''Flags'' is a 1985 album by the duo of keyboardist
Patrick Moraz and drummer
Bill Bruford. Unlike their debut ''
Music for Piano and Drums'', which featured only the two instruments in the album's title, this recording expanded their musical palette by incorporating Kurzweil 250 synthesizer and Simmons electronic percussion. During the recording of this album, Moraz was a member of
The Moody Blues, while Bruford's band
King Crimson had just begun a hiatus that would last for ten years. ''Flags'' features ten original instrumentals, mostly derived from the duo improvising or working with sketches. There is also a drum solo Bruford based on
Max Roach's "The Drum Also Waltzes".
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 ...
'' wrote: "There are one or two alarming moments when one might be listening to The Carpenters jamming at home. Then it's Stravinsky; then..."
In an article for
Jazz Times
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of growth ...
,
Bill Milkowski
Bill Milkowski (born September 26, 1954) is an American jazz critic, journalist, and biographer. Since the 1970s he has written thousands of articles for magazines and album liner notes.. He has written for '' DownBeat'', ''JazzTimes'', ''Jazziz' ...
called the album "an overproduced studio outing," and wrote: "The album opens on a decidedly sour note with the bombastic, overproduced 'Temples of Joy,' which sounds like the theme to an '80s sitcom. Moraz's classical/prog-rock pretensions spill over on other schlocky numbers" including "the grandiose title track."
Writing for
All About Jazz, John Kelman noted that "the chemistry between the two is clearly evident," and commented: "more ambitious than ''Music for Piano and Drums'' from a production perspective, ''Flags'' is clearly a completely different record, based more on overt structure and through-composition that manages to demonstrate the potential power of the duo.
Track listing
#"Temples of Joy"
(Moraz) - 4:51
#"Split Seconds"
(Moraz, Bruford) - 4:37
#"Karu"
(Moraz) - 3:45
#"Impromptu Too!"
(Moraz) - 3:30
#"Flags"
(Moraz) - 4:27
#"Machines Programmed by Genes"
(Moraz, Bruford) - 5:13
#"The Drum Also Waltzes"
( Max Roach) - 2:51
#"Infra Dig"
(Moraz, Bruford) - 3:12
#"A Way with Words"
(Moraz, Bruford) - 1:36
#"Everything You've Heard Is True"
(Moraz, Bruford) - 6:09
Personnel
*
Patrick Moraz – grand piano, synthesizer, electronics
*
Bill Bruford – acoustic and electric drums, percussions
;Technical
*Jean Ristori, Barry Radman - engineer
*Rob O'Connor - design, art direction
*
Gered Mankowitz - photography
References
External links
* http://www.billbruford.com/ (Bill Bruford's website)
{{Authority control
1985 albums
Patrick Moraz albums
Bill Bruford albums
E.G. Records albums