Two albums in one package – both of them featuring excellent work from groundbreaking British reedman Bob Downes! Mixed Bag is nothing like you might expect from its title – because while the set does feature a variety of different sessions from Downes, it's also got a very unified feel – thanks partly to the range of sounds and ideas that Bob expresses in each new tune! The set's easily some of the most compelling work we've ever heard from Downes on record – and features 70s and 80s recordings on a variety of different flutes and woodwinds – some solo, some in the company of other contemporaries, like Ray Russell on guitar and Harry Miller on bass. Most tunes are very open, and quite spiritual in their approach – and titles include "Shriek Out", "Lola", "Jamaican Jump Up", "Borneo Breeze", "Eruption", "The Devil", and "Seashore". CD 2 features a wonderful tribute to departed reedman
Faruq Z
Bey – written and recorded shortly after
Bey's passing in 2012, and featuring Downes playing tenor and a bit of bass flute – on these beautifully poetic solo passages! The piece is relatively short – but it's a great bonus to this package.
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