Dancing with Collin

I did not realize that I listened to Collin Walcott before I really got into his music.  At the local library where I worked we had an album by the Paul Winter Consort.  At first glance I thought it was some cheesy background music that was just that, cheesy.  I was 16 when I heard this and when I placed it on the turntable it was more then cheese. It was a group that melded different styles of music together as one.  Some of these genres included, Jazz, Folk, World, and Classical.  It was unique to my young ears, but it was cool and non threatening to my parents.  

Around this time the only time I heard a sitar was in a Beatles or Rolling Stones song.  I had yet to discover Ravi Shankar and the world of Indian Music.  It was the sitar player in Paul Winter's group that grabbed my attention.  It was different in the music I heard from the Beatles or the Stones. It was music that created a sound that in the background, but it made an impact.  It was really fun to listen to and was a complex like in music I liked to listen to at the time.  

It was not till a few years later where Collin's name popped up again.  This time at the local book and record store.  It was another album that put me in a curiously type feel.  It was an album by Miles Davis called On The Corner.  This album was playing over the speakers and this was more then a mix of what I heard on Paul Winter, it was an album that was exciting to listen to, and not like the Paul Winter, it would make my parents question my musical taste.  I bought On The Corner and fell in love.  The interesting part was when I told the guy at the checkout that I wanted to hear more Collin he pointed out that if I could find his solo albums those where the ones to seek out.  "Grazing Dreams and Cloud Dance" he said, "Those are killer and very very complex." I was quick to say to myself.  "Let's buy those too!"

About a few weeks later I went back to the book and record store and asked the same person for the two Collin Walcott CD's he mentioned.  He had bad news.  Cloud Dance is out of print, and Grazing Dreams was a whopping $20.00 because it's only available as an import. He made me a deal, He would order Grazing Dreams and he could make me a copy of Cloud Dance on cassette.  He would give me a discount on Grazing Dreams because I'm a repeat customer.  I waited about three months before the album came in.  When it did he rubber banded a cassette to my order with a note.  "Enjoy, both albums are truly amazing pieces of his work."  "Also, I added some other Collin Walcott where he played in a group called CODONA."

Over the years I wore out the cassette and CD of Collin's music. In a stroke of luck at a awesome used CD shop I found a copy of Cloud Dance. It was mispriced for really cheap. I quickly scoffed it up with a smile on my face. The guy at the counter joked with me and mentioned that he really thought that nobody would buy that CD. "It's been in the used section for about two years." I mentioned that I was turned on to his music a while back, and this was the lone one I needed to complete the Collin collection 

A few years later ECM made it official that they were going to do a series of albums called Touchstones.  These Touchstones are out of print or even some cornerstones in the ECM catalog deserve a reissue.  They will be at budget prices and replicate all the album artwork that goes along with it.  With all that, they released this great album Cloud Dance.  So now I have an LP copy and two CD's.  It all started almost 27 years ago and still I'm still amazed how fresh this album is.  It blends all the genres that I like into one.  I was always a big fan of "World Fusion" and this is one of those albums.  With a great trio of musicians behind him, this album is pretty addicting.  It is also for serious listeners.  Great music should not be missed, it should be appreciated and this is some high appreciation from a musician who left us too soon with great music.