Way Ahead
Studio album by
Jacques Coursil
Released1969
RecordedJuly 7 and 8, 1969
StudioStudio Saravah, Paris
GenreJazz
Length36:06
LabelBYG Records
529.319
ProducerJean Georgakarakos, Jean Luc Young
Jacques Coursil chronology
Way Ahead
(1969)		 Black Suite
(1971)

Way Ahead (originally released as Way Head) is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris in July 1969, and was released later that year by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Coursil is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, bassist Beb Guérin, and drummer Claude Delcloo.[1][2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]

In a review for AllMusic, Brandon Burke wrote: "Way Ahead is a highly overlooked and absolutely stunning free jazz session. The cacophonous spazzery that marks much of the BYG/Actuel series... is almost nonexistent on Way Ahead. Whereas many of the others in this series... tend to be star-studded anything-goes blowing sessions, Way Ahead is a quartet date and thus, even at its most fevered moments, only sounds like four musicians letting loose as opposed to, say, twelve."[3]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "a worthwhile historical item," and commented: "Somewhat different in cast to the majority of free-jazz free-for-alls of the time, Coursil's small group takes an almost deliberate line on some of the material, and provides a stunning reading of Bill Dixon's 'Paper'. Jones... provides an ideal foil."[4]

Carman Moore, writing for The New York Times, stated: "some of the cuts are primitive in terms of New Thing 1970, although... 'Fidel' is moving and features a lovely passage of catch-and-hide imitations between Coursil and tenor saxophonist Arthur Jones, soaring and gathering light. The feature of the record, however, is Coursil himself, a brilliant improviser possessing speed and coloristic imagination and the ability to play high notes up to a whistle."[5]

Track listing

  1. "Duke" (Coursil) – 7:35
  2. "Fidel" (Coursil) – 10:03
  3. "Paper" (Bill Dixon) – 18:45

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Jacques Coursil: Way Head". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Jacques Coursil: Way Ahead". BYG Records. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Burke, Brandon. "Jacques Coursil: Way Ahead". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 312.
  5. ↑ Moore, Carman (August 9, 1970). "The New Thing Meets Rock". New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
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