Customer Reviews

Kaleidoscope of Rainbows

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the LP of Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows in the late 70's following the recommendation by a friend who loved great jazz. This album includes several styles though, and it is simply captivating for the interplay of tone and rhythm.

It is an absolute joy to hear this carefully remastered 24bit/96khz version on CD. Every pop and click on the LP was a tragic distraction, but it is immediately obvious just how sonically superior the Dusk Fire Records (2005) CD version is when compared to the vinyl. You really do hear SO much more of the intricate detail of the ensemble. You can also fully appreciate Paul Buckmaster's superbly crafted production.

The booket includes Neil's original comments from the LP cover, plus "an introduction" by Peter Muir (December 2004) which includes a detailed biography of the late Neil Ardley and "an appreciation" by Neil's long time(1964 - 2004) musical collaborator Barbara Thompson, who plays alto and soprano flute on 6 of these 7 tracks.

Surely no collection of seventies jazz could be complete without this album - and this particular CD presents the timeless work perfectly.

I am more than impressed - I am in love with this music all over again.

I just would like to respond to the idiotic opinions expressed by suncitygirl. I know that taste in music is subjective, but in my opinion this is a brilliant album, one of the best jazz albums of the 1970s. Had Ardley been a bigger name and American rather than British this record would not have been ignored. Ardley is an forgotten talent.

Kaleidoscope of Rainbows starts out scrupulously restricting itself to the Balinese pelog (?) scale with an ever-shifting background reminiscent of the gamelan, setting down a theme that it recalls at the very end. As the sections go on, they gradually add back more of the chromatic scale we Westerners are accustomed to. The journey is thoroughly enjoyable; as a sucker for the melancholy, my favorite has to be Rainbow Four, featuring a heartbreakingly beautiful sax solo from Barbara Thompson.

I'm certainly no scholar of jazz, and can't properly place it in a list--if such a list even makes sense. I can say that this is gorgeous music, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Thank you very much for the most uninformative sorry review from Australia......this music is bland, insipid, mundane, and inordinately repetitive....the nerve of someone to write about this as though it were classic, essential, no collection should be without it etcetcetc. Save your money on this one people cause this one is fit for the dung heap!!!