Decca Records is embarking on a new audiophile vinyl reissue series to spotlight many gems of British jazz first released in the 1960s and 70s. British Jazz Explosion Originals Re-Cut will dig deep into the history of the genre, making many tracks and albums available on vinyl for the first time since their original release.

• British Jazz Explosion Series
• Original Re-Cut Edition
• Cut from Original Master Tapes
• Remastered at Gearbox Records, UK
• Cut By Caspar Sutton-Jones
• Pressed at Optimal Media in Germany

A deep dive into the one of most collectable jazz catalogues in the world, a selection of some of the rarest and most sought-after recordings from the 60s and 70s, a time when British jazz began to find its own identity. Drawn from the iconic labels of Decca, Deram, Argo, EMI Columbia/Lansdowne Series, Fontana, Mercury, & Philips. If one were asked to pick an album that represented the best of British jazz in the 1960s, Le Déjeuner Sur l’Herbe by the New Jazz Orchestra would be a serious contender.

Originally released in 1968, ‘Le Déjeuner Sur L'herbe’ was recorded by The New Jazz Orchestra and offers an unrivalled snapshot of Britain’s jazz scene in the late Sixties. Directed by Neil Ardley and featuring a wealth of talent in the line-up - not least, Cream bassist Jack Bruce - it boasted pieces from some of the scene’s best composers, alongside takes on material by Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Reissued for the first time, The New Jazz Orchestra’s 1968 release ‘Le Déjeuner Sur L’Herbe’ features key players in modern British jazz including Henry Lowther, Ian Carr, Michael Gibbs, Derek Wadsworth, Barbara Thompson, Dave Gelly, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Frank Ricotti, Jack Bruce and Jon Hiseman, under the directorship of Neil Ardley. ‘Nardis’ features solos by Ian Carr on flugelhorn, George Smith on tuba and – rarely heard – Jack Bruce on acoustic bass.

Complementing this is what might be considered the best big band version of Coltrane’s ‘Naïma’ ever heard. ‘Angle’ by Howard Riley demonstrates how receptive this collection of musicians was to new music and in particular free jazz. ‘Ballad’ by Mike Taylor features a tenor solo by Dave Gelly and is a typically exquisite Taylor piece.. Michael Garrick’s ‘Dusk Fire’ is given such a fantastic overhaul that it almost steals the show. ‘Study’ by Alexandre Tansman, benefits from an arrangement by Mike Taylor with Barbara Thompson and Henry Lowther soloing on soprano and trumpet respectively. ‘Rebirth’ is a quintessential Mike Gibbs number and features solos by John Mumford on trombone and Frank Ricotti on marimba and vibes.

And that title track: a major departure in jazz being a complete composition, based on one, long continuous melody, with no repeated passages, letting the solos and interludes between them develop, and indeed exhaust, the musical implication of the main theme. A masterpiece.

“A momentous album … a unified voice that pretty much sums up practically everything that a jazz orchestra requires.” Jazz Journal

“A masterly piece of work …” Gramophone

“… a really superb and inventive album” Melody Maker

Musicians:

Bass – Jack Bruce
Drums – Jon Hiseman
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Dave Gelly
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet – Jim Philip
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Dick Heckstall-Smith
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Barbara Thompson
Trombone – Derek Wadsworth, John Mumford, Michael Gibbs, Tony Russell
Trumpet – Derek Watkins, Harry Beckett, Henry Lowther
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Ian Carr
Tuba – George Smith
Vibraphone, Marimba – Frank Ricotti

Track Listing:

01. Le Déjeuner Sur l’Herbe
02. Naïma
03. Angle
04. Ballad
05. Dusk Fire
06. Nardis
07. Study
08. Rebirth

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫