Loading home…
from Denny Zeitlin with George Marsh & Mel Graves: The Name Of This Terrain ℗ 2021 Now-Again Records. Released 11-19-2021 Music & Lyrics by Denny Zeitlin, Double Helix Music, Inc. c/o A-Train Entertainment/BMI This album was never intended for release. There’s quite a story behind it: Back in 1969, I was immersed in an electro-acoustic integration of jazz, rock, avant garde classical, funk, and free-form music. My long-time close friend, Bill Young, suggested we co-produce a project where I would write new music and lyrics, and my trio, with George Marsh and Mel Graves, would perform and sing the lyrics as a demo. Bill would try to interest a label in completing the album with professional singers, and supporting a tour. The project was completed in November,1969, and a custom run of demo LPs created, but no labels were interested, and my trio returned to instrumental explorations in concerts and recordings. “The Name Of This Terrain” remained on the shelf until 2003, when Bill Young’s death somehow led to a stack of demo LPs ending up in a thrift store, setting off a gradual low-level international buzz. I began receiving inquiries from fans, collectors, and record labels, wanting to hear, purchase, or release this album. I was taken aback at the prospect. Although I felt the music and lyrics were very strong, none of us trio members had ever done any singing, and this demo album was never intended for release. I destroyed my copies, and for years successfully fended off inquiries. But every few years, Eothen Alapatt of Now-Again Records would circle back, enthusiastically proclaiming the album’s musical importance and the passion and emotional immediacy of the trio’s untrained vocal cords. In 2020, I was prompted to give the project a relisten, and to my surprise, was struck by the freshness of the concept, passion of performance, and spirit of adventure on the album, and felt it was worthy of release, as long as the demo nature was made clear. Denny Zeitlin Denny Zeitlin: Acoustic Piano, Hohner Clavinet, Farfisa Organ, Custom Sound Generating and Altering Devices, Tambourine, Melodica, African Thumb Piano, Lead Vocals; George Marsh: Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals; Mel Graves: Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, Custom Sound Generating Device, Backing Vocals To download the booklet, with rare photos, lyrics and liner notes: https://tinyurl.com/terrainbooklet For more Denny: http://www.dennyzeitlin.com