Terje Rypdal / Germany 1971

Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian treasure who made his debut in 1962 with the rock and roll band The Vangers, and led the Scandinavian/European jazz scene in the late 1960s, along with Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen, and Jon Christensen, as one of the “Nordic Big 4.” Since the founding of the pioneering independent label ECM to the present day, he has always been at the forefront of the label. This is the first release of the most important live session that marked the beginning of his career as a solo artist! In 1971, when he released his first album on ECM, Ripidal also participated in the legendary Baden-Baden Jazz Festival, which he had attended in 1969 and received rave reviews. Ripidal performed at the festival on December 17th and 18th, 1971, with a number of European artists, including Barre Phillips, Alan Skidmore, Mark Charing, Nick Evans, Elton Dean, Roy Bavington, Stu Martin, and even an orchestra. This was Ripidal’s most important performance in his early years. The live session was recorded on the 17th and 18th of December, 1971, and was accompanied by a number of European artists, including Barre Phillips, Alan Skidmore, Mark Charing, Nick Evans, Elton Dean, Roy Bavington, Stu Martin, and even an orchestra. This 70-minute recording was recorded on a high-quality soundboard (there is a small noise on the fourth track due to the master) and has been carefully mastered by the label. The session was featured over two days, and the performance on December 17th featured four songs, with free developments and even an orchestra joining in on the second song. The performance focused on progressive pieces that could be described as contemporary music rather than jazz, and showed a glimpse of his talent as a guitarist who cannot be categorized into a single genre, making for a very interesting performance! Nucleus, Keith Tippett Group, and Soft Machine’s British All Stars also participated in the session on the 17th. In Rypidal’s long career, the first band he formed was “Odyssey,” which played progressive jazz rock similar to Electric Miles in the mid-70s and late King Crimson, but the performance on December 18th will be a performance that leads to the legendary group “Odyssey,” reminiscent of Electric Miles in the mid-70s, such as “Bitches Brew” and “On the Corner.” We hope you will enjoy the ultimate improvisation by this talented group, where polyrhythmic repetition and psychedelic coloring, jazz, rock, funk, and Afro music are all mixed together, and beauty and madness coexist in chaos!