Steve Lacy Three: Live Lugano 1984

Over two decades after the untimely death from liver cancer of soprano saxophonist par excellence Steve Lacy, it seems remarkable that Live Lugano 1984 has been released for the very first time by First Visit, over forty years after it was recorded live by Mario Conforti in Lugano, Switzerland, on September 24, 1984.

According to Executive Producer Werner X. Uehlinger, Lacy sent him a cassette to listen to and evaluate for release. On that cassette, Lacy had written notes which were used in the editing of this album and the removal of two recorded compositions. In 1985, Uehlinger acquired the original recording from Conforti and stored it in his archives. He lost track of the music over time, and Lacy forgot to remind him. An unofficial release by Barry Wedgie, the guitarist on the album, reminded Uehlinger of the tape and led to this album.

It seems right and proper that Live Lugano 1984 should be released on First Visit, as that relatively new label is part of Hat Hut Records Ltd., now in its fiftieth year. During its early years, Hat Hut was instrumental in releasing several Lacy albums such as Clinkers (1978), Stamps (1979) and The Way (1980) alongside albums by such luminaries as Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and Vienna Art Orchestra.

For fans and followers of Lacy's long career, Live Lugano 1984 will be something of a novelty or a collector's item, as it features Lacy in a trio with double bass played by Jean-Jacques Avenel—an early meeting of the two that would bloom in the late 1990s on such albums as Monk's Dream (Verve, 1999) and One More Time (Sketch, 2002)—and with guitarist Barry Wedgie, the only time the two would record together and the only time Lacy played in a trio with guitar. As supporting players, Avenel and Wedgie did a very good job, inserting occasional solos without intruding on Lacy's territory.

The album's eight tracks are all Lacy compositions, ranging in length from 7' 29" to 16' 21" and totaling 73' 20." In typical Lacy fashion, each track opens with a short melodic phrase from his soprano saxophone, which he then uses as the basis of prolonged improvisations based on the opening phrase. As so often, Lacy's playing is exemplary and highly melodic. The album as a whole is unreservedly recommended to established Lacy fans and to those keen to know more. In a nutshell, Lacy lives.