Marcello Melis
Free To Dance
Black Saint (Italy) 1979
BSR 0023 (LP)
sleeve : VG+(CC, TEOC, SPSE: 2cm tear on bottom, wear on coner, some light dirts.)
media : EX-/EX-(some slightly noise. run out on side B has some light hairlines.)
The third leader album by Italian jazz bassist Marcello Melis, a key figure on the free jazz scene who also performed with the likes of Steve Lacy, Enrico Rava, and Mario Schiano, released in 1979. Recorded in New York with a truly jaw-dropping lineup including Lester Bowie, Don Moye, Don Pullen, Enrico Rava, and Nana Vasconcelos, the album delivers a brilliantly chaotic sound built on intensely free improvisation throughout. The real standout is the nearly 17-minute long-form improvisation that takes up the entirety of side B, where the primitive percussion work of Nana Vasconcelos and Don Moye adds an especially deep sense of tribal atmosphere. The vocal performances by Sheila Jordan and Jeanne Lee are another major highlight.
A2: Struggle to Be
B1: Free to Dance