Live review from "Sounds"

QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL 15th September 1973

Rock n' roll funkiness is not a quality usually associated with Royal Academy of Music graduates, it's a quality that demon drummer Morris Pert and pianist Peter Robinson of Sun Treader have in abundance.

Much has been made lately of Morris Pert's working association with Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamash'ta, but at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday Pert showed he was very much his own man. Only the opening moments of Sun Treader's improvisation, with the leader flailing numerous gongs bore any trace of the Yamash'ta influence, but from here Pert quickly moved to the pedal timps where he maintained a steady pounding rhythm, slapping the hi-hat on the off-beat. It was when he got behind one of his three conventional drum kits however, that the band really began to cook.

For this performance only, Sun Treader were augmented by Paul Buckmaster on electric cello, and an unknown, unannounced assistant who played wah wah French horn. Both these additional elements were well represented on a new and untitled composition by Peter Robinson.

Pert's " Chromosphere " which began the second half, was scored for the group plus pre recorded tapes and featured the players in unfamiliar musical rolls - Pert on grand piano, Buckmaster on vibes, Nevil Whitehead on tubular bells. A further improvised piece began with a veritable explosion of percussive power - Pert's phrasings standing out in the multi-textured cacophany produced by the entire group, striking out at everything within hitting range - and finished with gently pealing hand bells.

Finally a short decidedly non - exploratory piece, labelled by the official programme as " The Voyage " sped articulately to an impressive close.

SUNTREADER: the new Third Stream ? by Richard Williams

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