''Symphony of Scorpions'' is a live album by composer/bassist

Graham Collier James Graham Collier (21 February 1937 – 9 September 2011) was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer. Life and career Born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army as a musician, ...

featuring eponymous composition recorded at

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

in 1976 which was originally released on his own Mosaic label in 1977.Graham Collier: A Tribute
accessed December 28, 2016

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

said "At times indulgent, and at others very sparse, the ensemble moves along with excellent focus, drama, and tension, allowing for groupings of smaller units inside the ensemble to carry the motion of this seemingly directionless ramble forward -- all the while honing in on Collier's small-figured place of balance within movement. This is an arduous listen, but is far more successful at sustenance and creative dialogue than ''New Conditions'' was, and showcases Collier as having fully embraced the vanguard, and as being very comfortable writing for such a large group".

Track listing

All compositions by Graham Collier. # "Part 1" - 10:40 # "Part 2" - 7:32 # "Parts 3 & 4" - 13:20 # "Forest Path to the Spring" - 4:10 *Recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London on 7 November 1976 (tracks 1-3 and in Bix, Oxfordshire on 10 March 1977 (track 4

Personnel

– composer,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, bass *

Harold Beckett Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett (30 May 1935 – 22 July 2010) was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin. Biography Born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados, Harry Beckett learned to play music in a Salvation Army ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 1–3) *Pete Duncan – trumpet (tracks 1–3) * Henry Lowther – trumpet (tracks 1–3) * Art Themen –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, soprano saxophone *Mike Page – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone (tracks 1–3) * Tony Roberts – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone (tracks 1–3) *Malcolm Griffiths –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

(tracks 1–3) *Ed Speight –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Roger Dean –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(tracks 1–3) *John Webb – drums (tracks 1–3) *John Mitchell –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

(tracks 1–3)

References

{{Authority control 1977 live albums Graham Collier live albums Albums recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club