PALS FROM BERKLEE

STEVE HOUBEN – MAUVE TRAFFIC

OH BOY ...

LP MD035                            BELGIUM, 1979

I’d been looking for this album for a very long time. Earlier this week, I stopped by a vinyl dealer that specializes in 60s-70s rock but also has a small “jazz” section.  The guy behind the counter told me he had recently found a box of Belgian jazz albums and put them all in a small crate labelled “Belgian Jazz”.  I had a look and there, among the usual Toots Thielemans albums, there it was ... Mauve Traffic feat. Bill Frisell!

In 1979, for the second time, Steve Houben brought over some musicians he knew from his days in Berklee, (where he also met Michel Herr) and formed "Mauve Traffic", a fusion band with : Bill Frisell (guitar), Vinnie Johnson (drums), Steve Houben (flute), Kermit Driscoll (electric bass) and Michel Herr (Fender Rhodes).  A second saxophonist, Greg Badolato (also from Boston) soon joined the band, which recorded the LP “Oh boy ...” in Belgium in 1979.

Tracklist

A1       Monsieur Love             Composed by Steve Houben     2:37

A2       Carol    Composed by Bill Frisell          5:02

A3       Doggone It       Composed by Kermit Driscoll   5:37

A4       Francesca         Composed by Bill Frisell          5:19

A5       Extrait Du Second Improptu Pour Une Raison D'être    Composed by Steve Houben     0:30

B1        De Luxe           Composed by Steve Houben     3:53

B2        Sparks  Composed by Magdalena Thora                        3:59

B3        Oh Boy                        Composed by Bill Frisell          6:40

B4        Growing Carrots           Composed by Bill Frisell          5:33

Credits

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Steve Houben

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Greg Badolato

Guitar – Bill Frisell

Keyboards – Michel Herr

Electric Bass – Kermit Driscoll

Drums, Voice – Vinnie Johnson

Recorded & mixed at Michel Dickenscheid's Studio, Ougrée, Belgium

NB : there is some surface noise at the beginning of track B1, I assume it could be cleaned but I’m not proficient enough and was afraid that it would dim the sound.

UPDATED LINK (17/07/17)

The next one on my wish list was “STREAM” (Philip Catherine, Marc Moulin, Jiggs Whigham, Freddy Deronde, Freddy Rothier ), another seventies Belgian jazz rarity that never made it to CD.  Have seen the original  a few time but it was way out of my budget!  Luckily it has been (unofficially) reissued on vinyl by Charlevoix Music, Inc. (Canada).
 https://www.discogs.com/Philip-Catherine-Stream/release/8806570..
Get it while you can!