ARTIST...: Raphaδl
TITLE....: Stop, Look, Listen
YEAR.....: 2011
LABEL....: Heavenly Sweetness
CAT.NO...: HS029
GENRE....: Jazz
TIME.....: 40:59 min
SIZE.....: 93,9 MB
QUALITY..: 320kbps/44.1kHz/Full Stereo
ENCODER..: FhG
SOURCE...: WEB
RLS.DATE.: 2011/10/31
WEBSITE..: http://www.bagpak.net
TRACKLIST
01) (12:51) Archangelo
02) (06:51) Hommage A Kabylie
03) (12:53) Dead Sea Scrolls
04) (08:24) Night Crawler
Record lovers who spend their time trawling record shops and websites are familiar
with that ecstatic feeling of stumbling accidentally upon a treasure: a record
forgotten or unknown to the musical community but perfectly matched to their inner
musical landscape. This near-mystical experience then further unfolds as a first
listen to the album and a careful read of the liner notes combine to form a
passionate moment that justifies the long hours spent in a vain and obsessive quest
to the exclusion of all social obligations.
This was the rare sensation I felt on discovering Raphael's album "Stop, Look,
Listen" in the mid-nineties in Paris. Fifteen years later, repeated listening has in
no way diminished the record's magic and it still nourishes my soul like few other
albums do. Still, the mystery surrounding the origins of this album and its creator,
Raphael, lingers on.
I was too late, unfortunately, to find the original Brussels-born producer, Pierre
Pletinckx, for this re-edition. This militant jazzman, who produced a great number
of albums for various different labels, passed away in the early 2000s and his
widow, despite her willingness, was unable to turn up any information about the
enigmatic pianist, whose sole album was "Stop, Look, Listen". According to the
original liner notes and the meagre details I could glean, the pianist and composer
Phil Raphael was born in New York in 1930 and an active member of the capital of
bop's music scene during the 1950s, occasionally playing with Charlie Parker and
saxophonist John Eardley. The only recorded trace of his activities is a session he
did with the legendary trumpet player Red Rodney for the Prestige label in 1951.
According to the liner notes, Phil Raphael also played in Tommy Dorsey and Stan
Kenton's big bands û although there is no recorded proof of this û and moved to Las
Vegas for a while. It is unknown exactly when he appeared on the Belgian scene, nor
when he disappeared from the musical life of Brussels, but he did play at the Pol's
club where his wife worked as a cloakroom assistant during the 1970s.
The recording session for "Stop, Look, Listen" took place on 3rd June 1972 and
although the character and story of the leader remain a mystery, his Belgian
accompanists were well-known figures on the Brussels scene. Drummer Robert Pernet,
vibraphone player and percussionist Johnny Perret and double bass player Paul Dubois
played and recorded with Toots Thielemans, Bobby Jaspar and many others for thirty
years or so. Unfortunately, Paul Dubois, the only surviving member of the rhythm
section, who played just this once with the pianist, has no memory of Raphael or of
the opera singer Rose Thompson, whose voice lights up the arrangements.
However, the real mystery surrounding this album - even more than the circumstances
in which it came into existence - is the magical nature of the compositions. Raphael
manages to create a unique alchemy on every track, a harmonious blend of very
different musical styles: be-bop, opera, free jazz, and rock. Many musicians tried
their hand at fusion around that time, but this album is unequalled in its lyrical,
poetic chemistry. Stop, look, listen...
Antoine Rajon Traduction Simon Pare
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