Steve Lacy, Michael Smith
Sidelines
Improvising Artists Inc./Nippon Phonogram (Japan) 1977
RJ-7412 (LP) w/insert.
sleeve : EX(wear on corner.)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise.)
Active on the front lines since the mid-1950s and, from the mid-1960s onward, a key contributor to the advancement of avant-garde and free jazz through his work with the Jazz Composers Orchestra—formed around Carla Bley and Michael Mantler—and many other sessions, Steve Lacy is regarded as one of the greatest soprano sax players of all time. This duo album pairs him with American pianist Michael Smith, who released Reflection on Progress in 1972 and continued to put out recordings steadily through the mid-1980s while also performing with groups such as the Archie Shepp Quintet and the Steve Lacy Sextet. Issued in 1977 on Paul Bley’s label Improvising Artists Inc., the album features recordings made in 1976 at a studio in Oslo, Norway. Rather than veering into fiery interplay, the two musicians unfold beautifully crafted melodies together, resulting in a superb example of contemporary jazz.
A1: Existence
B2: Time 2