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, cited as a major influence by Mr. Jackson himself, is featured on the album.

Tracks 1-7:
Leo Smith (tp, stp, flh, Indian fl -5,7)
Oliver Lake (fl, ss, as, talking d, cowbell)
David Murray (ts -1,2,4,5,7)
Michael Gregory Jackson (ac-g, vo, el-g, el-mand, bamboo fl, timp, mar, per)
NYC & Hartford, CT, August 11 & 14, 1976

Track 8:
Michael Gregory Jackson (ac-g, vo, el-g, el-mand, bamboo fl, timp, mar, per)
live in Los Angeles, CA, 1976

credits

Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Electric Guitar, Mandolin [Electric], Flute [Bamboo], Timpani, Marimba, Percussion – Michael Gregory Jackson
Design – Adam Downey
Engineer – Doug Pomeroy, Jonathan Freed
Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Talking Drum, Cowbell – Oliver Lake
Remastered By – Douglas McGregor
Tenor Saxophone – David Murray
Trumpet, Trumpet [Soprano], Flugelhorn, Flute [Indian] – Wadada Leo Smith

companies

Manufactured By – ESP-Disk'
Phonographic Copyright (p) – ESP-Disk' Ltd.
Copyright (c) – ESP-Disk' Ltd.
Recorded At – Downtown Sound Studio, New York
Recorded At – Nineteen Recording Studios
Remixed At – Big Apple Studio

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