Jazz in the Space Age [Bonus Tracks]

All tracks have been digitally remastered using 20-bit technology.
Liner Note Authors: Morton James; Ken Dryden ; Burt Korall; Don Demicheal.
Recording information: Berkshire Music Barn, Lennox, MA (09/01/1960); NY (09/01/1960); Berkshire Music Barn, Lennox, MA (12/29/1959-01/27/1960); NY (12/29/1959-01/27/1960).
More heard-about than heard, George Russell has nonetheless had a mighty influence on the jazz world. Russell's concepts about improvising on scales rather than chord changes influenced Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and, like Charles Mingus and Art Blakey, his bands have schooled many notable players (including, in the 1960s, Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal).
JAZZ IN THE SPACE AGE, recorded in 1960 when mankind was taking its baby steps towards outer space, is full of fascinating and exhilarating music, and points toward jazz's future while acknowledging its past. The three sections of the "Chromatic Universe" suite open with eerie scratching percussion, foreshadowing the open-ended explorations of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, leading into some fractured but intensely lyrical swinging from a big band featuring two pianists, Paul Bley and Bill Evans. "Waltz From Outer Space" is a cunning, slightly ominous tune, rich in blues overtones and Duke Ellington-in-the-twilight-zone ensemble voicings. JAZZ IN THE SPACE AGE is still waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.