Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet | Artist
The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet was a British jazz group formed 1963 in London by Don Rendell (saxophone) and Ian Carr (trumpet), with Dave Green (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums), and Colin Purbrook (piano). Michael Garrick (piano, harpsichord) replaced Purbrook in 1965. Don Rendell was a jazz veteran, having worked with Johnny Dankworth, Tony Crombie, Ted Heath and Stan Kenton. He was a member of Woody Herman's Anglo American Herd in 1959 and performed with Billie Holiday on her English tour. Scottish composer, writer, educator and self-taught jazz musician Carr was fresh out of Newcastle University, having graduated in literature and education, before moving to London and joining up with Rendell. The Quintet's major label recording debut came in October 1964 for the UK’s legendary Lansdowne Jazz Series imprint, produced by Dennis Preston. Shades of Blue was an album of originals with a cover photo of Carr’s wife, who would later sadly die during childbirth. The subsequent four albums also contained mostly originals, which was unusual for UK jazz groups at the time whose repertoire was built around standards and covers of American jazz compositions. Dusk Fire followed two years later, recorded in March 1966, showcasing a wider variety of song structures and harmonies, with Rendell’s use of flute and clarinet providing tonal variation. Phase III (taking its name from a tariff of the London Electricity Board) was recorded in February 1967, and is again notable for its compositional ambition, with three Carr originals and one each from Rendell and Garrick. Live, from March 1969, was recorded in Lansdowne Studios before a small invited audience. By now the band had become defined as much by the originality of its repertoire as the deft craftsmanship of its soloists. Some inspiration came from American jazz, but it was shaped by the distinct musical personalities in the band members – for example, ‘Pavanne’ by Carr, indicative of his ambition and musical curiosity, had echoes of Miles Davis’ use of time-no-changes. This trend towards less harmonic complexity is reflected in Change Is from 1969, and represents the extent of the quintet’s musical odyssey on record. There was a parting of the ways after this recording, primarily due to Carr’s desire to explore a fusion between jazz and rock; on Change Is he added Ghanaian drummer Guy Warren for an Afro-jazz texture. Subsequently, Carr would forge ahead into jazz-rock with his band Nucleus, while Garrick and Rendell would follow acoustic paths, but no less adventurous, as Garrick’s own quintet would demonstrate with Troppo. Musically, British jazz was in a good place at this time, and today the Rendell/Carr Quintet is referenced as the best small group in British jazz. All the group's album releases come highly recommended: Shades of Blue (1965), Dusk Fire (1966), Phase III (1968), Change Is (1969), and Live (1969). Also recommended are the Don Rendell Quintet albums Roarin' (1961) and Space Walk (1972). After leaving the quintet, Carr formed the ground-breaking jazz-rock band Nucleus. This led to the release of 12 albums and a successful international career. In their first year Nucleus won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival, released their first album, Elastic Rock, and performed at both the Newport Jazz Festival and the Village Gate jazz club.
Artist Website: discogs.com/Don-Rendell-Ian-Carr-Quintet
Featured Albums: Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet
Related Artists: Don Rendell, Ian Carr, Nucleus, Michael Garrick
