New Ideas

Don Ellis should really be better known. He was a most inventive musician: avant garde but eminently accessible music. "Electric Bath" is a must have album and so is this quintet album from 1961. "New Ideas" is the perfect title for this collection of original (in all senses of the word) music. The musicians experiment with time signatures, chord structures, unique sounds and it works! I have never come across vibraphone player Al Francis before. The other four musicians are better known: Don Ellis (tpt), Jaki Byard (pno), Ron Carter (bs) and Charlie Persip (dms). The main album lasts about 44 minutes (8 tracks) but a bonus track (13 minutes) with a quintet from 1958 featuring Zoot Sims (tnr) and Don Ellis is added. This latter track is not well recorded but represents a rare pairing of the two musicians.When initially released both Down Beat and All Music gave the album full five star reviews. Thoroughly recomended listening.

Just as interesting as when I heard it first on LP