Here is a driving, soul-jazz tour de force from a mysterious Northampton, MA quartet circa 1969. The original rarity limited to five hundred copies, the repress comes courtesy of Paris-based reissue label Le Très Jazz Club, whose catalogue includes sought after Japanese jazz releases from the likes of Kosuke Mine and Masaru Imada Trio +2’s essential Green Caterpillar.
Kicking off with a singular take on Chico Hamilton’s “Blue Sands”, Glass Flowers is a mostly all original offering. A four piece, Elysian Spring’s unwieldy approach bends the traditions of a lineup bass/drums/sax/flute/piano, with the label describing the record as unclassifiable. This is slightly misleading, though the record touches on a heady dose of spiritual jazz in experiments like the coda of eight-minute groover “Lotus”. On the whole, it’s rooted in the modal jazz tradition in the most creative ways. Innovative spontaneity is to be found throughout Glass Flowers, such as the recording technique of a fading bout of ambient background noise of a social gathering that opens flute-laced centerpiece “Drinkthink” (unsurprisingly, the brilliant track was sampled by digger maestro Madlib).
Perhaps Le Trè’s “unclassifiable” description is more apt to the sheer understated quality of the beast. In today’s constant reissue climate, if you happen to find yourself skeptical of the quality of yet another private press rediscovery (that was apparently originally funded by student friends of the quartet), let one spin quell any trepidations. With the drum patterns and touches of vibraphone and flute, Elysian Spring at times recalls the spontaneity and rolling, jazz fusion edge of Dave Pike Set’s Infra-Red or the unmistakable Stark Reality. This is a no-nonsense triumph not to be missed. | m neeley
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