Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Contemporary Jazz Quintet: Actions 1966-67

The Contemporary Jazz Quintet: Actions 1966-67

By Germein Linares
November 23, 2005
View read count

At any moment, the dialogue to some '60s sci-fi movie seems ready to enter the eerie, spooky world of Actions. "Geez, Jim. Where have we landed?" "This, Timmy, this is planet free jazz circa 1967." Cue the "singing saw," the album's most prominent feature, and you can almost see the string pulling the spaceship off to the heavens. The Contemporary Jazz Quintet's Actions is certainly an evocative work; its moods are more dreamy than factual, its execution more fantasy than reality.

The album also shows its age, and that's a good thing. Nowadays, jazz experiments unfortunately border on noise, giving listeners inconclusive results. On Actions, recorded during '66 and '67, concepts of structure, melody, and rhythm are tweaked, prodded, and scrutinized. Though at times disorienting, the Danish group maintains a musical resiliency throughout the album's five numbered "Actions."

Niels Harrit's saw, in particular, comes unexpected at first: a loopy, weird sound in the opening moments that eventually convinces you of its merits. Released on Atavistic's almost always excellent Unheard Music Series, this recording is a worthy trip to an alternate time and space. Dig that saw action!

Track Listing

Action II; action III; Action IV; action V; Action VI

Personnel

The Contemporary Jazz Quintet

Steffen Andersen, bass; Hugh Steinmetz, trumpet; Franz Beckerlee, alto sax; Bo Thirge Andersen, drums; Niels Harrit, saw

Album information

Title: Actions 1966-67 | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Atavistic Worldwide

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Oort-Entropy
< Previous

8 Shorts in Search of David Lynch
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.