Back to the '70s: Ian Carr's Brit-Jazz Tome Re-Published

Ian Carr fans rejoice! Some 35 years after its initial publication, trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and author Ian Carr’s long-out-of-print tome Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain has been re-published by Northway Publications in the U.K. Though Carr has also authored fine biographies of Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis, Music Outside remains his greatest achievement as a writer. This is perhaps due to his first-hand knowledge and experience of the scene that emerged from the 1960s and into the '70s. Carr was a member of the EmCee Five -- his brother Mike's band -- in the early 1960s, and co-leader of the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. This amazing group released seven albums between 1964 and '69, all of which are available on the BGO imprint. Carr may be best known as co-founder of the influential jazz-rock ensemble Nucleus with future Soft Machine saxist Karl Jenkins. That band included future Softs drummer John Marshall, saxophonist Brian Smith, bassist Chris Hynnes, and guitarist Chris Spedding. Its first three recordings, particularly Elastic Rock, We'll Talk about It Later, and Solar Plexus, are seminal. Even the dates with later lineups (with Tony Coe and Norma Winstone) are all worth hearing; luckily, Nucleus' albums are available on BGO.

• Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Tan Samfu


• Nucleus - Earth Mother


• Nucleus - Changing Times

Music Outside examines at length the music made outside the margins of pop in Great Britain, and makes a case for all of the artists he was involved with, and others in the scene at the same time, clearly analyzing and predicting their lasting influence. It’s packed with knowledge about not only music, but also the emerging musical culture in the U.K. Music Outside includes chapters on Mike Gibbs, Mike Westbrook, Derek Bailey, John Stevens, John Hiseman, Evan Parker, Trevor Watts, Chris McGregor, and even Carr himself(!), to mention a few. Colorful characters that make their way through its pages are Garrick, Winstone, John Surman, Rendell, and Kenny Wheeler. In addition to the original volume, there is a new chapter in this edition as well, written by Roger Cotterell, a barrister who is also a widely recognized jazz journalist, critic, and historian. He does his own fine -- if somewhat brief -- bit to trace this fascinating story from the end point of Carr's original tome.

The book can be purchased from Northway Publications in the U.K. Inquiries can be made to its address at 39 Tytherton Road London N19 4P. But there is better news for punters and fans: Music Outside will be distributed in the United States by ParkWest Publications in Miami. ParkWest confirmed that it would be available within the next two months. Email queries can be made to mail@parkwestpubs.com. A quick look at Amazon in the U.S. and the U.K. revealed no listings for the title.

Credit where it’s due: Thanks to https://wyattandstuff.blogspot.com/ for the original info. Another resource for all things Carr is the unofficial https://www.iancarrsnucleus.net/.