Danny Thompson, Allan Holdsworth, John Stevens: “Propensity”

(Art of Life AL1038-2)

MP3 Digital Downloads | About the Music | Selected Quotations

Danny Thompson: acoustic bass Allan Holdsworth: 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar John Stevens: drums CD $9.99 To purchase this CD using any major credit card, please click the "Add to cart" button below. To purchase this CD using PayPal, please click the "PayPal - Add To Cart" button below.

Jools Toon (10:39) (Listen to MP3 sample) It Could Have Been Mono (15:48) (Listen to MP3 sample)

MP3 Digital Downloads{top}

Click here to purchase Danny Thompson, Allan Holdsworth, John Stevens-"Propensity" from iTunes.

About the Music {top}

Art of Life Records is pleased to present a previously unreleased recording by three legendary British musicians. Bassist Danny Thompson (Pentangle, John Martyn, Tubby Hayes, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Igginbottom, Nucleus, Tempest, Soft Machine, Gong, Bruford, U.K., Tony Williams New Lifetime) and drummer John Stevens (Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Tubby Hayes, Derek Bailey). Recorded at Island Studios, St. Peter's Square, in London, England on September 4th & 5th, 1978, "Propensity" includes two extended length group improvised tracks which prominently feature guitarist Allan Holdsworth on electric guitar ("It Could Have Been Mono") as well as 12-string acoustic guitar ("Jools Toon"). Other than the brief track, "Gone Sailing", from the album "Bundles" by Soft Machine recorded in 1975, this is the only known recording of Holdsworth soloing on a 12-string acoustic guitar. Holdsworth can be heard soloing throughout 90% of both tracks except during a few brief bass and drum solos. All tracks have been professionally mastered using 24-bit digital technology.

Selected Quotations {top}

How many good studio recordings from the last 4 decades or more, lie lingering in the vaults of recording studios or in a deep and dusty nook of a musician's loft? These seem to need some good memories of those involved and then painstaking searching to recover, (master, etc.) and release; 'Propensity' appears to be one of these records that deserve recovery and fuller exposure.

The two recordings on this CD were made in September 1978, but not mixed until 1997 by a rare ex-pupil of Holdsworth, Jakko Jakszyk, and finally mastered early summer 2009 in the USA. The music finds Holdsworth during a very busy period of self-evaluation at the end of the 70's (including doubts about being in the music industry), and at the same time experimenting across a broad range of jazz (e.g. as illustrated by the radio broadcasts with John Steven issued over 3 CDs, the two albums recorded in France with Gordon Beck, industry rejected demos with Hiseman and Bruce, and according to Gary Husband laying down the 'IOU' album - which itself was released several years later). John Stevens ran a "school" of jazz improv and was well known in the UK for being one of the top free drummers. Danny Thompson was very much in demand on the UK folk circuit but also known for his uncompromising jazz playing.

The liner notes here are relatively limited so I guess these recordings were done in a similar way to the John Stevens/Allan Holdsworth radio recordings of this period, predominantly as improvisation. And with this probable spontaneity by a trio who seem to know each other well, most things are melodic. The playing skills of all three musicians are of the highest orders and pleasure to hear. And for me, the real joy is a rarity, an extended 12-string acoustic guitar solo by Holdsworth on the first track, 'Jools Toon'. The second track is longer and finds Holdsworth playing electric guitar flavoured with some of his signature playing.

This CD will be of great interest to Holdsworth fans in particular filling another brief gap in his musical history. But fans of Thompson (note who's name comes first in this pecking order), and Stevens will take great pleasure from this too.
R. J. Heath - United Kingdom

The first time that Allan Holdsworth worked with John Stevens was in 1977, where a lot of material was recorded by the band in England. As a result of a lot of extended jam sesions and recorded rehearsals the following recordings were released: "Touching On" (1977); "Conversation Piece" (1980) and "Retouch" (1983); And now "Propensity" (1978)...

The interesting thing about this disc is that it is showing part of Allan Holdsworth's "Acoustic Period" that goes from 1975 to 1979 with the following bands and tracks:

1. "Gone Sailing" with Soft Machine (BUNDLES, 1975);
2. "Floppy Hat", "Kinder" and "Last May" in his first ever solo album VELVET DARKNESS (1976)
3. "Shadows Of" and "Mireille" with Gong (GAZEUSE, 1976);
4. "Golden Lakes", "The Things You See", "Diminished Responsability", "She's Looking I'm Cooking" and "Up Country" with Gordon Beck in THE THINGS YOU SEE (1978);
5. "The Gathering" and "Sunbird", again with Gordon Beck in SUNBIRD (1979);
6. "Jools Tune" With John Stevens in PROPENSITY (1978);
7. And the introduction of his self penned track "Nevermore" for U.K. (U.K., 1978).

In this "Propensity" project the band was formed by Danny Thompson (Acoustic Bass), John Stevens (Drums) and Allan Holdsworth (12 string Acoustic and Electric guitars). "Propensity" contains just two pieces: the acoustic "Jools Toon" and the electric "It Could Have Been Mono". It was originally planned as a mini EP. Recorded and mixed in 1978 at Island Studios, St. Peter's Square, London, England; failed to see the light in the english market by company problems and produced by Danny Thompson in 1997 and now this CD is in the market.

I must say that "Propensity", for sure, in the modern Jazz field, is the better John Stevens recording because it is really interesting to listen to all of the "Free Jazz" soloing of Holdsworth (like in the good old days of Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane) in these two pieces. So don't miss the opportunity to add this disc to your collection... Good Luck!
Jeff T. Jesmorh - Mexico City

In 1978, the same year that Turning Point waxed Silent Promise, SME ringleader John Stevens entered London's Island studios with bassist Danny Thompson and guitarist Allan Holdsworth to record "Propensity". Though it's easy to forget, Holdsworth was no stranger to unfettered contexts, appearing on two 1977 Stevens LP's ("Touching On" and "Re-Touch", View/Konnex) before joining pianist Gordon Beck's Sunbird. "Jools Toon" is classic Stevens, the drummer's hum, patter and yelps a constantly-shifting carpet only occasionally catching on the bassist's pizzicato burrs. The SME was a unique outfit in that it could reel musicians of nearly any caliber into its collective orbit, whether schooled in post-bop or the unfettered freedoms of the 70s. Holdsworth acquits himself well, his crisp twelve-string flourishes giving way to pensive and contorted blocks that, while ornate, contain a vicious and flitting immediacy surely a product of SME openness. Holdsworth plugs in on "It Could Have Been Mono," a 15-minute piece rooted in freebop rhythms and gauzy semi-linear blues, the guitarist's rusty tone and convulsed pace responding to the rhythm section's dangerous clip. Though Derek Bailey and Roger Smith are the usual models for guitar playing in English free music, there's something to be said for the rapport Holdsworth's inventiveness and Jazz-Rock tendencies have with Stevens' freer approach.
Clifford Allen

Danny Thompson, Allan Holdsworth, John Stevens — "Propensity"

CD $9.99

To purchase this CD using any major credit card, please click the "Add to cart" button below.

To purchase this CD using PayPal, please click the "PayPal - Add To Cart" button below.