''Départ'' is an album by British jazz trio
Azimuth
An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north.
Mathematicall ...
, whose members were vocalist
Norma Winstone
Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...
, pianist
John Taylor, and trumpeter
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...
. It was recorded in December 1979 at Talent Studios in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, and was released in 1980 by
ECM. On the album, the group is joined by guitarist
Ralph Towner
Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn.
Biography
Towner was born i ...
.
Reception
The authors of the ''
Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...
'' called Towner "an ideal guest,"
and wrote: "Much as he does on Weather Report's ''I Sing the Body Electric'', Towner sounds as if he comes from outside the basic conception of the group, but with a genuine understanding and appreciation of what it's all about. His contribution is perhaps most emphatic on 'Arrivée'... linking the whole disc into a continuous suite."
Writing for Between Sound and Space, Tyran Grillo described the album as "Azimuth's most fully realized effort, through which the project honed its sound to an art," and noted: "Winstone's overdubs visualize gossamer veils of more distant storms, while Wheeler's soulful trumpet shines like the sun beyond them... The brief addition of Tower heightens their collective sound, even as it tethers them to the earth."
Track listing
All compositions by John Taylor.
# "The Longest Day" – 6:32
# "Autumn" – 11:10
# "Arrivée" – 7:52
# "Touching Points: a. From the Window" – 1:14
# "Touching Points: b. Windfall" – 4:37
# "Touching Points: c. The Rabbit" – 2:36
# "Touching Points: d. Charcoal Traces" – 4:37
# "Départ" – 10:29
# "The Longest Day (reprise)" – 3:44
Personnel
;Azimuth
*
Norma Winstone
Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...
– vocals
*
John Taylor – piano, organ
*
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...
– trumpet, flugelhorn
*
Ralph Towner
Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn.
Biography
Towner was born i ...
– 12-string guitar, classical guitar
References
{{Reflist
ECM Records albums
Azimuth (band) albums
1980 albums
Albums produced by Manfred Eicher