Classic punk jazz. Re-issue of Paul Cram's 1987 rockin free jazz orchestra featuring guest alto saxist Julius Hemphill

8 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Avant-Garde Jazz, JAZZ: Progressive Big Band



Details:
Paul Cram Orchestra
Beyond Benghazi
featuring Julius Hemphill: alto sax (World Saxophone Quartet, Kool and the Gang)
Have a Heart 5:17
Round One 4:29
The Problem 5:05
Eva and Adolf 3:57
Hammer and Tongs 4:33
Zones 4;29
Urban Desperado 3:53
Beyond Benghazi 11:23
All compositions by Paul Cram © SOCAN 1986
Recorded circa 1987 at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton Ontario, Canada
Recording engineer : Bob Doidge.
Personnel: Michael White: trumpet, Tom Walsh: trombone, Nic Gotham: alto sax, Paul Cram: tenor sax, Richard Underhill: baritone sax, Taras Chornowol: violin, John Gzowski: guitar, James Young: bass, Richard Wynston: drums
The Paul Cram Orchestra was formed in 1984 in response to a request from the Toronto Jazz Festival to put together a band of the finest young players working in Toronto at the time. Beyond Benghazi is a landmark of the punk jazz movement; a stream that arose in the seventies in America and Europe that had its true beginnings in the music of Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler and John Coltrane. The album commemorates the end of an era of intense creativity in 80âs Toronto prior to the âhousing crisisâ of 1988. The record was nominated for a Canadian Juno Award for Best Jazz Album of 1987.

âingenious writing and arrangingâ - Marke Andrews - Vancouver Sun
âexceptional set of new musicâ - Mark Miller - Toronto Globe and Mail
âthe real story is Cramâs writingâ - Francis Davis - Philadelphia Enquirer
âa sharp sense of humorâ - Jim Roberts - Down Beat Magazine
âa young wonder of Canadian Jazzâ - Bart Testa - Macleanâs Magazine

PAUL CRAM
Tenor saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Paul Cram played in R&B bands and burlesque houses before earning a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia. Over the years, he has toured Canada extensively and co-founded several cutting-edge orchestras including the New Orchestra Workshop of Vancouver, Hemispheres of Toronto and his own Paul Cram Orchestra. In addition to winning the prestigious FIPA DâOR (France) for his work in film he has been nominated several times for Juno and National Jazz Awards. He now writes for television, film, theatre, dance and concerts and leads his brand new Guerrilla Vacation Octet. He is Artistic Director of the Upstream Music Association, an organization that produces collaborative concerts in Atlantic Canada of local, national and international artists (Barry Guy, Fred Frith, Lisle Ellis, Matt Brubeck, Lori Freedman, Francois Houle, Pierre Tanguay and more) who share passion and commitment to exploration. His most recent CD âLive in Lisbonâ with the PCO (tentet) met with rave reviews. Guerrilla Vacation will release its debut album in 2008.

âThe jazz composerâs joy is to deploy healing chaos by encouraging players to bust out of worlds that are provocative, volatile and inspirational. The Paul Cram Orchestra continues along the path of Ellington, Mingus, Zappa, Sun Ra and all those who seek deep equilibrium through setting primal forces in motion.â Paul Cram (2007)