Artist: Alan Wakeman

Date of Release: 10/04/2012

Catalogue no: AWAKE 001

Label: AWAKE

Price: £10

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Track Listing

A 'first time on cd' re-release from 1978: Modern Jazz Trio TRITON - Alan Wakeman, Paul Bridge, Nigel Morris.

Reviews

01/08/2012 Duncan Henning - JazzUK

Triton’s ‘Wilderness Of Glass’ is a saxophone trio set from 1978 with Alan Wakeman, Bassist Paul Bridge and Nigel Morris on drums. This is vital, visceral music with Wakeman on coruscating form.

01/07/2012 Claudio Bonomi - Musica Jazz

This small masterpiece of 'free britannico’ was released in 1978 on Graham Collier's Mosaic, an independent label which, in only five years (from 1974 to 1979) acquired a discreet fame amongst jazz aficionados. It represented the launch-pad for some important work by the likes of Stan Sulzmann, Roger Dean, Howard Riley and Tony Hymas, as well as by Collier himself and by the Wakeman-led Triton. After thirty years this trio's performance is as powerful as ever and, owing to the remastering, Wakeman's tenor sounds even more ferocious and razor-edged. The rhythm section provided by Bridge and Morris is equally impressive: they fill in every small space left available by the soloist, creating a richness of light and shade which adds tension to the improvisation. The only moment of respite is provided by the sinuous magic of Greasy Sunday.

01/07/2012 Nic Jones - Jazz Journal

There’s vigour and purpose in this set from 1978 as the trio work over a set of Wakeman compositions in the post-Coltrane vein.

12/06/2012 Adrian Litvinoff - 'Interplay' blog

What a delight! Among my post-holiday junk mail and brown envelopes was a copy of Interplay saxophonist Alan Wakeman’s CD re-issue of his 1978 recording ‘Wilderness of Glass’. Triton, his power trio with Paul Bridge on double bass and Nigel Morris on drums, was a formidable free-wheeling unit that combined energy and excitement with a clarity of purpose and musical direction not always found in the free jazz movement. Having seen the band in the 1970s I was curious about how it would sound today. Would my youthful recollections be re-affirmed, or would my taste in jazz have changed, altering my ability to listen to it again after all this time?
I need not have worried! From the dramatic opening sounds the album moves swiftly through a huge range of dynamics and gestures that are both succinct and articulate. Motifs and moods have time to develop without being over-indulged, and impressive instrumental technique remains secondary to musical objectives. A sense of focus pervades the album resting on the rapport and responsiveness of the three players. In fact I am probably better able to appreciate it now than I was back in the day, and to enjoy it all the more for all that. After all it can take time to learn how to listen!
Sadly Paul Bridge is no longer with us. He was a familiar and much-admired figure on the scene, so it is particularly good to hear him again here. I remember playing with Nigel Morris in Oxford many years ago – it was like being next to a hurricane! – and along with all his ferocity there was a musical warmth and curiosity that made it fun as well as challenging. So, good to hear him again as well.
But listening to this album again now is not about nostalgia. It is about re-connecting with something exciting and strong, that had its origins many years ago but still retains its conviction, its potency and capacity to delight. Check it out!

01/02/1978 Charles Fox - The Gramophone

Unusually exciting release

01/02/1978 Barry McRae - Jazz Journal

Any reader with a taste for thoughtful modern jazz should give this a try

01/02/1978 Robin Bynoe - Records and Recording

A music that wrestles with the universe

01/02/1978 Dave Gelly - The Observer

Triton is a ferociously intense improvising trio. If you stop attending for a moment you lose the thread – but it’s well worth the effort

01/02/1978 Brian Case - New Musical Express

Driving post-Coltrane stuff – and it’s very good indeed

01/02/1978 Godfrey Talbot - View

Needs many adjectives to describe its force. It is powerfully moving and often reaches those ‘highs’ which can only be described as joyous