Artist: Elton Dean Quartet & Roswell Rudd
Title: Rumours of an Incident
Cat Number: SLAMCD223
Year released: 1997
Format: CD & all digital platforms
Barcode: 5028386022329
The Elton Dean Quartet plus Roswell Rudd, recorded at The Vortex Jazz Bar, London 26 October 1996.
Elton Dean: saxophones
Roswell Rudd: trombone
Alex Maguire: piano
Marcio Mattos: double bass
Mark Sanders: drums
“A rare UK visit by trombonist Roswell Rudd was marked by a number of concerts and recording sessions with his ex-Carla Bley Band compadre, Elton Dean…This SLAM CD, recorded live at the Vortex, is more a rumbustious debate, with Rudd revelling in the music’s turbulence. The quartet kicks up a storm, but it’s Rudd’s show – from growls and honks to manic wails, he sounds like a man rediscovering the freedom of his voice.” – Jazzwise
“Take Bladik [1997 album on Cuneiform Records], remove the extra sax, add a swinging rhythm section and you get this surprising disc…While it took me while to get into Bladik (and I’m not knocking that disc – I love it), Rumours was an instant success with me…Conclusion: Buy It!” – Fred Barrett, Beyond Coltrane
“Elton Dean drives his unsentimental, hard sound into the intereactive matrix of some of Britain’s best players. Pianist Alex Maguire contributes township-sure rhythms and well as out flights: he and drummer Mark Sanders provide incredibly firm-yet-fine rhythmic scaffolding. On bass, Marcio Mattos is sinuous and exotic. Guest Roswell Rudd made his name with Archie Shepp: his trombone forays provide strikingly sympathetic parallels to Dean’s figures. Both Dean and Rudd are rooted in 1960s blues and freedom, and this provides fertile common ground.” – Hi-Fi News & Record Review, Ben Watson