Elastic Dream: The Music of Ian Carr: An Annotated Discography

This book, a comprehensive, annotated, discography, discusses the great British trumpeter Ian Carr’s recorded works and includes up to the minute additions to the Carr canon. It is the most complete discographical text on the works of Ian Carr. The discography is divided into 2 parts with archival releases being covered in the second part. Three appendices detail Carr’s appearances in the Melody Maker jazz polls, biographies either by or about him, and finally details of Ian’s miscellaneous media contributions, including television, radio and film work. The object of this book was to write a comprehensive critique of the musical works of Ian Carr. It was intended to be comprehensive enough to cover everything that could be located to listen to, but not intended to be an in-depth review of every piece. The main intent was to draw attention to the music of Ian Carr as it was felt that it had not gained the recognition it deserved. During the 1960s and 70s Carr and his peers, such as Graham Collier, Michael Garrick, Michael Gibbs, Mike Westbrook, John Surman and Keith Tippett moved the goalposts of contemporary jazz in Britain. Jazz prior to 1960 in the United Kingdom was highly influenced by American traditional jazz, bebop and big band swing. After 1960, music experienced seismic changes thanks to the pop/rock/blues explosion and by the mid-1970s British and European jazz began to find its own distinctive voice. Although the focus of non-American jazz subsequently shifted, to some extent, from the UK to mainland Europe and Scandinavia, partially thanks to the burgeoning success of ECM Records and international bands such as The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble (of which Ian Carr was a key member), the 1960s–1970s in Britain were especially innovative. The author, Roger Farbey, knew Ian personally for the latter part of his life and was well aware of the toll taken by Alzheimer’s. But Carr’s spirit was indomitable; all those who knew him will remember him as the friendly firebrand of jazz and one of the true innovators of the genre. This book is Roger’s small attempt to “take revenge” on Carr’s final illness and keep the memory of the man and his music alive. Also included with this book is a companion audio CD of rare, or previously unreleased, Ian Carr recordings which have been selected by the author.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Discography Part 1: Phase I: The Early & RCQ Years Discography Part 1: Phase II: The Vertigo Years Discography Part 1: Phase III: The Capitol/Mood Years Discography Part 2: Archival Releases (post-2002) Appendix 1: Ian Carr and the Melody Maker Jazz Polls Appendix 2: Bibliographies Appendix 3: Miscellaneous Media Afterword

About the Author :
Roger Farbey is a guitarist and violinist and has played and recorded with several London-based bands. He was a professional librarian for 40 years before retiring to spend more time with musical activities. He was first immersed in jazz after attending the Barry Jazz Summer School where he was tutored in improvisation by Derek Bailey. He has been a Nucleus fan since hearing Elastic Rock on its release in 1970 and became an Ian Carr fan after buying a copy of the now ultra rare Springboard album. Shocked by the realisation that no Nucleus website existed he launched a tribute site in October 2002 which garnered the active approval of Ian Carr. His discography of the music of Ian Carr was first published in 2010 and is now in its third iteration. He is a regular reviewer for Jazz Journal.

Review :
“Farbey’s session-by-session response to Carr’s discography is a perfect listening guide…It’s an important book, that deserves wider circulation.” Jazz Journal “So Farbey’s given us not only a worthy reminder of Carr’s gift to jazz, but also of how the face of Brit jazz has changed over 60 years.” Jazzwise “This is a valuable tool for Carr collectors and followers of British jazz.” Record Collector