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The Fourth World Quartet — 1975
(Cuneiform Rune 481, 1975/2021, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-11-27

1975 Cover art

That this recording happened at all is somewhat improbable, and the fact that it has survived the decades since it was committed to tape even more so. It captures a very brief moment in time, when three brothers who grew up on a combination of psychedelic rock (Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, 13th Floor Elevators), 20th Century Classical music (Stravinsky, Stockhausen), and avant-jazz (Anthony Braxton, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra) manifested their vision of what music could be. After Benjamin, Laurence, and Roger Miller had played together and separately in various ensembles, they came together in The Fourth World Quartet with fellow explorer Jack Waterstone, an uncompromising group that combined compositions from all the members with free improvisation. The group only existed for a short time and played two concerts, but they managed to gather in the band room at Grand Valley College in Michigan along with Rick Scott and a tape recorder. For this session, Ben played electric guitar and alto sax, Laurence played bass clarinet, Roger covered piano and various percussion instruments found in the band room, and Jack played alto sax. In these pieces, one can hear the seeds of what would become Birdsongs of the Mesozoic — in fact two of Roger’s contributions here later became part of that band’s repertoire. Make no mistake, 1975 is a challenging listen, with lots of banging and squawking and dissonant rambling. But there are melodies and structures to be found, presenting a fascinating glimpse into a near-forgotten corner of American avant-garde music. These were young men stretching their creative muscles without regard for mainstream sensibilities or commercial reward, pursuing their own vision of what music could sound like. Roger Miller would go on to co-found Mission of Burma a few years later, and while that band might seem a diametric opposite of this one, the sense of adventure and exploration remains.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases, 1975 recordings

Related artist(s): The Fourth World Quartet, Roger Clark Miller, Miller Twins

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/1975

 

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