Kenny Graham & His Satellites - Moondog & Suncat Suites

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5...according to our Phil on Thu 10 Jun, 2010.

This looks like a Moondog record and you'd be surprised to find out that the ole dog isn't on this at all. I thought he was given the layout of the sleeve 'n all. It looks way more like a Moondog record than a record by anyone else. Back in 1958 renowned British jazzer Kenny Graham was so impressed by the sounds of Moondog he assembled a bunch of top notch jazzer musicians to perform a bunch of Moondog covers as well as a few special complimentary tunes to flesh out the album. The whole shebang was recorded by lunatic production hero Joe Meek and all in all it sounds an awful lot like a Moondog album albeit a bit smoother perhaps? It's very good indeed and if you're a fan of Moondog's quirky percussion based jazz then this is a must have I think. I am and I'm digging it..... Limited vinyl as ever and non limited CD on Trunk.

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* EVEN BY HIS OWN HIGH STANDARDS, JONNY TRUNK HAS EXCELLED HIMSELF WITH THIS MAGNIFICENT ALBUM ON TRUNK.... BY FAR ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS RELEASED ON TRUNK TO DATE.

* This is a very rare 1957 album that features jazz interpretations of Moondog originals all performed by a great British jazz line up (including Stan Tracy), using exotic instruments and all engineered by a very young Joe Meek. This is the first time it has been issued since its release 53 years ago.

* HISTORY: By 1956, the early New York street recordings of the great Moondog had just reached British shores. His primitive percussive sounds struck a new nerve with many artists and musicians, none more so that fine London jazzman Kenny Graham. So inspired was he that he decided to bring together a band of top notch jazzers and pay his very own musical homage. The result is this exceptionally rare and unique 1957 album of Moondog cover versions (Moondog Suite) and Graham’s very own complimentary compositions (Suncat Suite). Engineered by a young Joe Meek and starring Stan Tracey, Phil Seamen, Danny Moss, Ivor Slaney, soaring vocalise and a host of strange instruments this was a truly unique cocktail of sound and musical vision. There is no other recording that would ever bring together Moondog, British jazz and Joe Meek. And the result is an exotic, ethereal and timeless album that will inspire, haunt, beguile and charm for many years to come.

* THE ARTIST:
Born in Ealing in 1924, Kenny Graham became one of the more interesting British jazz artists. Consistently ahead of his time, he was a popular swinging tenor sax player and was the first modern jazzer to combine African and Cuban rhythms in a small group context. From 1950 his ground breaking Afro-Cubists played the jazz circuit in London and released several sought after recordings. As his career continued he found himself writing and arranging for Ronnie Scott, Humpf and Ted Heath. Won over by the sounds of Moondog, Graham cut this exceptional album in 1956. But by the late 50s he was slowly withdrawing from jazz and moving towards film music and writing. In 1963 he wrote the score for the Small World Of Sammy Lee, a classic London movie about a Soho strip club owner. Shortly afterwards Graham drifted into what he termed “musical labouring” and disappeared from the music scene for the rest of his life.

* Vinyl Limited to 1000 copies for the world.

* TRACKLIST:
- MOONDOG SUITE 1 One Four 2) 2 West 46th Street 3) Two four 4) Chant 5)
Three Four 6) Utsu 7) Four four 8) Lullaby 9) Five four 10 Fog On The Hudson
- SUNCAT SUITE 11) Sunrise 12) Sunbeam 13) Tropical Sun14) Sunstroke15) Sunset 16) Sunday

* This release comes complete with the original 1957 sleevenotes, and a biography of Kenny Graham.

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