Various - This is Flying Dutchman 1969-75

Bob Thiele is one of the great producers. For his work with John Coltrane alone, where he gave free reign to the saxophone greats wildest musical visions including “A Love Supreme”, ignoring the usual cost consciousness of a major label, he deserves to be lauded.

In addition to this, his eight years at Impulse! saw him recording seminal works by scores of musicians including Duke Ellington, Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. He didnt stop there and when he launched his own label, Flying Dutchman in 1969, he continued to innovate and record music that reflected its times, but that also resonates down through the ages. It is to Flying Dutchman that we are paying tribute on this compilation.

Gil Scott-Herons recordings for the label ran to three records, which sold well but not spectacularly at the time. They have since taken on a resonance that makes the album Pieces Of A Man in particular one of the most important recordings of the last century, and its opening track The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, an anthem.

Flying Dutchman's other great discoveries are here. Vocalist Leon Thomas found a new route for jazz vocals in the early 70s, which made him a star and earned him a place in Santana. Gato Barbieri became one of the major saxophone stars of the era, after Thiele enabled him to meld his free jazz leanings to the rhythms of South America. The label also made important recordings with Tom Scott, Ornette Coleman and Oliver Nelson.

This is Flying Dutchman is a considered tribute to the label, and features in depth and fully illustrated sleeve notes. In the year when Bob Thiele's son is gearing up to release the first new music on the label since 1976, it is an apt and timely reminder of the power of the music.

Track listing:
SIDE ONE
1. THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED –
Gil Scott-Heron
2. JUST IN TIME TO SEE THE SUN - Leon Thomas
3. HEAD START - Bob Thiele Emergency
4. SEE SAW AFFAIR - Cesar
5. PEACEFUL MAN - Esther Marrow
SIDE TWO
1. EXPANSIONS –
Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
2. BOLIVIA - Gato Barbieri
3. FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS - Ornette Coleman
SIDE THREE
1. 125TH ST & 7TH AVE - Oliver Nelson
2. MAMA SOUL - Harold Alexander
3. HEAVY SOUL SLINGER - Pretty Purdie
4. SOULFUL STRUT – Steve Allen
SIDE FOUR
1. WHITEY ON THE MOON - Gil Scott-Heron
2. LAMENT FOR JOHN COLTRANE (Take 1) –
Bob Thiele Emergency
3. PEACEFUL ONES –
Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
4. ECHOES - Leon Thomas