Though hard to believe these days, "fusion"
was lauded early in its history as fresh, innovative and a potential
economic savior for a slumping industry.
But the freshness quickly wore off; innovation
gave way to derivative technical exercises; and the
sales balm was only temporary.
But in its nascent stages, creative groups were
eager to experiment with the quickly burgeoning rock
scene. Across the pond, a little known group called
Nucleus was creating its own distinct brand of fusion
which, at least for a few albums, confirmed the
excitement the genre was causing.
Cuneiform has raided the vaults of Radio Bremen
to serve up a live two-disc set. The original lineup of
Ian Carr (trumpet), Karl Jenkins (oboe, Hohner), Brian
Smith (reeds) and John Marshall (drums) had
changed for this tour as bassist Roy Babbington
replaces Jeff Clyne and guitarist Ray Russell deps for
Chris Spedding.
The complete concert, recorded in May 1971, ably
demonstrates what set Nucleus apart from later
poorer fusion groups (including its own reincarnations). The stronger
element comes from jazz and improvisations are
group-based, rather than solos over vamps. The
material is drawn from the first two albums but also
includes several group pieces, ostensibly improvs
formed on stage and worked out over the course of a
tour. Nucleus did not do everything at one pace or
volume. For every bass-driven number (Jenkins' "Song
for The Bearded Lady"), a quiet reflective piece
featuring Smith’s flute would follow. Moments of free
improvisation begin songs and much looser group
interplay recalls Miles Davis (Carr gave up music to
write the definitive books on Miles Davis and British
jazz), and Soft Machine (Jenkins, Babbington and
Marshall would all go on to join that group).
The wild card is Ray Russell. Before recording
bad fusion in the late '70s, he was a mysterious
guitarist who at his best played the most ridiculously
atonal and harsh lines ever recorded. It is a wonder
then how well he fits with the group for this, his one
tour, and how comfortable he is taking a starring role
on jazz-, blues- and prog-influenced tunes. His
contributions, coupled with the long modal trumpet
work of Carr, floats Nucleus to the level of many of
their higher-profile American counterparts.
This review originally appeared in the July 2003 issue of
All About Jazz - New York.
~ Andrey Henkin
