Cuneiform
2003
Live In Bremen
About This Album
The result of a productive continuing partnership between Cuneiform Records and Radio Bremen, this double CD captures a 1971 concert by the Nucleus sextet, led by Ian Carr on trumpet and flugelhorn, and also featuring Karl Jenkins on Hohner electric piano and oboe, Brian Smith on saxophones and flute, Ray Russell on electric guitar, Roy Babbington on bass and John Marshall on drums. Nucleus was first formed by Carr in late 1969, and the group took first prize at a Montreux Festival competition in 1970, positively blowing away the competition (which included the very best of contemporary European jazz bands). Their prize was an appearance at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival three week later, where they were reportedly very well received. However, that was almost the high point of the group's visibility in the U.S., although they maintained a large and loyal following in Europe, and Carr kept the group together until the early 1980's.

As Carr has observed in interviews, in 1969 when he first assembled the personnel for Nucleus, Miles Davis had yet to record B**ches Brew, and Weather Report only existed in Joe Zawinul's mind, if at all. Calling out influences can be a fool's game, but rock, free jazz and funk were being thrown into a blender by various groups as the ‘60's eased into the ‘70's, and the concoction developed by Nucleus had much to recommend it.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2 and 5)

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Disc 2 (try track 2)

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