Aktion	Zweigstelle	Standorte	Status	Frist	Vorbestellungen
Vorbestellen	Zweigstelle: 17., Hormayrg. 2	Standorte: CD.10 Tipp / 70er	Status: Verfügbar	Frist:	Vorbestellungen: 0

Coming straight after the gigantic "Septober Energy" as it did, Blueprint must have come as a bit of a surprise for many of Keith Tippett's fans. The music is minimal - both in scale and sound - but whereas the Centipede recording leaves its impression by its overwhelming force, Blueprint makes it mark with much more subtlety.

The collective ensemble consists of Keith Tippett (piano) Roy Babbington (bass) Keith Bailey and Frank Perry(percussion) and Julie Tipett (voice/guitar/mandolin/recorder)but the groups on each track never go above quartet and four of the tracks being trio numbers.

With a few rushes of blood aside (for example on the quartet numbers "Dance" and "Woodcut", much of the album is dominated by quiet, with zen-like bells and percussion drifting into Tippett's piano and Babbington's ethereal bowed bass, while at the beginning of "Blues ll" Julie Tippett coaxes the mandolin into sounding like a Japanese koto.

As someone who often veers away from anything that even suggests a "jazz" vocalist, I was very much taken by Julie Tippett's abstract use of her voice and the way she blends it with the rest of the instruments, making a much more textural balance between herself and the others.

At times (most notably the early sections of "Woodcut") I found the low volume distracting (and writing this I have found myself looking at the CD deck to see if its still playing)so its not a CD for a long drive down to Bristol on a Keith Tippett pilgrimage (unless your car has double-glazed windows and a silent engine). This is a magical album that takes time and quiet to listen to. Alfie Cooke