Explosions (Bob James album)

Explosions is an album by the Bob James Trio. It was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City during May 1965, and was released later that year by ESP-Disk. On the album, James is featured on piano, and is joined by bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Robert Pozar. The album also features tape collages by composers Gordon Mumma and Robert Ashley.[1][2][3] It is an early example of electro-acoustic jazz.[4]

Explosions
Studio album by
The Bob James Trio
Released1965
RecordedMay 1965
StudioBell Sound Studios, New York City
Genre
Length34:58
LabelESP-Disk
1009
Bob James chronology
Bold Conceptions
(1963)		 Explosions
(1965)		 One
(1974)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]
All About Jazz[6]
Down Beat[7]

In a review for AllMusic, "Blue" Gene Tyranny called the album "probably the first recording of improvised jazz combined with electronic music, as well as playing inside the piano and other new music techniques," and noted that it "contains lively and often humorous compositions."[1]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "This is an intriguing period piece, which has considerable staying power... It's important for the integration of electronics into a basic piano trio, and while it's callow in its way it continues to intrigue."[5]

Clifford Allen of All About Jazz stated that James "more than acquits himself as a free player," and commented: "rare indeed is a successful pairing of electronic and acoustic audio collage, much less in a mid-1960s jazz setting."[8]

Writing for Aural Innovations, Doug Walker remarked: "the music explodes with both vitality and subtle introspection... throughout there is a spirit of discovery that's quite refreshing, and the sense of musical optimism pervades the recording!"[9]

Track listings
  1. "Explosions" (Bob James, Gordon Mumma) – 5:42
  2. "Untitled Mixes" (Bob James, Robert Ashley) – 5:17
  3. "Peasant Boy" (Bob James) – 8:30
  4. "An On" (Barre Phillips) – 8:54
  5. "Wolfman" (Bob James, Robert Ashley) – 6:07

Personnel

References
  1. Tyranny, "Blue" Gene. "Bob James Trio: Explosions". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  2. "Bob James - Explosions". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  3. "Bob James Trio / Explosions". ESP-Disk. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  4. Hurley, Andrew Wright (2011). The Return of Jazz: Joachim-Ernst Berendt and West German Cultural Change. Oxford, New York: Berghahn Books. p. xviii. ISBN 9780857451620. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 763.
  6. Staff, AAJ Italy (January 12, 2009). "Bob James Trio: Explosions". All About Jazz. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  7. Down Beat: December 16, 1965 vol. 32, no. 26
  8. Allen, Clifford (March 13, 2008). "Bob James And Paul Bley: Early Free Piano Trios On ESP-Disk". All About Jazz. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  9. Walker, Doug (January 2002). "Bob James Trio - "Explosions"". Aural Innovations. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
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