Rabble Without A Cause, April 17: Keith Tippett Memorial Concert Recording
Excerpts from a celebration concert for the late Keith Tippett, British jazz pianist and composer
Keith Tippett died in 2020, at the age of 72. Born in Bristol, he moved to London in 1967 and became involved in the jazz scene. He formed the Keith Tippett Sextet with saxophonist Elton Dean, trumpeter Mark Charig and trombonist Nick Evans. They recorded their debut album, You Are Here, I Am There, in 1970. Here’s a short track from that album.
He also played with King Crimson on a few albums and was recruited by Robert Fripp to join the band. He declined, saying he would only have been doing it for the money.
Here he is performing a solo concert in 2013.
In October of 2021, a series of 6 concerts were recorded at St Georges in Bristol to celebrate his life. The recordings were released in November 2023. There is only a limited release DVD available, so the best way to listen is through a digital download.
On the show I will be featuring The Keith Tippett Celebration Orchestra playing the following pieces from Keith Tippett’s past:
'Traumatic Experience' (by Harry Miller)
'Septober Energy' (by Keith Tippett)
'A Song' (by Keith Tippett)
'May Day' (by Keith Tippett)
'Mra' (by Dudu Pukwana)
The show will end with an excerpt from the performance by the Paul Dunmall Quartet:
Paul Dunmall, Saxophones
Paul Rogers, Bass
Liam Noble, Piano
Mark Sanders, Drums
Paul Dunmall and Paul Rogers were in a quartet with Keith Tippett, formed in the 1980s and active until 2011, called Mujician. In 2010, they recorded their last studio release, 10 10 10, only released in 2021.
Paul Dunmall said, in 2021:
Mujician were together for 22 years, and in that time we played throughout Europe, Canada, Russia, South Africa and many concerts in the UK. In 2020 Keith Tippett died after a long illness. I believe that Mujician was one of the great groups in jazz history. It wasn't just a free jazz group; it covered so many areas that I think all we can say is it played outstanding music.
While I may not be prepared to say it was one of the greats, I’m sure after listening to the show you may gain a new appreciation of Keith Tippett’s contributions to free jazz. I certainly have.
You can listen live in Ottawa at 93.1 FM or online, at 11 p.m. (EST) on April 17. The show will be available for streaming on demand shortly after broadcast.
Next show: April 24
The 50th anniversary of the London Experimental Jazz Quartet’s Invisible Roots.