1975 Arena “Arena” on Crystal Clear

Yeah, since this looks like a Raymond Pettibon alt Black Flag cover, with all the tortured emotion and anger that entails, it’s easy to see how you’d flip right by what is actually one of the better Aussie jazz records of the 70’s, and even more surprising, features a really lovely homage to Duke Ellington. Which is also interesting, because it otherwise vacillates between fusion and near-prog, with some definite out-tendencies. All the songs are writing by altoist Ted White, who, come to think of it, may be paid homage to in Black Flag’s “White Minority”. But probably not. Basically, these guys were session dudes who had some free time in the studio and cut a quick record before getting back to the paying gigs. Which we are all the better for, because you can almost HEAR the lack of label constraint or commercial consideration, and there’s lots of passages where this action gets both funky and BURNS in a really very forward for its time way….think Melbourne Headhunters crossed with Sydney Marc Moulin just jamming off the cuff. It doesn’t have the layers or nuance of super intentional composition, and yet the more slash and burn approach totally works! This sounds cool, toss it in! Yeah, this record is awesome if you like groovy unexpectedness (and aren’t intending to leave the cover on the mantle above the fireplace for too long). Killer action with great snippet-y individual performances.