Unit Structures

Recording history and tape provenance

Taylor leads a septet larger than his usual group. Eddie Gale Stevens Jr. plays trumpet, Jimmy Lyons alto saxophone and Ken McIntyre alto, oboe and bass clarinet. Henry Grimes and Alan Silva both play bass, with Andrew Cyrille on drums and Taylor on piano and bells.

The two basses work differently. Grimes anchors the low end while Silva plays in a more abstract register, which widens the group's range beyond what a single bass would give.

Philip Freeman's biography In the Brewing Luminous draws on new interviews about these sessions. He describes Van Gelder's mixing as favouring the horns and the two basses, per these radio notes. Freeman calls the result close to chamber music, while still lacking the dry perfection of a classical recording.

Taylor wrote the liner essay himself, titled "Sound Structure of Subculture Becoming Major Breath/Naked Fire Gesture." It mixes poetry with an account of the ideas behind the four extended pieces. He recorded Conquistador! with a similar lineup that October, though Blue Note held it until 1968.

Original Blue Note pressings (1966)

A first-pressing mono BLP 4237 has hand-etched runouts except for a stamped "VAN GELDER" credit. The label is blue and white, reading "Blue Note Records Inc • New York USA."

The back cover address reads "43 West 61st St., New York, N.Y. 10023," with text noting "MONAURAL, also available in Stereo BST 84237." Those details confirm a period-correct copy.

The stereo original carries BST 84237. No published comparison of the mono and stereo originals has been found.

Japanese pressings

The 1980 Toshiba EMI reissue carries GXT 8147 on the back cover and labels, printed as GXT8147 on the obi strip. Its runouts are stamped, with the Japanese Industrial Standards mark stamped into the dead wax on both sides.

It came with Japanese-language liner notes and a series catalogue insert, per its Discogs entry. No published sound comparison with a US pressing has been found.

Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition (2023)

The Classic Vinyl Edition appeared on August 18, 2023, barcode 602455236579. Retailer listings carrying Blue Note's description give it as stereo and all-analog. Kevin Gray mastered it from the original tapes, and it was pressed on 180g at Optimal.

Tracking Angle frames it as this title's first all-analog reissue. On that account every prior reissue, including CD editions going back to 1987, had a digital step in the chain.

That is a real distinction for a 1966 analog recording. It also means the comparison a buyer faces is between this cut and an original, with nothing in between that avoids digital.

Buyer's guide by budget

$$$: The Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition, the current all-analog reissue.

$$$$: The 1980 Japanese Toshiba EMI pressing, a vintage alternative to a US original.

$$$$: A clean Blue Note BLP 4237 mono original, checked against the identification details.

Pressing tier summary

References

• Discogs (master, all versions): https://www.discogs.com/master/43554
• Wikipedia, "Unit Structures": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_Structures
• jazzdisco.org, Cecil Taylor discography: https://www.jazzdisco.org/cecil-taylor/discography/
• Tracking Angle, "Blue Note Classics Reissues Cecil Taylor's 'Unit Structures'": https://trackingangle.com/music/cecil-taylor-unit-structures-review-blue-note-classics-vinyl
• Elusive Disc, "Cecil Taylor – Unit Structures (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series) 180g LP": https://elusivedisc.com/cecil-taylor-unit-structures-blue-note-classic-vinyl-series-180g-lp
• Rabble Without A Cause, radio show notes drawing on Philip Freeman's In the Brewing Luminous: https://jazzontherideau.substack.com/p/rabble-without-a-cause-february-19

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