Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Jon Hassell - Vernal Equinox (1977)


Awe-inspiring tribal ambient from experimental American trumpet player Jon Hassell. Hand drumming, various exotic instruments, synths, jungle sounds, and Hassell's free-floating, jazz-influenced trumpet playing make for music that's as engaging as it is soothing. I started this blog over five fucking years ago, and it's absolutely criminal that this is the first time I've posted about Hassell -- between this era and his later ambient jazz stuff on ECM, he masterfully covers two of three of this dumb blog's primary concerns. Now he just has to put out a black metal album.

Track listing:
1. Toucan Ocean
2. Viva Shona
3. Hex
4. Blues Nile
5. Vernal Equinox
6. Caracas Night September 11, 1975

The surgeon of the nightsky restores dead things by the power of sound

Also of interest:
Barry Cleveland with Bob Stohl &
Kate Epple - Stones of Precious Water (1986)
Arve Henriksen -
Chiaroscuro (2004)

4 comments:

  1. This album's up there with anything he did with Eno (and afterward). Love it!

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  2. Indeed...a giant...a great influence on this project: http://penmallet.blogspot.com/p/parahelion.html

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  3. Revolution Rock 012 just posted a bunch of Hassell's stuff if you don't already know or have it. Thank you for all the work/play you do on your blog. Fucking love it!

    Rexx

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  4. Hassell is awesome. Lots of people only know the Eno collaborations, but all of his stuff is excellent and distinctive. My favorites are =Power Spot= and =Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street=.

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