ARENA

Arena were a fusion group of session players led by saxophonist Ted White, a musician working in the British big band jazz scene until moving to Australia in the 1960's to work in the television industry. Becoming involved in testing the facilities of a new recording studio at the Crystal Clear studios in Melbourne, he gathered musicians together which led to the creation of this collection, a work that would see a very limited distribution on its initial release. 1975's self-titled `Arena' is an instrumental set that calls to mind the music of Herbie Hancock, the Soft Machine and other Canterbury-related acts, Weather Report, fellow Australian fusioners Crossfire and even moments of the classic early King Crimson albums and a touch of Italian fusion band Perigeo.

Grumbling bass and chilled shimmering spacey guitars weave through `Journey In Threes' sax- dominated themes and energetic soloing, and Canterbury sound/Soft Machine fans will love the wilder `Scope's frantic sax and fuzzy electric piano improvisations, slithering bass and runaway skittering drumming. `Duke' is a lusty and dreamy chill-out of low-key trickles of glistening electric piano and drowsy wafts of sauntering sax, and some of the cascading electric piano runs, reaching electric guitar lines and intertwining sax themes remind of Italian fusioners Perigeo throughout the lightly funky and breezily playful `Scrichell Cat'.

The strangled sustained electric guitar notes, meandering bass spasms and dirty sax wailing of the opening minutes of the flip-side's `Keith's Mood' create a noisy ambience that will please fans of the early King Crimson albums, before it settles into a funky sprint of nimble jazzy licks, fiery drum rumbles and sparkling electric piano tendrils. `The Long One' is mellow and effortlessly cool, and the brisk and infectious `Turkish Defunked' marries strong reprising sax themes with endless electric piano tiptoe soloing and strolling bass strutting (with just a touch of King Crimson-like serrated electric guitar bite and busy drum soloing in the final minutes!) making it a nice come- down to close the album on.

A complete rarity of Australian jazz-fusion, funk and progressive-related music, `Arena' has now been given a sublime sounding LP reissue on The Roundtable label in 2016, meaning no more fruitless searching for long-vanished original copies! The album is ideal for jazz-minded prog fans who enjoy the music of the above-mentioned acts that are looking to discover some obscure and mostly unknown discs from the vintage Seventies era, and `Arena' is one that holds up just as strongly as many of the more well-known and highly-regarded fusion works from the same time.

Four stars.

Australian studio/sessions musicians lured into breaking in a new recording studio just outside of Melbourne.

1. "Journey In Threes" (6:30) drums, funked up bass, clavinet, saxophone, and guitar open this one with a GENTLE GIANT-like circus romp, then there is a long spacious pause before the band kicks back in at 1:20, this time in a very tightly arranged nearly-Reggae weave with tenor sax in the lead and guitar doing accent strums and notes. The bass is now more straightforward (the previous sound I called a "funked up bass" may have been, in fact, the left hand on the clavinet). Clavinet gets the second solo spot but the sax comes back for the third--this time with a little more vim and vinegar. Very interesting! And danceable in a DON ELLIS way. I don't know why I like the clavinet so well! (9/10)

2. "Scope" (5:05) BRUFORD-like syncopated complex opening weave turns into a little smoother jazz at the 30-second mark with bass and drums weaving a tightly Then, at 1:45 the band stops at the stop sign, looks both ways, then takes a left turn down one of the Fender Rhodes as keyboardist Peter Jones starts flying over his plastic keys. Another stop at another stop sign at the 3:15 mark results in another change of direction--this one more straightforward as the car cruises out onto the Nevada desert where we watch it fade away into the distance. Very interesting, complex jazz-rock fusion--all of the motifs sewn together here are quite complicated. Impressive! (9/10)

3. "Duke" (3:50) a duet of moody sax and supportive lounge Fender Rhodes gives this opening a late night French Film Noire or Femme Fatale feel. Nice performance if a bit stereotypic. The guys must have been in a mood. (8.75/10)

4. "Scrichell Cat" (6:30) more music that feels like something from an old black and white film--until the three-chord rock bridges. Sax is again offered the lead role while bass, drums, Fender Rhodes, and wah-rhythm guitar provide support and accents. Oddly simplistic compared to the mind-bogglingly complex music of the opening two songs. Electric guitar finally gets a solo around the four-minute mark--it's nice! He's got a very nice tone and very flowing, technically sound run capabilities. When he pairs up with the sax in the sixth minute it works remarkably well and then they parts ways to return to the rock motif for an extended period over (beneath) which the searing ROBERT FRIPP-like guitar play continues to the very end. (8.875/10)

5. "Keith's Mood" (7:34) The angular, sometimes discordant Robert Fripp guitar sound and style starts off right from the opening note of this one while drums, bass, and saxophone play Coltrane or Ornette Coleman to the Robert. Around the two-minute mark the band takes a divergent path to explore a trash-filled alley that empties out next to the church onto main street in the form of a blues-based R&B passage. Sounds like The Isley Brothers, past (the Sixties) and future (Harvest for the World, Go For Your Guns. etc.) An extended drum solo fills the sixth minute and more sounding quite traditional jazz except for the use of a large floor tom. At the end of the eighth minute the rest of the band returns, playing some grroup scales before suddenly stopping. Interesting and impressive but not very engaging (or danceable). (13/15)

6. "The Long One" (6:32) this one sounds like early Herbie Hancock as he explored the landscapes and sonic possibilities of early funk and R&B-infused jazz-rock. Sax is the lead melody-maker but the funky bass and Fender Rhodes play a huge role in the song's overall feel. Very cool in the early-1970s meaning of the word. Fender Rhodes takes the next solo in the fourth minute while the bass, guitar, and drums do a great job of maintaining the funky base. The nuances of each instrumentalist's contributions to this song are really quite something to behold--and even study! Not my favorite song or song style but definitely praiseworthy for these incredibly mature performances. (9/10)

7. "Turkish Defunked" (7:41) Waht?! a straigt-time beat?! (Wait 20 seconds.) Oh! They were just messing with me! Back to some funk with some Eastern European/Middle Eastern sounds coming from the sax(es). When the opening mood and sound palette have been established, the sax drops out for an extended Fender Rhodes solo that sounds quite a bit like Ray Manzarek. Sax resumes the lead as Ray continues to add sass and bluesy funk around the sides. Cool song that has its feet more in jazz than R&B-rock but goes back to the Turkish theme enough to confuse us. In the sixth we finally get the return of the burning sound of Charlie (Glenn's nephew) Gould's fuzzy electric guitar, but then the band switches gears, gets more staccato rhythm-brained before finally returning to the main theme for the finale (while Charlie continues his nonstop Fripp runs from behind). High quality performances of a diversified composition. (13.5/15)

Total Time 43:42

I can see how the AVERAGE WHITE BAND inspired the world. "Cut the cake!"

B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any Jazz-Rock Fusion lover and an album that I think any and every prog lover can and would appreciate.