Various Artists: A New Awakening: Adventures in British Jazz 1966-1971

Throughout the 1950s (and beyond), modernist British jazz musicians were in thrall to the American bebop stars they had been trying to emulate since the late 1940s. It was the pinnacle to which they aspired, and gradually their efforts lifted the overall standard of UK jazz.

But by the early 1960s, the international success of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Animals and many others was having unexpected effects. Not only was the British pop invasion putting American jazzers out of work, it was also giving younger British musicians the confidence to experiment with their own ideas. A new strain began to emerge from the seething petri dish of London—jazz mixed with blues, R&B and rock. This music could be found at its most fervent at the Flamingo, a basement club just down the road from Ronnie Scott's, where the likes of Georgie Fame would play all-nighters to audiences of hipsters, mods, and black American servicemen. New possibilities were opening up, and the results are presented on this fascinating triple CD set.

Leaders of slightly larger ensembles, such as John Dankworth and Mike Westbrook (both featured on A New Awakening) were breaking out of the 32-bar AABA straightjacket and experimenting with new compositional structures. And swing was giving way to groove. Meanwhile, classic acoustic jazz combos were being augmented or even replaced by Hammond organs and electric guitars. One example represented here is the Graham Bond Organisation's version of "Wade in the Water"—a roaring, gothic Hammond swirl that gives some idea of the excitement the band generated live, with Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass. Brian Auger and the Trinity were another hard-driving Hammond outfit whose music was all about the groove—here with their take on Herbie Hancock's 'Maiden Voyage.'

However, many of the guitarists brought into jazz ensembles to rock up the proceedings had yet to reach the level of the other musicians. Not only that, but the guitar itself was at a crossroads at the time: here at the birth of jazz-rock, should players continue in the clean style of Joe Pass and Jim Hall? Or should they be playing more like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, whose powerful amplifiers were revolutionising the way the instrument sounded? Bandleader Michael Gibbs was one who used an overdriven guitar sound effectively as a riff generator ("Some Echoes, Some Shadows"), harnessing it to a big shouty horn section and a groovy backbeat. All is well until the guitarist is required to play a solo, at which point the wheels come off.

Nascent progressive rock bands had sometimes served jazz apprenticeships: Jethro Tull and Spooky Tooth are both included on this compilation with a couple of flute-led B-sides to singles: the former with the slick up-tempo "One for John Gee" and the latter with "Luger's Groove" (written by someone called Peter Luger, presumably the flautist, who was not a member of the band). One extraordinary musical journey—typical of many—was that taken by trumpet-player Mike Cotton, who started out playing trad-jazz in the 1950s and by 1970 was leading a band called Satisfaction, included here with "Sharing"—a prowling, riff-based number with backwards tape effects.

At the same time as The Beatles were experimenting with Indian music, so were jazz musicians like the Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott ("Overture")—also a pioneer of free jazz in the UK. His great friend and fellow Jamaican, flautist Harold McNair ("The Hipster") was another whose idea of jazz was more free-flowing than ever before. The contribution of Caribbean-born jazz musicians to the scene was great, and is slightly under-represented here.

One of the few vocals in this set is "Where Am I Going" by Manfred Mann Chapter Three, reminding us of that band's very fine eponymous 1969 album, recorded in a conscious effort to put pop behind them after a string of hit singles throughout the 1960s.

It is impossible to do justice to all 48 tracks in a review. A New Awakening is a compilation whose greatest attribute is its insight into the creative ferment that was Britain during the period in question. For every experiment that does not quite work, there are five more that do. This should inspire listeners to go looking for the original albums.

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