BILL BRUFORD — Master Strokes: 1978-1985 (review)

BILL BRUFORD — Master Strokes: 1978-1985 album cover Boxset / Compilation · 1986 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
M.Neumann
Like many fans in the late 1970s, I must have been a little bewildered by the embryonic solo career of ace drummer Bill Bruford. Expecting more of the hard-hitting avant-metal of King Crimson's "Red" (or at least some of the heavy instrumental punch of the first UK album), we were instead given the airy, optimistic Jazz- Rock fusion of "Feels Good To Me", Bruford's 1978 solo debut.

It took a long time and a lot of replays to finally appreciate the drummer's impeccable (and deeply rooted) Jazz instincts. Which may be why the music in this 1986 compilation, recapping the initial seven years of Mr. Bruford's solo work, actually sounds better today than when it was new: hindsight being 20-20, and so forth.

The selections are drawn from the drummer's first three albums, plus his two later collaborations with ex-Yes keyboard wizard Patrick Moraz. But because half the tracks are from only one source (his 1979 early career peak "One of a Kind") it's a somewhat lopsided sampler, certainly worthwhile as a primer for neophytes but useless to connoisseurs.

Either way, the music is the same: intricate, challenging, playful, sophisticated, and never less than surprising. This is the work of an artist liberated (and just in time) from the fashions of the day, then in precipitous decline. I'm reminded of another erstwhile Progressive Rock drummer who was likewise baffling critics with a similar fusion of styles: Phil Collins and the first BRAND X (too bad he then had to beat such a hasty retreat back to the Genesis gravy train).

For Bruford, all the tar and feathers from a knee-jerk post-Punk orthodox press couldn't stick to music so far removed from the alleged pretensions of Prog Rock superstardom. Check out, to cite the most extreme example on this disc, the drummer's stark, minimalist improvisations alongside Patrick Moraz, another kindred jazzer re-discovering his long-dormant roots.

To be fair, Bruford didn't completely turn his back on his art rock upbringing. Many of the selections here are clearly more Rock than Jazz: the quicksilver power chords of "Fainting in Coils"; the distorted attack of "Gothic 17" (the only vocal track in the collection), and the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA-like "Sahara of Snow, Part II", co-written with Eddie Jobson and possibly an orphan of the short-lived first lineup of UK.

In short, it's a valuable portrait of a world-class musician taking the first confident steps toward securing his own identity.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Cecil Taylor Unit : Live At Fat Tuesdays, February 9, 1980 First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
CECIL TAYLOR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Solo Bern 1984 - First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
ANTHONY BRAXTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Bruno Parrinha & Johannes von Buttlar : Whispers and Reveries Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Nuno Torres & Johannes von Buttlar : Cosmic Collision Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Carlos Bechegas, João Madeira & Monsieur Trinité : Free to Open Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Songs My Mom Liked EPK - Anthony Branker
ANTHONY BRANKER
js· 1 day ago
“INFLUENCES” by Jared Hall, trumpeter & composer
JARED HALL
js· 1 day ago
Jean-Pierre (feat. Darryl Jones)
BILL EVANS (SAX)
snobb· 1 day ago
Magic Box
CHRISTOPHE MARGUET
snobb· 1 day ago
The Peacocks
ANTOINE DRYE
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed