Harry Beckett ‎– Flare Up (1970)

Flare Up is an album by Barbadian jazz trumpeter Harry Beckett, released in 1970 on Philips.

Zaragon provides a review of two tracks, “Scarlet Mine” and “Flare Up” from Harry Beckett’s 1970 jazz album Flare Up. Harry Beckett was a UK-based jazz trumpeter (7:32) originally from Barbados (7:40).

Zaragon highlights several musical aspects: Instrumentation and Sound: The tracks feature wild percussion (0:40), fuzzed-out electric piano, and a psychedelic vibe (0:52). The drumming by John Webb is noted for its omnipresence and flurries (4:01). The vibraphone, played by Frank Ricotti, is also highlighted (2:37, 7:03).

Harry Beckett’s Trumpet: Beckett’s trumpet tone is described as vibrant, fluid, and high in the mix (3:36).
Saxophone Work: The video discusses the presence of multiple saxophonists, including John Surman (5:01) and Mike Osborne (5:09), and how their contributions open up the tracks (11:05).

The album Flare Up was Harry Beckett’s debut as a bandleader (7:55) and has gained a strong reputation in the 21st century among those exploring the UK jazz scene of the 1960s and early 1970s (15:11).

John Taylor is credited on piano and electric piano (2:43). Zaragon speculates that he might have been “doing kind of a two-handed trick” (2:52) on either the same keyboard or two different ones (2:56), suggesting he was ambidextrous (3:12).

Zaragon uses the term “sonic splatter” (9:20) when describing the title track “Flare Up.” He says the music is like “a really dense abstract painting of just sonic color and splatter” (9:14–9:20). This metaphor suggests a rich, varied, and perhaps somewhat chaotic or non-linear soundscape, similar to how paint might be splattered onto a canvas to create an abstract image.

Tracklist:
A1. “Flare Up” (4:01)
A2. “Go West” (6:34)
A3. “Where Fortune Smiles” (3:36)
A4. “Scarlet Mine” (3:53)
A5. “Third Road” (5:29)
B1. “Flow Stream Flow” (3:43)
B2. “The Other Side” (4:02)
B3. “Rolly’s Tune” (6:18)
B4. “Fool’s Play” (6:30)

Credits:
Harry Beckett — trumpet, flugelhorn, composer, arranger
John Surman — baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, composer, arranger
Frank Ricotti — vibraphone, congas
Chris Laurence — bass
John Webb — drums
Mike Osborne — alto saxophone
Alan Skidmore — saxophone, tenor saxophone
John Taylor — piano, electric piano
Graham Collier — arranger (A2, A5, B2, B3)