"Self Determination Music" by JOHN CARTER & BOBBY BRADFORD – December 1970 US Second Album on Flying Dutchman Records - Guests Include Tom Wilkinson and Buzz Freeman on Bas and Drums (March 2015 UK Ace/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Eye Of The Storm…"

When Bob Thiele left his post at Impulse (the Jazz imprint at ABC Records) after nine years of Producing people like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins to form Flying Dutchman in Los Angeles – his brief was to sign and promote the best of Avant Garde Jazz. So he promptly brought on board names like Pharoah Sanders, Roswell Budd and Archie Shepp to begin with. Texas-born Saxophonist John Carter and Cleveland Trumpeter Bobby Bradford were amongst those signees.

They had already seen their debut for the Flying Dutchman label "Flight For Four" hit the racks in 1969 on Flying Dutchman FDS 108 garnishing much praise but relatively few sales. Thiele persisted and allowed the pair to self-produce their second platter – "Self Determination Music" released December 1970 in the USA on Flying Dutchman FDS-128. And that's where this blistering (first time on) CD reissue comes in. Here are the flight details…

UK released March 2015 – "Self Determination Music" by JOHN CARTER and BOBBY BRADFORD on Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 286 (Barcode 029667528627) breaks down as follows (44:02 minutes):

1. The Sunday Afternoon Jazz Blues Society (5:50 minutes) [Side 1]
2. The Eye Of The Storm (15:20 minutes)
3. Loneliness (9:08 minutes) [Side 2]
4. Encounter (13:37 minutes)
Tracks 1, 3 and 4 by John Carter, Track 2 by Bobby Bradford

The 12-page booklet features original artwork and a reproduction of the American album's sleeve notes (penned by Robert Levin) with a new appraisal of the album by noted Soul/Jazz fan DEAN RUDLAND. You get the original labels repro’d on Page 2 with that funky Elihu Blotnick artwork front and rear.

But the real Jazz fireworks comes in the NICK ROBBINS remaster which lets the rhythm section of Bassist TOM WILLIAMSON and Drummer BUZZ FREEMAN breath behind the soloing of the two leads. From the opening moments of rapid free-form Jazz on "The Sunday Afternoon Jazz Blues Society" – the instruments are clear – rattling around your speakers with intent and in your face in all the right ways. This CD sounds great. Things mellow down on the Side One finisher "The Eye Of The Storm" which opens with a beautifully judged cymbals-versus-double-bass passage before the boys float in. They let rip during its fifteen minutes and those looking for the mellow of "Kind Of Blue" should look the other way.

Side Two opens with an eerie percussive passage that could come straight out of some hip Bikers, Pimps and Drugs movie – the audio of "Loneliness" is amazing. Both Carter and Bradford keep the sneaky pace at that level throughout which allows the listener to hear their superbly soulful playing. Back to wild fast-paced free-form for "Encounter" where Buzz Freeman plays a blinder – both Horn players taking turns at the jabs and parries.

Ace Records regularly receive 5-star praise for their continuing Soul and R 'n' B CD reissues and with 2025 marking 50 years in the reissue game – that’s saying something. But their Jazz and Fusion output often gets overlooked. A superb reissue of an Avant Garde rarity…well done to all involved…

Other Flying Dutchman titles in the Ace/BGP CD Reissue Series include:

1. Fenix - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 268)
2. The Third World - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 272)
3. El Pampero – GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 283)
4. Cesar 830 – CESAR (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 261)
5. Friends And Neighbors: Ornette Live At Prince Street – ORNETTE COLEMAN (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 266)
6. Afrique – COUNT BASIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 271)
7. Barefoot Boy - LARRY CORYELL (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 269)
8. George Russell Presents… - THE ESOTERIC CIRCLE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 284)
9. Pieces Of A Man – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 274)
10. Free Will – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 281)
11. Cosmic Funk And Spiritual Sounds – LONNIE LISTON SMITH (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 254)
12. Expansions – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 263)
13. Astral Travelling – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 273)
14. Cosmic Funk - LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 278)
15. Newport News, Virginia – ESTHER MARROW (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 264)
16. Swiss Suite: Recorded Live At The Montreaux Jazz Festival - OLIVER NELSON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 279)
17. Soul Is… - PRETTY PURDIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 282)
18. Head Start – BOB THIELE EMERGENCY (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 265)
19. Spirits Known And Unknown – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 262)
20. The Leon Thomas Album - LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 270)
21. Blues And The Soulful Truth – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 277)
22. The Creator: The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Masters – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPD 257)