Ron Wilson came from California, stayed in the Liège/Maastricht region because of the military, and there composed the repertoire for a band he formed out of jam sessions in Liège with Jacques Pelzer, Pelzer’s daughter Micheline and cousin Steve Houben. Open Sky Unit, recorded live at Jazzland Club in 1974, does not sound like fusion spectacle. One hears jazz, soul, funk and free improvisation – but none of it pushes to the front. One piece is called »Passion and Compassion«: the title captures the attitude. The music relates to fusion jazz as antifolk does to folk: the same material, less gloss, more directness. From 31 July, Open Sky Unit will be available from HHV, in collaboration with Sdban Records, as an exclusive orange-vinyl edition limited to 300 copies.
Passion and Compassion
The band toured until around 1975/76, before Steve Houben went to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. What began as a homage to Dave Liebman’s 1973 album Open Sky thus became a European form of jazz-funk in its own right – one that did not need to make a grand entrance in order to be great. Ron Wilson later moved to Germany and, in 1985, recorded a swing album with Bill »Zuckerpuppe aus der Bauchtanz-Gruppe« Ramsey.
