Nucleus (band)

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Nucleus
General information
Genre (s) Fusion jazz
founding 1969
resolution 1989
Founding members
Trumpet , flugelhorn , synthesizer
 Ian Carr
Karl Jenkins
Brian Smith
Chris Spedding
Jeff Clyne
John Marshall
Last occupation
Trumpet, flugelhorn
 Ian Carr
Soprano saxophone, clarinet
 Phil Todd
Keyboards
 Geoff Castle
Bass guitar
 Dill Katz
bass
 Mo Foster
Drums
 John Marshall
former members
guitar
 Ray Russell
piano
 Dave MacRae
guitar
 Allan Holdsworth
bass
 Roy Babbington
Drums
 Clive Thaker
guitar
 Ken Shaw
Saxophone, flute
 Bob Bertles
Saxophone, flute
 Tim Whitehead
guitar
 Mark Wood
bass
 Bill Christian
bass
 Roger Sutton
bass
 Chucho Merchan
Bass guitar
 Rob Statham
Drums
 Bryan Spring
Drums
 Roger Sellers
Drums, percussion
 Nic France
percussion
 Trevor Tomkins
Guest musician
bass
 Jack Bruce
Malcolm Griffiths
synthesizer
 Keith Winter
Trumpet
 Kenny Wheeler
saxophone
 Tony Roberts
Bass clarinet , clarinet , tenor saxophone
 Tony Coe
Trumpet, flugelhorn
 Harry Beckett
singing
 Norma Winstone
synthesizer
 Neil Ardley
singing
 Kieran White
piano
 Gordon Beck
Drums
 Tony Levin

Nucleus was a British rock jazz band founded by Ian Carr that existed from 1969 to 1989. They were one of the first and most successful rock jazz groups in Great Britain.

history

The ensemble, founded in September 1969, initially played in a sextet line-up . The debut album Elastic Rock was created in January 1970 without knowledge of comparable fusion attempts by Miles Davis such as In a Silent Way ; the album came out at the same time as Bitches Brew . It “is not only one of the earliest records with music that combined jazz and rock, but also one of the first records on which this synthesis was really successful.” In contrast to some other bands of this direction (e.g. Soft Machine ) “The musicians at Nucleus mostly came from jazz. You can hear that clearly in the music. ”The different“ keyboards (mostly electric piano), electric guitar, bass and drums created a tightly woven network of rather gently propelling sounds, ”over which the brass played virtuoso solos.

At the suggestion of the BBC , the formation performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970, where they won the band competition. This made Nucleus known in Europe. The prize was two appearances in the USA, both at the Newport Jazz Festival and at the New York Club Village Gate . Contract negotiations for the release of the first Nucleus album in the USA failed due to excessive demands from the band manager. After returning to London, We'll Talk About It Later was recorded by the same line-up as the debut album and leads to "one of the most successful attempts to not only simply combine jazz and rock, but really to fuse them together."

The Combo duty system has been since the third panel ( solar plexus occasionally to) in the studio big band expanded format. The first three albums feature compositions by all founding members, especially by Karl Jenkins, Jeff Clyne, Brian Smith or Chris Spedding, which are characterized by a very dense sound.

Belladonna (1972) was the first album with an almost completely changed line-up (only Brian Smith remained next to Carr), which also meant that Nucleus now mainly performed compositions by the band leader. With an expanded cast, Carr presented the world premiere of his cyclical composition "Labyrinth" in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1973 . On the group's last "regular" record, the line-up has been expanded to include a string orchestra.

According to Carr himself, with Nucleus he pursued a “comprehensive pluralistic concept” in which, in addition to improvised passages, there were composed, tonal free parts that were arranged in a “balanced relationship between tension and relaxation”. The band toured Europe regularly, performing at festivals as well as in jazz clubs and other venues.

In August 2005 some of the former members met again for a concert under the direction of Geoff Castle.

Discography

  • Elastic Rock ( Vertigo , 1970)
  • We'll Talk About It Later (Vertigo, 1970)
  • Solar plexus (Vertigo, 1971)
  • Belladonna (Vertigo, 1972)
  • Labyrinth (Vertigo, 1973)
  • Roots (Vertigo, 1973)
  • Under the Sun (Vertigo, 1974)
  • Alleycat (Vertigo, 1975)
  • Snakehips Etcetera (Vertigo, 1975)
  • Direct Hits (compilation, Vertigo, 1976)
  • In Flagranti Delicto ( CMP , 1977)
  • Out of the Long Dark (Capitol, 1978)
  • Awakening ( Mood , 1980)
  • Live at the Theaterhaus (Mood, 1985)
  • Old Heartland (MMC / EMI, 1988)

Most of the albums have been re-released on BGO Records .

Participation in other albums

  • Neil Ardley Kaleidoscope of Rainbows (Gull 1976)
  • Various Artists Jazzbühne Berlin '79 (Amiga Jazz, 1979)

Later releases of live recordings

  • Nucleus with Leon Thomas : Live 1970 (recorded 1970) (Gearbox 2014)
  • The Pretty Redhead (recorded 1971 and 1982) (Hux, 2003)
  • Live in Bremen (recorded 1971) ( Cuneiform , 2003)
  • Hemispheres (recorded 1970 & 1971) (Hux, 2006)
  • UK Tour '76 (recorded 1976) (MLP, 2006)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Kelman: Ian Carr and Nucleus: '70s British Jazz Rock Progenitors. In: All About Jazz . October 19, 2004, accessed May 10, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Elastic Rock (baby blue pages)
  3. ↑ We'll Talk About It Later (Baby Blue Pages)
  4. ↑ cit. according to Martin Kunzler : Jazz-Lexikon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 , p. 182.
  5. ↑ Nucleus is involved with other musicians on the title track; the other pieces without the band. See Ian Carr's full discography
  6. ↑ Only one piece of this compilation is from Nucleus , "Out of the Long Dark"